2011 Lesson Learned: The Negative

[rocpe]

For us, FIRST Championship was an extremely positive experience. We had a blast and look forward to returning in the future. But as long as you asked:
1. The Curie Bleacher situation was wholly inadequate during the qualification rounds and worse for eliminations. Significantly more seating is necessary.
2. There needs to be a path (separate entrance?) to the fields that doesn't require safety glasses. The lines for safety glasses and pit entry could have been reduced and streamlined.
3.Garbage cans would have been nice. What was that sticky stuff on the floor in the dome?
4.Sound system needs improvement and should be checked/tested periodically. Announcements were made over each other and were generally inaudible. Seating in the dome requires use of the sides. It would have been nice to have the speakers from the side fields on during Einstein and the awards so all could hear. If it weren't for Bill's tweets, we wouldn't have had any idea what was going on.
5.Speeches were way too long particularly before the Finals and Awards.
6. A match should NEVER start if Field Connectivity has not been established and teams indicate that they are not ready. We and our playing partners work too hard to get to this point to have a field issue leave us for dead. And unfortunately, it was not an isolated instance.
7.Five minutes spent with each team is under 30 hours in total. Everybody here deserves some time in the sun with FIRST brass. I know it's tough, but it's necessary.
8.How about some readable maps and a schedule being available early to allow for some team planning to enhance the overall experience. Not knowing where things are and when they run is a problem.