At So Cal Regional rookies in the pit are mixed between vets. I don't remember if they did that in Phoenix. It worked out great - we were interacting with both sides of rookies.
Our robot didn't need mentor LeRoy's attention so he got a list of the bottom 10 teams and helped them. We're going to continue that as a tradition.
LeRoy helped a rookie team who hadn't won a match win their next match. After that I'd learned they'd won another team's "Worst Luck Award". I took one of their rookie students, their award, and our "best control board" award and thanked the team giving out those awards. Who could have known those awards would be the impetus for our teams to begin to interact.
Then when we were up against the worst luck rookies I ran over to joke with them, "Be gentle".
They won. I thought it was cuz the rookies hit us in the match. I think the rookies were a little unsure if we'd be upset (they asked what happened to our robot that had 'died'). Instead we learned we hadn't inspected our robot for unseen damage between matches and a loose screw caused the problem - a lesson for vets and rookies.
Our programming mentor Mark helped a dozen teams with programming.
A 2nd year team gave us a heads up that the rookies across from us in the pits didn't know they had to be there Thu, were going to be late, and asked that we help them quickly get inspected. 3 teams helped those rookies quickly get their footing.
We learned some "hooks" in the stories of a few rookies, and had our team members learn the rookies stories, and be aware to not only tell judges and press our stories, but give a heads up about the rookies. Once a judge and press was going to check out a rookie team I'd mentioned and I ran to their pit to tell them. No one was there! I searched, found them, quickly told them, "Never leave your pit unattended, always have 2 students to talk to judges and press." We're going to make learning about rookies' stories and helping them be prepared to talk to judges and press a tradition of ours too.
All of these were ways for our team to interact with rookies and make some great memories.