[IndySam]

Like Al said at every regional we attend there is at least one team that we have to spend all day with Thursday just to get them a robot they can compete with. In one case last year a team didn't even have a mentor to sign off for the team, one of our mentors did it for them. Expand that by several other veteran teams doing the same thing at the same regional and you can see how big a problem it can be.

Many teams (through no fault of there own) just don't have the experience mentor resources needed to get a robot built and ready. Many will not have a pre-ship event to go too.

I like the idea of an early Thursday rookie meeting. Also a quick morning trip through the pits by the inspectors can help identify teams in need of help from veteran teams.

I know that we always watch the inspection board and make an effort to seek out teams that need help. We also always plan to have a crew in the pits until closing time, even if our robot needs no work.

For a fun exercise we try and identify what will be the thing that teams forget and need help with every year. The two previous years we brought extra flag holders, last year we brought extra materials to make bumpers.