| Nate Laverdure |
05-01-2008 23:20 |
Re: Good Luck Teams!!
From an old document from my days on Team 166:
Quote:
WARNING! FIRST IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE
MAY CAUSE: SLEEPLESSNESS, LARYNGITIS, UNCONTROLLABLE CHEERING, YELLING,
CLAPPING, STOMPING, TENDENCY TO TALK TO ALLEN WRENCHES, COMPULSION TO BE
IN ATLANTA IN APRIL, REVULSION FOR PIZZA, ETC.
108 Things I Wish I'd Known Before My First FIRST Tournament
1 Be aggressive in your onsite marketing. If no one knows who you are, you'd better
have a robot so much better than everyone else's that it just doesn't matter.
2 Specialize. Despite what Robert Heinlein said about insects, you can't run a team
where everyone is responsible for everything.
3 Check the robot before every match. Use checklists. If it's good enough for NASA,
it's good enough for FIRST.
4 Wear comfortable shoes.
5 Bring lots of water. No one wants to pay $4 for 16 ounces of water.
6 If you want to do well at the tournament, pick your drivers ahead of time. The
qualification rounds are no time to test new drivers.
7 Adults should keep their hands in their pockets when work needs to be done.
8 Get out of your pits and meet other teams. Otherwise, you might as well watch a
Webcast.
9 Wear distinctive shirts.
10 Get more sleep.
11 Be enthusiastic. Yell, cheer, chant, dance. Act foolish.
12 Make sure your robot has the correct code loaded.
13 Don't EVER lose hope. Even if you're dead last after qualifying, there is still a
chance to make it to the finals. Keep working to make you're robot the best it
can be.
14 Scout teams, not matches. Sometimes very good teams run into very bad luck.
15 Meet other people from other teams - they have a lot to teach and a lot to learn.
16 HAVE FUN! These competitions are supposed to be a blast - don't lose sight of
just how fun science, technology and engineering can be. And always look at the
big picture
17 Network. FIRST is more than just a robotics competition. use it to find out what
you like and try to meet people you can get in touch with when you leave
high-school, for job opportunities.
18 Always scout your competition and alliances.
19 Always have enough people in the pits to fix your robot at any given time, but
don't keep the pits crowded with unnecessary people.
20 Keep up on FIRST's schedule of events.
21 Don't be afraid to have fun because its not "cool". Honestly, no one at a FIRST
competition is going to judge you. No one cares. Chances are, there are least 20
people dorkier than you.
22 Yes, kids really do cry when their robot loses. Pretty soon, you will too.
23 When something goes wrong with the robot, it's always the programmer's fault.
24 Start the animation on kickoff day, not 10 PM the night before the deadline.
25 Don't panic if something stops working.
26 If you need help, ask for it! Other teams are more than willing to help out, and
chances are, one of them will know what's wrong.
27 Never forget your multitool in the hotel.
28 Never forget your safety glasses.
29 Don't forget your robot cart.
30 Don't forget 27 through 29.
31 A Minute on the field waiting is as long as a Microsoft minute (read as eternity).
32 A Minute during the match goes bye like a flash.
33 Make sure someone has a key to the big toolbox, or disable the lock before you
leave. Trying to borrow a hacksaw at 8am Thursday is embarrassing
34 ALWAYS bring a spare cordless drill battery to uncrating, because your's will die.
(We had to remove many screws with a screwdriver
35 Make sure your PWM cables are going in the right direction
36 Learn what every flashing light in the control system means
37 make sure you have the spare battery plugged in and zip tie the battery
connection (helps a lot when battery don't come undone during the a match)
38 Make sure there are batteries on charge for the robot
39 Keep your pit ORGANIZED. It is MUCH easier to get repairs done on a tight
schedule if you don't have to spend ten minutes looking for a tool.
40 Make sure everyone knows about the robot. Being able to have any team
member speak eloquently to the judges is a huge plus!
41 Do not get more complicated than is necessary. "Keep it simple, Keep it safe."
42 If something goes wrong with your robot, don't stress out too much. There will
ALWAYS be someone willing to help, and someone with a worse issue.
43 Check all systems before every match. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE TIGHT
CONNECTIONS AND THE SERIAL CABLES ARE FULLY SCREWED IN.
44 Most problems are electrical or in the program. If something goes wrong, check these first.
45 Buy non-standard joysticks, the ones in the KoP suck.
46 Eat. Take lunch breaks, and one or two other ones. Otherwise the stress will kill you.
47 Sleep before the competition, because for three days you wont get much if any.
48 How addicting it becomes
49 Have your pit crew assigned before ship and give them practice on the robot
50 Give your drivers a lot of practice, if there is space on the field and you have time use
the field
51 Color coordinate your tools for easy access in the pits, say I need a 10/24 screw,
wheres it o, it's blue...
52 Have a big banner to put up in the stand area
53 Have a neatly organized pit area, very team/spectator friendly
54 HAVE A CLOCK! it helps a lot and make sure it's the right time
55 Safety FIRST
56 Never be afraid to ask for a spare part even if your sure no one will have it.
57 Remember to eat and drink, FIRST is very intensive and food is not often your
number one priority during the day.
58 Talk to other teams, make friends, more friends = much more fun
59 When scouting, don't sweat the small details, look at the important facts needed
and scout them well.
60 Scouting is VERY important
61 Support your team with all you have
62 Have fun
63 You're never too cool for a giant conga line around an arena.
64 Make sure you turn the robot on before the match
65 Eat a good breakfast before competition
66 Speak up when it comes to a major decision about the robot
67 Don't be afraid to talk with other teams
68 Its impossible to bring too many buttons
69 It's impossible to bring too much of any give away.
70 Make sure your battery cable isn't somewhere your arm will catch it and unplug it
when you start a match. (True story)
71 For Heaven's sake, use a Velcro battery strap or otherwise firmly secure your
battery. Batteries don't help you if they're lying on the field.
72 If part of your robot cart sometimes sticks to the underside of the robot, make
sure it's not stuck there when you put the robot down for a match, leaving your
wheels 2 inches off the ground. (Almost a true story)
73 Safety glasses may be a nice forehead protector, but that's not what they are made for.
74 Make a list of safety rules and go over it with your team so everyone knows the
proper safety procedures. Place list in pits where everyone can read it. Judges
like the list(2 safety awards this year so far).
75 Make punishments for breaking the safety rules. Pushups work good.
76 Be careful when driving your robot cart over cables, it can learn how to
fly(almost a very bad thing).
77 Stop very slowly when your robots wheels are the only thing touching the
cart(almost another very bad thing).
78 Your team's banner can never be TOO BIG
79 If you're the coach, don't be afraid to do whatever you have to in order to get
the driver's attention, especially if it's to avoid a penalty. Go on, it won't kill him
to be hit on the head.
80 Winning is an outcome
81 Always coordinate strategy with your partners.
82 Don't bother bringing a GameBoy or iPod.
83 Always keep track of your stuff (i.e. put your name on it), especially when you leave
things in the stands, and especially if everyone on the team has something that looks
exactly like yours (i.e. team shirts).
84 If people offer free hugs, take them up on it.
85 Volunteer...it will make you see a totally different side of FIRST.
86 Often time the best, most powerful teams are the ones who are most likely to help
those in need.
87 If it can't be done in pneumatics, it really doesn't need to be done.
88 Designate a few team members to be 'team spokespeople' in the pit and then be sure
they are always there to be spoken to.
89 To really embarrass your mentors, make a huge sign of their head and then take it
to every regional possible and get it on the webcast.
90 Your opinions and statements DO reflect on your team and its' reputation, regardless
of what your disclaimer says.
91 If MOE (365) is at your competition...there's no need to bring tools or replacement parts.
92 Don't ever let the engineers change things when they have a "good idea".
93 Remember that screw heads have to be in the box while fitting your robot.
94 Bring hardware...even if you don't think you'll need it or didn't use it on the robot -
bring all you can.
95 Scout early rather than late. It's no fun try to figure out who you want to pick in the
last five minutes before you have to choose.
96 Anyone can end up being a picker and anyone can end up at the bottom of the list.
97 Sometimes a team that you were barely paying attention to can end up being a really
great alliance partner.
98 Never let a problem with another team member get in the way of both of you having a
good time.
99 Don't take things too seriously; It's supposed to be fun
100 Keep the same drive team and pit crew for every match
101 Develop excellent communication between the pit crew and drive team, and within
each group
102 Don't forget the chain of command
103 Don't be afraid to break the chain of command
104 Reliability the best asset you can have on the playing field
105 Don't bring things you won't need
106 Bring a mini first aid kit, because chances are someone in the stands will need it and
won't want to go to the pits to use that one.
107 Remember that even if you are an item, and even if you aren't eating each others
faces off, even the smallest PDA can make people think poorly of your team.
108 FIRST ROCKS!
|
Good Luck Teams! |
