2015 Lessons Learned: The Positive

[JesseK]

- I liked the relaxed restrictions on size, regardless of the shenanigans it almost allowed on Einstein.

- I like Cheesecake, and the responsiveness to the loud voices of the community to keep it an active part of FRC. Perhaps restrict it somewhat in the future, but don't eliminate it!

- I really liked the whole concept of assembling in under 1 minute on the field in order to breach outside the starting frame perimeter. It made for a much easier design in some cases and allowed us to focus on the tougher aspects.

- In general everyone at FIRST HQ seemed to be more willing to show their humor, like 'Chute Door'.

- A Champs format with Quals ending on Friday was easily the best thing about the new Champs schedule. Planning logistics, lunch, etc for Saturday was much easier. I'm sure alliance captains appreciated it too.

- Districts are coming, next Winter (to MD/DC/VA).

- Frank's responsiveness and openness on his blog really helped add context to some of the announcements from this season

- 600+ teams at champs - I like it!

- I liked the small practice spaces at Champs, and would like to see more of them with 20 minute time limits rather that 15 minutes. Those little areas made all of the difference for us capability-wise, and it really looked like there was plenty of floor space to add many more. It would be nice to see more small practice spaces at the Regional/District levels, but I know those are limited by the venues.

[Nyxyxylyth]

Originally Posted by JesseK

I liked the small practice spaces at Champs, and would like to see more of them with 20 minute time limits rather that 15 minutes. Those little areas made all of the difference for us capability-wise, and it really looked like there was plenty of floor space to add many more. It would be nice to see more small practice spaces at the Regional/District levels, but I know those are limited by the venues.

Agreed: 20 minutes would be just right, but 15 was not quite enough.

To make it even better: get each practice space a big clock and a reset button. When you start on the field, the next team in line makes sure you hit the button to reset the clock. When it hits 20 minutes, the next team in line clears their throats until you get off the field. All the volunteers need to do is keep the queues full.

Practice spaces in each division would be better still.

[stuart2054]

The lack of defense allowed more creative thinking. I don't want to see it every year but it allowed thoughts you would not have considered in past games.

I know for us we would not have used mechanum wheels if there had been defense and we would have missed out a lot of knowledge and fun getting to know them. The rather flimsy arms we had for picking up the 2nd and 3rd bin in auto would not have survived a game with defense.

I thought the added traffic from 600 teams was handled well by opening up more entryways into the pits and generally more thought to traffic flow thru the building.