[archiver]

Posted by Andy Baker.

Engineer on team #45, TechnoKats, from Kokomo High School and Delphi Automotive Systems.

Posted on 8/20/2000 10:27 PM MST


In Reply to: Forum posted by Michael Martus on 8/19/2000 12:59 PM MST:



For those of you who couldn't make it out to the Forum, here are my minutes. I'll post two messages...

Before I get to the meat of the Forum, I'll just say that Ericka and KC's coordination of the last-minute softball game at Dean's house was very nice. Although the FIRSTers didn't show very well against the DEKA crew, we still had a great time. Thanks to all (Dean, KC, Ericka and DEKA) for this fun game!

OK, here are my minutes. Keep in mind that most of these points were simply suggestions from team representatives, not FIRST.... so NOTHING here is official (unless otherwise noted).

KIT (suggestions):
1. Many applauded the freedoms given last year. Many suggestions were given for more freedoms in bearings, simple electronics, and connections.
2. Many suggestions were made about shipping the kit early, or letting rookies have the kit or material list early (but not for the 'new' stuff in the kit). This would fix some kit shipping problems also.
3. Innovation FIRST eluded that they are working on new fusing and circuit breaker options... but no details divulged.

GAME (suggestions):
1. More obstacles wanted
2. Good one-side setup of field
3. A substitute system was discussed for a no-show team.
4. Contact (physical play) was discussed: the most intriguing suggestion (I thought) was the addition of a 'no-contact' zone (like a crease), but away from the goal. Some teams wanted less contact, some wanted more.
5. Game diversity... again, both sides were discussed, with positives posed for each side. Is predictability good?... we dunno.

TOURNAMENT (suggestions):
1. More time needed between end of Q matches and alliance picking.
2. More matches and less practice time... issues discussed.
3. Allowance of pre-pit setup (4 person crew) at Nationals (Wed).
4. Groups were discussed for Nationals. People seemed to be in a majority on this one... seems like a no-brainer. The only suggestion we didn't get in was the Wed. night lottery picking that M.Ciavaglia suggested (I didn't see the suggestion until after the Forum was over). *** Bob Hammond (FIRST Comp. Director) even said that the judges are asking for groups to make their job easier. I'll bet a $1 that we'll have this in 2001.

RULE BOOK:
1. Suggestion about getting it on CD-ROM, to allieviate web downloads.
2. A suggestion was made to add a change list (from previous year) or highlight the changes.

Like I said, these were mostly suggestions and speculations... DO NOT take my writing as offical.

Andy B.