Question for Regional Team Organization

[Daniel Krastev]

Hi,

I was wondering if there are any restrictions on the amount of people a team is allowed to bring on Friday at Javitz Center in the NYC regional. We are planning to only bring about 10 people to help out with unloading the robot, and setting up the pit area. Are there any suggestions/ restrictions on the number of people allowed the first day?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Daniel Krastev

Hi,

I was wondering if there are any restrictions on the amount of people a team is allowed to bring on Friday at Javitz Center in the NYC regional. We are planning to only bring about 10 people to help out with unloading the robot, and setting up the pit area. Are there any suggestions/ restrictions on the number of people allowed the first day?

Early entry is 3 people max for the early uncrating (Section 3.7). After the pits open, there are no limits.

So if you're bringing 10 people for the early uncrate, 7 of them sit outside for however long it is until the pits open fully.

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by Daniel Krastev

Hi,

I was wondering if there are any restrictions on the amount of people a team is allowed to bring on Friday at Javitz Center in the NYC regional. We are planning to only bring about 10 people to help out with unloading the robot, and setting up the pit area. Are there any suggestions/ restrictions on the number of people allowed the first day?

No restrictions on team member numbers at venues, but be aware of rules about maximum team members allowed on the playing field as part of your drive team/coaching team during game play of course. (And what Eric said above about early uncrating procedures as well)

The more team members at the competitions, the merrier.
Thursday is quite a crazy day with inspections, so bring as many as you need.

The good thing about the Javits Center in this regard, is that there is plenty of room to stretch out if you do bring a large team.

See you in NYC & good luck!

[Daniel Krastev]

Thank you very much for the answers! I just have a couple more questions that I need clarification on, since we are a rookie high school team.

1) During the 6th, people will question us on the robot. Any restrictions on the amount of students allowed to present the design?

2) Is that same day the day that we get interviewed for the Rookie All Star award?

-Thanks

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by Daniel Krastev

Thank you very much for the answers! I just have a couple more questions that I need clarification on, since we are a rookie high school team.
1) During the 6th, people will question us on the robot. Any restrictions on the amount of students allowed to present the design?
2) Is that same day the day that we get interviewed for the Rookie All Star award?

-Thanks

Judges wearing blue polo shirts & carrying clipboards (not to be confused with Referees on the field with the Zebra striped shirts ) will be conducting formal interviews anytime over the weekend (Friday & Saturday traditionally) to ask your team all kinds of questions about your robot & your team itself - They cruise the pit area & will talk to you about anything they see fit. Greet them warmly when they come by , don't ignore these folks!!

There is no limit of people who can talk to a Judge (or a group of Judges since they seem to travel in pairs), but they like it when only students talk to them about the robot or whatever they are asking.
(An overeager Adult Coach or Adult Mentor answering all the questions could potentially ruin your team's chance of winning an award - or so I've noticed.)
A good practice is to have some presentation materials ready for Judges to look at such as a tri-fold brochure or some flyers, but also make sure the students know what the robot does & that they can answer all kinds of questions - technical & non-technical alike.
We have gotten asked questions from anything about the business format of our team to technical questions involving an item from the kit we made use of on our robot, to questions about our custom crate/workbench.

Remember there are many awards the Judges are looking to judge, so the presentation to them is really a public relations excercise for your students.

For the best results (aka: to be considered for an award) it's best to have the students who know the most about the robot or the team's workings talking to the Judges and/or someone who can talk their way through even a difficult question. - This tends to be a learning process for most students who are doing this for the first time, so encourage the students to just open up as much as they can to the Judges & share some team stories from build season if they find themselves struggling with technical questions the Judges may pose.

As far as Rookie All-Star Awards, I'm not sure if that is a formal interview process (like The Chairman's Award), or just judged by the same folks who come to your pits to ask questions.

Also of note, you will have some folks in green polo shirts talking to your team while in the pits as well.
These are Safety Advisors & they will be asking your team what your safety practices are on the team.
Refer to the manual for more info on this, but just think of them as more than "Safety Glasses Police" & more a helpful reminder to always be safe while at a competition.
The Safety Advisors also have a few awards to hand out as well, so keep that in mind.
You could potentially walk away with a few awards at your rookie event if you play nice with the Judges & Safety Advisors.

Good luck!

[Molten]

One thing I didn't see mentioned above is that sometimes the judges ask trick questions. I had a judge ask, "so how did you modify your motors?", I looked at him and told him we didn't. He responded with, "good, your not allowed to...I was testing you." Still not really sure what we would have done to the motors, but I would be on my toes if I were you.

[Cynette]

Originally Posted by Elgin Clock

Judges wearing blue polo shirts & carrying clipboards (not to be confused with Referees on the field with the Zebra striped shirts ) will be conducting formal interviews anytime over the weekend (Friday & Saturday traditionally) to ask your team all kinds of questions about your robot & your team itself - They cruise the pit area & will talk to you about anything they see fit. Greet them warmly when they come by , don't ignore these folks!!

Since the judges can come at anytime it is important to make sure there is someone in your pit (preferrably a student) at all times. Judges have a lot of teams to interview and visit, so it is not always possible for them to come back if the team is not available when they are going through.

Originally Posted by Elgin Clock

These are Safety Advisors & they will be asking your team what your safety practices are on the team.
Refer to the manual for more info on this, but just think of them as more than "Safety Glasses Police" & more a helpful reminder to always be safe while at a competition.

Safety Advisors have a very important role built into their names, they are advisors. If you have any questions about the safest way to do something during the competition, please feel free to ask them. They are great resources and can often help you find another team who can give you the best safety tips!

Originally Posted by Molten

One thing I didn't see mentioned above is that sometimes the judges ask trick questions. I had a judge ask, "so how did you modify your motors?", I looked at him and told him we didn't. He responded with, "good, your not allowed to...I was testing you." Still not really sure what we would have done to the motors, but I would be on my toes if I were you.

I am very surprised to hear this story. On the whole, most judges are not out to trick you. Their role is to bring out the best. So as others have said, relax and be yourselves. It is your story that they want to hear.

[Rick Wagner]

Originally Posted by Molten

... Still not really sure what we would have done to the motors, but I would be on my toes if I were you.

You could very easily double the power a motor will put out by rewinding it with thicker wire for the armature windings. That's one reason why there's a rule against it: rewound (for lower voltage) motors run hot and can start to smoke.

[RyanCahoon]

Originally Posted by Daniel Krastev

people will question us on the robot. Any restrictions on the amount of students allowed to present the design?

Like was stated above, the Judges like to see enthusiasm, so the more people they see enthused, the better. Just make sure they can make sense of everything if you have many people talking to them at the same time!

Note, however, that FIRST has added a restriction that they only want 1-2 people talking to the Inspectors (they also question you about your robot, but to make sure it's legal, not to gather information for awards). As I think Elgin mentioned, they come around on Thursday, while the Judges are usually Friday-Saturday.

Good luck with your first regional!
--Ryan

[Daniel Krastev]

Thanks for all the responses guys! I guess this raps up the thread.

-Good Luck at Regionals!

[RoboMom]

Lots of words of wisdom from veteran teams, including judging hints, posted here:
http://www.firstnemo.org/resources.htm

[Rich Wong]

Originally Posted by Daniel Krastev

Hi,

I was wondering if there are any restrictions on the amount of people a team is allowed to bring on Friday at Javitz Center in the NYC regional. We are planning to only bring about 10 people to help out with unloading the robot, and setting up the pit area. Are there any suggestions/ restrictions on the number of people allowed the first day?

Congrats for surviving your first building season.
All the advises posted are from realLY experienced and great people; especially from Elgin Clock!

Since you are a rookie, you will be right in front of the PIT Admin (pit# 34) with a lot of helpful veteran teams around you to lend a hand. (Team 237 is only one row over!)

BTW- please post any NYC Regional question under the NYC Regional thread.
See you at the Javits! (ON FRIDAY MORNING NOT THURSDAY)

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by Rich Wong

Congrats for surviving your first building season.
All the advises posted are from really experienced and great people; especially from Elgin Clock!

Since you are a rookie, you will be right in front of the PIT Admin (pit# 34) with a lot of helpful veteran teams around you to lend a hand. (Team 237 is only one row over!)

Aww, thanks Rich! Now I feel all warm & fuzzy with your kind words. w00t! lol

Anyways, as Rich said apparently my team 237 will be only 1 row away in the pits, so feel free to come over & visit us!
See you on Friday!