[Tottanka]

Greetings Teams:

FRC staff and volunteers are reviewing potential improvements to the practice day schedule. We would like to increase the throughput of teams practicing. Some teams find that working on their robot is more valuable than practicing. That leads to empty spots on the field and incomplete practice matches.

Please review the three options described below and detailed in the pdf file attached to the thread on the FIRST Forum. Review them with your team and vote for your preferred format. In order to vote, you must log in using your 2007 Q & A forum account and vote only once per team. Once your team has voted, you cannot change your vote. The forum will close on November 12, 2007 at 12:59pm EST.

Option 1: Status Quo
For details of how practice matches have been run in the past, please refer to Section 9.2.1 in the 2007 FRC Game Manual (FRC Game Manual website)
Option 2: Open Practice Followed by Option 3
There is no practice schedule for the first third of the day (open practice matches)
Teams line up and practice on a "first come first serve" basis
Teams may not occupy more than one spot in line or on the field
Open practice matches are one match only (less than five minutes total)
Open practice matches are for the first 1/3 of the day, Option 3 for the remaining 2/3 of the day
Option 3: Status Quo with Filler Line
Empty slots are filled, as needed, by teams who are ready to practice
Practice schedules are generated as before, w/ 10 minute practice match length
Filler line is limited to ~6 robots (dependent on venue space), additional teams must keep an eye on the line and line up when the last spot opens up
In order to wait in the filler line, you must have your robot and may not work on it while in line.
Hint: think about the singles line at the ski lift.
Thank you for your time and your input.

Go Teams!