Suggestions?

[Molten]

I could use a condensed source of information. I already have the manuals and know to study that. My question is what do you wish someone would have told you before your regional.(rule decifering/misunderstanding/general confusion) Any posts will be helpful to many teams who have yet to compete yet.

[Zoheb N]

2 other great sources out there are the Team updates and the FIRST Q&A

[MrForbes]

If you have studied the rules, and understand them, you will be ok. Reading CD is a great plus, as the vague and non-obvious rules are discussed here.

One thing that some young teams don't consider, is that they could be picking an alliance, and need to be prepared with complete knowledge of which teams could help them, and have that info in the team captains hand at the end of qualifying matches Friday morning. There is a lot of work that could into scouting the other teams....do your homework, be prepared!

[David Brinza]

What is the state of your robot? If you shipped a completed robot, get your inspection done (or at least started) as early as possible on Thursday. That will give you plenty of time to practice, meet other teams and discuss strategies with teams that have already played.

If, like many teams I inspected in Los Angeles last week, you have some work to finish the robot, get your robot sized and weighed very early (even if you have some of the parts in a box). It's better to realize early on Thursday that your robot has a size/weight issue, than to spend the day perfecting your robot only to find out at the end of the day your robot doesn't fix in the box and you've got pounds to lose!

[Stvn]

If you really don't understand a rule, ask a ref. Also, make sure to strategize with your alliance partner.