[Bill Baedke]

In the context of Continuous Improvement (or if I were King):
1. Match Screen in the pits at Atlanta: Make team numbers white on the red and blue backgrounds, not black. I was in Curie and we could not read the team numbers due to lack of contrast.

2. Scoreboard at field: Team numbers (in green background) are way too small to read. Make them bigger---plenty of white space available. Same with match numbers. (Hey, some of us are getting older every year)

3. At Pit admin. all competitions: Have a white board for teams to list need for help. Example: 217 needs Alum rod 3/8" X 10" or 217 needs wiring help or robot too heavy. Our team (217) members and most others are always happy to help other teams, but we need a central point to post needs.

4. At Pit Admin: Another board for teams to list tools they have and are willing to share. Our team would list: Lathe, Mill, Arbor Press, Sheet Metal Brake (small) etc. Then when the need arises, one would only have to go to Admin. to see who has taps and dies or pop rivets, or a bandsaw. What is usually shear panic would turn into just a short walk to borrow a tool. We can't all bring everything, but you know it is all there, somewhere.

5. Creativity: Have each team submit things or designs on their robot that they think are unique, maybe at check-in or before. Then the judges would have things to look for and could decide in advance if it has merit. Maybe this year traction control was creative, but how was it done?

6. Mentioned before and I agree that people in the pits want to watch the matches. Even a few TVs placed around would help.

7. Post the rules: If we are trying to get the public to come see the competition, we need to help them when they get there. Have a place at all Regionals and the Championship where a beginner could go to get a copy of the basics of the game (condensed to a small piece of paper). Have this place staffed with volunteer student team members to answer questions. Those students would have a complete set of rules, be knowledgeable, and be FIRST team members so they should be able answer most questions, and more importantly express their enthusiasm.

As someone above said: Engineers always see how to make it better. These are just starters, I know you can improve on them and add more.

Bill Baedke, Team 217, Thunderchickens mentor