[FTC]: Ramp Riot FTC Scrimmage Feedback

[Ben Mitchell]

Hi Everyone!

If you or your team went to the Ramp Riot FTC Scrimmage, I am interested in any observations that you might have had on how the event was run.

Any suggestions that I get will be brought up in our meetings for future scrimmages/events in New Jersey.

I'd like to ask teams for some feedback: what went well, what can be improved, and any ideas you might have for future events.

[KathieK]

I was observing off and on throughout the day. One comment that is not aimed specifically at the RR event, but as a general observation - when there is no bleacher seating available, teams and spectators tend to gather around the playing field to watch. This is great if you can get up close, but if there is a spectator who is there checking out the program it would be very difficult for them to see what was going on. If you can't have tiered seating, at the very least rope off areas around the perimeter so that spectators have to keep back a little. It will give judges, referees and others who have a legitimate need to be close a chance to work. I've found in instances where the team is allowed to surround the field a lot of coaching is done by team members/mentors who are not the actual coach. Cheering and being enthusiastic to the drive team is different from actually telling them what to do. (I recall the FRC game (Stack Attack?) from a few years ago where teams received penalties if team members coached from the sidelines).

[Tom Moser]

Thank you for your insight. I regret that I was probably one of those over zealous mentors on the sidelines. I will instruct my other coaches / mentors to curtail our enthusiasm (or better stated stop our sideline coaching) during the competitions. The FTC competitions are so exciting that it is easy to get carried away.

I agree that bleacher like seating would help (although most small scrimmage venues can not accommodate this).

Thanks again.

Tom Moser
Coach
Team Overdrive (FTC #74)