[Joe G.]

I went to the World Festival in 2005, and imagine a fair amount has changed since then. However....

Major differences that I can remember, as well as some suggestions:

-I know that this is not a change from some regional events, but it was for us: instead of passive observation by the judges, teamwork judging is a scheduled presentation, just like the project and technical.

-If you are traveling long distances to attend, be sure to pack your robot well. There were more than a few broken upon arrival. Gratuitous amounts of bubble wrap worked well for us.

-Don't count on having great access to practice tables, or the ability to set up your own. The pits were much more structured, and cramped, than at regional events, and the large amount of teams kept the tables full at all times.

-Have a backup computer. Crash on the second day....hurt our performance just a bit.

-Get hotel rooms early. Especially for the World Festival, as they are generally already fairly full of FRC teams by the time you qualify.

-Bring handouts. Many teams went with buttons. A few did more creative/elaborate handouts. We wrote a computer game, and handed out CDs of it, although looking back, something that could have been handed out to everyone who wanted one, rather than one per team, would have been better.

-In addition to your research board, have another, explaining your robot, who your team is, etc. Things like this that are rare at state tournaments are commonplace at higher levels.

-Watch robots! The designs are...rather insane, and I don't think my brain has been the same since (in a good way...I think...)

-Bring lots of extra parts, not necissarily just for your robot. You never know when the opportunity to help another team out will come up.

-Keep protection from camera flashes, and in the case of the RCX, IR autofocus, in mind, as the risk increases with a bigger arena.