[Pretzel]

Originally Posted by C.Lesco

Okay so I've created numerous posts asking small things but still feel like my team is unprepared for worlds, so I ask you the big question. What do we do at worlds? Tips, workings, how it plays out? Cool things that happen, etc etc. Any and all tips would be awesome.

Tips:

• Send one person in to collect all of the badges before driving the team to the venue from your hotel (assuming your hotel is within 30 minutes or so of the event). Only drive the team over once the person has badges in hand, or is near the front of the line, because it can be hectic waiting around for that with a full team

• Make sure that anyone who will be moving from the pits to the field (drive team members) or pits to stands (scouting team people relaying information) on a regular basis is wearing good shoes. For my team in Galileo last year it was at least half a mile to walk the robot to the field and another 1/2 mile plus to get it back again. You also will just do a bunch of walking around the venue in general, so wear running/hiking/tennis shoes that are comfortable and meant for lots of walking. It would've been terrible to do all that walking in Converse or some other type of shoe that doesn't have great support.

• Make sure to tour the pits, even if you are someone who doesn't usually do that. It's a lot of fun to go around and see the different teams, especially the "famous" ones such as 1114, 254, 148, 118, etc. I know the mentors and students of team 148 last year were especially happy to talk with me at length (we had a conversation of over an hour) about the different aspects of their design that made it so effective. I learned they actually installed a fan that blows pool noodles out of the way of the moving part of their robot so that they don't become obstructions, which is a cool tidbit I would've never known otherwise. I also learned they were just generally cool people, and I got to see 1114 assembling the harpoons (I freaked out when I first realized what they were going to turn out to be on Friday when I saw them being assembled), as well as a bunch of other fun stuff you miss out on in the stands.

• If it is being held again this year, I would recommend any interested students purchase tickets for and attend Roboprom. It's a fantastic event hosted by Team 399 (another group of fun people, I had the opportunity of competing with them in Utah in 2014) that was unanimously fun for everyone on my team who attended. My only concern was the floor of the room the event was hosted in, which appeared to be oscillating with an amplitude of up to an inch at times. It just goes to show how into it everyone at the event was though, and I had a great time and would definitely recommend it if it happens again.

• Have fun! Don't make the mistake of getting too caught up in the competition. I know that I put a huge load of extra pressure on myself when we got to championships as a driver and it led to me feeling very stressed on Thursday. On Friday I lightened up and made fewer silly mistakes as a result, leading to me feeling like there was less pressure and creating a positive feedback loop that let me really enjoy myself for the rest of the event. Get to know the other teams, collect pins, dance, and enjoy all that the event has to offer. Championships truly is not about the competition, but about the experience.