[Laura 1547]

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?

YES! I know for a fact that when 1547 went to the Finger Lakes Regional they had a social event and it was SO much fun. Socials are a way for teams to interact in a non-competition-environment sort of way. You can talk about anything and do anything while at competitions you have to stay on topic and focus on the robot. Socials are a great idea.

2) Should the team social be held at the same venue as the actual matches or not?

No because it would get too complicated with all the field equipment and such. In a place near the competition venue is ideal.

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?

I would say ending more around 10 because some people get out of the pits pretty late and wouldn't have enough time to socialize and such. On the contrary, competition is very tiring and teams might leave early in order to make sure everyone gets enough rest.

4) What sort of food would you expect at a team social (free, paid-for, styles, etc?)

I would say something like pizza ordered in from Pizza Hut or 2-for-1 (is that in the US?). Teams could potentially pay for 2 slices per person or 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.

At Finger Lakes they had many different activities happening at the same time and it was perfect because you and your friends could go off and do whatever activity they wanted to. This was 2 years ago and I think there were things like a band, a comedian, and karaoke. 2 years ago at GTR, teams went to Playdium which is like a big arcade. It was a small venue so crammed because of so many people but it was still fun.