Re: More then 7 matches?
 

I believe we could get 7 matches in on Friday if the Agenda was modified a bit and a 5 minute turn around was achieved (as it was at our LVR)...it would be nice to have at least 8 qualifying matches for a change. Imagine spending $5000 for entry and another $14000 for your teams travel/hotel expenses and only playing 7 matches if unable to play eliminations...an extra match takes a little bit of the sting off;)

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

FIRST should consider going later into the day on friday... sortof like what hapened at Isreal this year. I personally would love to see matches go that late, and for teams to get in 9-10 matches during qualifying

it would really put the best teams a the top. and make teams work harder to earn that #1 Alliance Caption Hat.

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

I would be willing to stay later for matches. We pay so much to compete I would jump at any chance to get more field time.:yikes:

More matches also means that a team’s performance is better reflected in the rankings.

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

I think you have it right Don, and it would not be a sacrifice.

A full day of practice on Thursday is a waste at a Championship level event. A full Thursday practice was part of the schedule at the MI Championship and it was not necessary.

I agree, run matches Thursday afternoon. Of course it is too late to change this year, but there is always next year!

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

Perhaps for a lot of teams at the national a full day of practice is unnecessary, but for some it can be crucial. You forget that a large number of teams do not make it to the championships based on their robot, but on other factors. One award that earns a spot in Atlanta is specifically for rookie teams, who may have more work to do than others. And given the number of teams who get damaged in late matches at regionals, or who want to try to make some improvement or change, that full day is crucial. Also consider that the full day for changes can act as a buffer for any of the international teams, in case of any sort of travel delay.

It is true that for lots of the veteran teams, a full day of practice is not necessary, but it can be a godsend for newer teams, or any team that has had the misfortune to sustain serious damage, be it from a regional competition, a shipping problem, or anything else.

It would be nice to get more matches to help teams get more action for their dollar and to help rankings truly reflect the quality of the team and their robot, but if the matches start too soon, the rankings might be skewed against some teams that have truly amazing machines.

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

[quote=ScottOliveira;849746] Also consider that the full day for changes can act as a buffer for any of the international teams, in case of any sort of travel delay.

QUOTE]

I think the international travel part has a lot fo validity, but I am not so sure about the damage. That is part of it. If a bot is not designed robust enough, then that is a design flaw (this is coming from a team that often has such issues).

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

Some damage is unavoidable though. With 120 pounds, not every robot can be built to withstand a head on collision at full speed and all robots have sensitive parts that could get damaged. If this were to happen during the finals and they were left having to crate the robot immediately after their match, they'd be depending on Thursday to fix the robot up before they could compete.

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

That would be quite difficult to get 7 matches in in one day... too hectic and not enough time :P

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

I think having 10 matchs would be optimal. This would require 145 matches for 87 team devisions. At 5.5 minute turnarounds this would be a total of 13.3 competition hours. For ease sake we'll estimate 13.5 hours. Heres what I think would be a good schedule. Also before I start let me say I haven't been to Atlanta before (although I am going this year) so if none this makes any sense tell me.

Wednesday: Open the pits to the first 3 people at 3:00 and allow others in at 5:00. Pits close at 8:00

Thursday: Open Pits at 8:00. Start practice Matches at 8:30 and go till 1:00. (at 9 minute turnarounds this is about 1 Practice match a piece.)
Start Qualification matches at 2:00 and go till 5:00.

Friday: Qualification matches from 9:00-12:00 and 12:45-5:45.

Saturday: Qualification matches from 9:00-11:30. Then begin elimination rounds.

Basically I think they should open the pits earlier on Wednesday to help teams start repairing thier robots and start Qualifiers late Thursday.

Just my opinion.

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

Since we already have to fly in on at least Tuesday due to unpacking of crate on Wednesday,
Why not allow unpacking of the crate with time to setup the pits, fix robot (if necessary) and allow the use of practice fields.
That would also be a good time to get your info from pit admin, attend workshops on Thursdays (rather than during matches on Friday), and other business such as inspection of robots.

Then,
Thursday could have practice matches only in the morning, have the opening ceremony and run 2 real matches after lunch.
Friday could have 6 matches since the opening ceremony already took place.
Saturday could run status quo.

That would give 10 matches and a better representation of the top 8 teams.

With so many teams, I am all for more matches.

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

So you want the FIRST in Michigan schedule in Atlanta? I would agree with that. This is basically a trade of practice matches for qualifying matches. You will get equal pit time but less practice drive time.

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

You aren't going to get 5.5 minute turnarounds. At least you can't plan for getting that - one short delay of 10-15 minutes will kill the entire schedule. The MI Cmp averaged about 6 minute cycles, maybe a few seconds less: http://www2.usfirst.org/2009comp/eve...chresults.html And this was with experienced teams, who had all run at least 24 matches before, many 30 or more. Those matches that made 5 minutes, and a couple of them that even made 4, were offset by those matches that took 7 minutes. And notice both Fri am and Fri pm started late, losing 16 minutes there. You can run 6's; you can't plan on running anything less. It just won't work.

Now that's a pretty good schedule. The Wed evening pit hours correspond to the FiM optional load-in hours. You could opt out of it, and do everything Thurs am if you wanted.

Depending on the game, I'd also change the way practice rounds were run. Make it single runs on a 7 minute schedule. Slightly under 3.5 hours. In this game, reset between the two practice matches in a single session can sometimes take longer than getting new robots on the field. Especially if the incoming robots are allowed to preload game pieces.

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

Thanks for the vote of confidence!
My whole thing is why cram everything on Friday and Saturday when you got Wed and Thursday not maxed out at all?
I am not for shorter turnaround times to add more matches. Its bad enough as it is walking a marathon to take your robot to and from the field.
Anything bad go wrong? then, you got major issues. The worst thing is for a robot to miss a match, especially in this year's type of game. More like game over.......:D

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

I've been thinking about this a lot and what's the possibility of having 8 matches? Maybe some teams are going to have 7 matches Friday and then 1 on Saturday morning while other teams have 6 matches Friday and then have 2 Saturday morning. What are the odds of that happening?

Re: More then 7 matches?
 

Exactly. Teams have put in all the time and expense to get to Atlanta, use all that time wisely.