[JaneYoung]

Mentors are needed in the pits and on the field.
I had the privilege of being on the ref crew under the leadership of our head ref, Andy Baker, at the inaugural OKC Regional. Our emcee was Wayne Penn. Emcees are entertaining yes, but they work very hard to help keep the competition running smoothly and on time. They also use a lot of common sense in helping to support the efforts of the rest of the volunteers and in working with the teams.

Andy coached his ref crew, advising us to mentor the teams during this competition. Let them know when they did something right. Let them know where they could improve. If there were penalties, he would make sure everyone understood why. If they had questions, he made the time to answer them. The majority of the competitors were rookie teams and we all worked together to support the efforts of these teams, as did the veteran teams that competed at the regional. Mentors came in from all over the nation to volunteer in the pits as well as everywhere else, helping the teams understand the regional, the competition, and to achieve their goal - to play the game to the best of their ability.

At every regional, every competition, including the Championship event, there are rookie team members and rookie teams who need the added support and resourcefulness of the mentors. (There are veteran teams, like mine, who need that support as well.)

OKC was an amazing event because of everyone working together to make it one.