Volunteering at an event you have a team at?

[cglrcng]

The Ref portion isn't in me, but have only so far volunteered at events my team was present and competing in a few times in the machine shop. Then last year signed up to just tend the practice field in Las Vegas (often help assemble and disassemble the field also).

Well, we arrived last year (my eldest Son was FTAA so we arrived together), and set up the field Wednesday night. Thursday morning I was helping set up the practice field elements, get the sign up sheets ready, and that lasted a whole 5 minutes...Then I was collared & elevated to Field Supervisor. Given a crew, lucky I knew the game. Most of the crew didn't, but we met, gave them a quick rundown, and we went at it. (I do fairly well supervising people, so it was a good fit).

Being that close to the field gives anyone a new appreciation for the game, the FTA and FTAA, and all the others that make the show go on, and allow it to go live, then you are in it up to your neck.

While you never forget your team, there are not problems w/ the element of conflict of interests...You are flat too busy for any of that stuff (and there are plenty of others around to check any actions that would lean that way). You do your job, and do not ever play favorites either.

The game required all outbound balls to get returned very quickly back to the closest HP of that color alliance, and it doesn't matter what team that was, or whether my team was playing against them or not, they were returned to each alliance as quickly and safely as humanly possible. (Half the time, I didn't really notice my team was even on the field until the match was over...I was just too busy! And the rest of the time my team in the stands were sitting right behind me, so we communicated often).

You pay attention to your job (but you must understand when wearing that FIRST Volunteer shirt, you personally & directly represent FIRST, and you do the best job for FIRST as an organization, that you can in performing that job....Period.

I personally enjoy the volunteer duties tremendously no matter where I am put (in any organization), but I really enjoyed that position the most so far. I was closer to most of the action than the students behind the glass. Though not the Refs or HP's.

And for a near sighted guy...It was perfect. It was a job, I was pretty sore for a week as it was also a real workout, and the nights were a lot shorter than normal, as it was virtually non-stop Wednesday afternoon, until late Saturday night when the truck pulled away w/ the field.

In the future I want to try one when not with the team also. It is fairly hard not cheering outright for the students you directly mentor...LOL. (At least I tried not to personally). So, I just cheer for them all.

[techhelpbb]

I have been an FLL Judge for years with no issue because I have no other involvement in FLL.

I help start Team 11 in 1996 and still mentor programming and now CNC for them.

I have been a CSA/FTAA for several years at the district event we host and nearby on/off season events Team 11 attends.

I do not care who wins the competitions. I have said that many times on ChiefDelphi and I mean it. I have gone all out as CSA to patch up a competitor in quarters, semis and finals even if it means trouble for Team 11.

My job is to be impartial and deliver the service expected of my volunteer function as best as possible. If your team or you can not manage this duplicity without some morale or ethical impass best to think it over before doing it.

So far it has not been an issue for me. Nothing I have done was unusual for/against them. Certain jobs like Judge/Referee I could see the moment being heated if things goes against your team.

One year we had some match replays to consider and there was obvious interest by each team (including Team 11) for that to go one way or the other. I told the FTA, removed myself from the decision and let them figure it out. The match was replayed to the same outcome because often the better designs/better drivers/stronger alliance still had those strengths to pull on regardless of luck.

[IndySam]

My team has been directly affected twice by refs who favored their own team. While this is very rare it is extremely frustrating.

The more common problems are a ref being harder on their own team than other teams and being distracted by watching their own team instead of what they are supposed to be watching. I have seen this many times.

I enjoy reffing but I won't were my team is competing. I prefer to be an inspector when my team is playing.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I cannot get enough robot inspectors without having volunteers that are present with their team at that event. I have a few rules for inspectors. Number one is you may not inspect your own team. I personally extend this to teams I have become very close to (that number is growing each year). In other words I won't inspect 'friends'. I ask inspectors to present their team affiliation to the team their are inspecting prior to starting an inspection. If the team has any concern that they will not receive a fair evaluation, they can ask for another inspector, no questions asked. I also ask that inspectors that can't be objective (due to a previous interaction or team affiliation) ask another inspector to take over that team's inspection.
Teams depend on inspectors, refs and judges to be impartial, and I want that to continue. Additionally, we want your team to succeed. It kills us to deliver bad news and we will try everything to get you on the field for every match.

[Andrew Schreiber]

I have judged numerous events where my team is competing. Conflict of Interest form goes in to Judge Advisor and if 125 is up for an award I'm quiet during that award. This is pretty standard practice. This weekend I'm the Judge Advisor for Northeastern where we are also competing and I don't expect any issues.

The biggest downside to me is not being able to help my team at events.

[ToddF]

Originally Posted by cglrcng

While you never forget your team, there are not problems w/ the element of conflict of interests...You are flat too busy for any of that stuff (and there are plenty of others around to check any actions that would lean that way). You do your job, and do not ever play favorites either.

How I wish this were true. Some teams seem to use their team member volunteers to gain advantage over others. One of the most egregious examples of this I witnessed last year at a regional we traveled to. Our team always gets up extra early to get in line at the door so we get good seats for scouting. At this event, despite being some of the first in the arena, we found the best seats already occupied by another team's stuff. I couldn't figure out how this had happened, but learned later that one of the volunteers from that team had taken advantage of his position as a volunteer to reserve his team the best seats before the arena opened.

At another event, I saw a volunteer trading buttons with an adult pit crew member so the pit crew member could watch his team's matches from right next to the field. After the match was over, they would trade back their buttons and the pit crew member would give their drive team feedback that would not have been possible without that field side access.

Our team records matches and uses the videos to improve drive team performance after every match. Last year I saw some great fieldside video playing in another team's pit. It was way better than ours, recorded from the stands, so I made inquiries. I learned that the "official" event photographer was a volunteer from that team and was supplying his team with field side video of their matches, without doing the same for other teams.

While I'm sure that the vast majority of volunteers are completely ethical, these incidents left me feeling shaken. I've concluded that there exists an "insider culture" where there is some amount of nudge-nudge, wink-wink going on which results in some teams having competitive advantages over others. If you do volunteer at an event where your team is competing, I would ask you not to engage in this type of behavior, and to report it if you observe it happening.

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by ToddF

How I wish this were true. Some teams seem to use their team member volunteers to gain advantage over others. One of the most egregious examples of this I witnessed last year at a regional we traveled to. Our team always gets up extra early to get in line at the door so we get good seats for scouting. At this event, despite being some of the first in the arena, we found the best seats already occupied by another team's stuff. I couldn't figure out how this had happened, but learned later that one of the volunteers from that team had taken advantage of his position as a volunteer to reserve his team the best seats before the arena opened.

At another event, I saw a volunteer trading buttons with an adult pit crew member so the pit crew member could watch his team's matches from right next to the field. After the match was over, they would trade back their buttons and the pit crew member would give their drive team feedback that would not have been possible without that field side access.

Our team records matches and uses the videos to improve drive team performance after every match. Last year I saw some great fieldside video playing in another team's pit. It was way better than ours, recorded from the stands, so I made inquiries. I learned that the "official" event photographer was a volunteer from that team and was supplying his team with field side video of their matches, without doing the same for other teams.

While I'm sure that the vast majority of volunteers are completely ethical, these incidents left me feeling shaken. I've concluded that there exists an "insider culture" where there is some amount of nudge-nudge, wink-wink going on which results in some teams having competitive advantages over others. If you do volunteer at an event where your team is competing, I would ask you not to engage in this type of behavior, and to report it if you observe it happening.

If you see stuff like this, I recommend bringing it to the attention of the Volunteer Coordinator at the event. I can assure that, at least for the events I've volunteered at, there is no "insider culture" like what you describe. We're serious about keeping everything on a level playing field for teams. When something does occasionally happen that we see, we take corrective action immediately. Most of the time, it's nothing intentional, just someone being too excited and not thinking things through. A gentle reminder and a little coaching is usually enough to correct the situation.

[ToddF]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

Most of the time, it's nothing intentional, just someone being too excited and not thinking things through. A gentle reminder and a little coaching is usually enough to correct the situation.

That's good. I'll keep that in mind in the future.

[billbo911]

My roles as a volunteer have been as an RI last year at an event where my team participated, and as an FTAA at two events this year where we participated as well. Of the two, I can tell you it is BY FAR easier to be an RI and remain independent from and impartial toward your team.

When there are multiple RI's, it is very easy to have someone else inspect your team. You can still give your team advice on modifications and repairs, but ALWAYS have another RI sign of on the re-inspection.

As an FTAA, it's not quite that easy. There are not always multiple FTAA's available to have someone else interact with your team. If you are fortunate enough to work with two or more FTAA's, it get's a bit easier. (We actually had all 4 FTAA's at one event from our team, and 3 FTAA's at the other this year. Fortunately the FTA at both events were from different teams, so it made impartiality possible.)

The bottom line is, don't hesitate to volunteer, just know that you may be in situations where you need to walk away. It's not always easy to do, but sometimes it is necessary.

[mklinker]

I volunteered at the Purdue District last week where my team was competing. I served as an official scorer and had a great time. I enjoyed having other mentors take charge and not having the stress of the event upon my shoulders. My position was not one where there was any chance at bias. Either a tote was on the step and I clicked a button or it was not on the step.

I liked doing this so much that I have already volunteered for the Indiana District Championships (my team is a participant) and will volunteer at ALL future district events and let other adult mentors handle the day to day grind of the event.

I am still able to interact with the team in very small bursts to provide a suggestion or positive comment.

This also forces my students to think and act more independently which I see as a major benefit. In every case they will always have more than one adult to lean on as needed and the adults are always monitoring things and stepping in when needed.


......and you get free food......what could be better?

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

In other words I won't inspect 'friends'.

Al, based on that criterion I think there are going to be quite a few robots that you won't inspect.

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by ToddF

Our team always gets up extra early to get in line at the door so we get good seats for scouting. At this event, despite being some of the first in the arena, we found the best seats already occupied by another team's stuff. I couldn't figure out how this had happened, but learned later that one of the volunteers from that team had taken advantage of his position as a volunteer to reserve his team the best seats before the arena opened.

Don't you know there's no saving of seats? Or at least there shouldn't be and this is one of the many reasons why.

Back in college I was tagged as scorekeeper for a couple of years at LSR and once at Champs. My biggest problem was occasionally getting distracted watching my team and thus not being prompt on the field reset stuff.

A bit after that I was drafted for LRI at LSR for a year when our mainstay was unavailable. It's about the same as being an RI at your team's competition, except if your team does something that needs an LRI ruling, obviously. I was a good mentor and made sure we didn't have anything questionable on the bot, but if something came up my plan was to conference with the two most experienced unaffliated RIs on hand when making the call.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by mklinker

......and you get free food......what could be better?

Really GOOD free food (especially at the championships)!

[Brian C]

I've been doing it for many years and found it to be a great way to have team members get a feel for stepping up and being mmore responsible. While it doesn't always work for every student I've found that the majority of them gain quite a bit of confidence when they realize that they are now responsible. Not that I do everything for the team and have the students watch during build season, - I don't.

But I find that many of the team members gain some maturity after the event and they eventually evolve to become team leaders. It's a great opportunity for them to grow as a person. Of course as they say.... Your mileage may vary.

You will most likely find that it will give you a different perspective on FIRST and help you digest the "big picture"

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Brian C

You will most likely find that it will give you a different perspective on FIRST and help you digest the "big picture"

This is the most important thing. I think every person involved with FIRST should volunteer at least once, whether it's at an official event or an off season. It gives you a perspective outside of your own team and gets you to meet other people who have a different world view of FIRST. I also thinks it helps you to better understand FIRST's vision and will give the the confidence to expand your horizons and even make contacts that could serve you in the future.
I wholeheartedly suggest to anyone who has not tried volunteering at an event to do so. You won't regret it.