1) Should a regional host a social event for the teams on Friday evening or not? Is it good for the teams, do teams want to have a social, etc?
I'd say so. It was a chance to relax, connect with folks who you might not be able to connect with in the heat of competition, and generally a chance to decompress before the final push for the big time.
2) Should the team social be held at the same venue as the actual matches or not?
Eh, whatever works best. The Palmetto Regional's social has always been held at Swearingen Engineering Center, which is about seven blocks (less if you cut through the parking lots) from the Colonial Center. Every year, there's always a nice swarm of folks that make the walk, usually led by the few folks who actually know where they're going. (As a USC student, I was near the head of this year's swarm.) But make sure there's an easy means of knowing how to get there, either as a swarm or by a shuttle or signs. I've been down twice, and I
still can't find where the Florida Regional's social is held without getting lost two or three times.
3) One thought is to host a social on Friday evening directly after the pits shut down and then end no later than 9pm.....like it or not?
Yeah, that's about the sweet spot. Palmetto's goes from after awards to eight or so, at which point the crowd just thins out.
4) What sort of food would you expect at a team social (free, paid-for, styles, etc?)Free is usually preferable over paid, but I'll take good-and-a-few-bucks over free-and-awful. One thing that I'm hearing rumblings of for next year's Palmetto social is integrating a little regional flavor in the regional by holding a pig pickin', complete with the prerequisite fixins of slaw, baked beans, and sweet tea. (On a side note, there is no other form of barbecue besides mustard-based and no other form of tea but sweet tea. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.)
5) What sort of entertainment would you like to see at a team social? Examples might be "human-player" games, arcade-style games, karaoke, dancing, LAN-party games, true "Disney-style" entertainment.
Whatever it is, keep it lightweight; we're all dead! Past socials at Palmetto included Krispy Kremes (found in the building across the street from Swearingen, to make sure folks saw the ME and CE departments as well), a scavenger hunt to show off the various departments, a movie in the big lecture hall, a DJ (but
Unfortunately, Dancing is not allowed), and last year's included an FVC demo where folks could drive some FVC robots on the full Half-Pipe Hustle field, with the driver that got the most balls in one minute scored getting a T-shirt. (Of course, if you had 4's robot, your opponents had their work cut out for them.)
Hope this helps!