Tips for first time at champs?

[anishde]

Does anyone know where I can find a list of seminars available at champs? I'm dashing in and out on Thursday/Friday for the Dean's List ceremonies, and I'd like to get in whatever i can in that time.

[MC_Stitch]

Congratulations on making it to the Championship! I am one of the Lead Queuers at this years event. As you correctly guessed each "division" or field works like a regional with Qualifications, Quarter Final's, Semi-Finals's and Finals. Then each division's winner moves to the Einstein fields (energy and mass) where the 8 divisions are split into the 2 fields. Those fields narrow down to 1 and eventually we have a season champion.

Things to know about the Championship event and Venue.

There are lots of options for food inside the Convention Center and Edward Jones Dome (collectively called America's Center).

-There will merchandise available for purchase with 2 satellite stores and one main store.

There are many additional options for food within walking distance.

Busch Stadium is not in walking distance of the convention center for most people, however our Light Rail System picks up from America's Center and drops off across the street from the stadium. Noted for the Cardinals Game.

Public Transit is readily accessible in Downtown St. Louis. Fares are $2.00 for Adults and $3.00 with a 2 hour transfer.

There is a good chance that the St. Louis Blues (NHL) will be in playoff contention. If hockey is your thing, there is a light rail stop at the Scottrade Center where they play.

The event will be very busy and crowded. The pits can be very loud. At championship you will never hear a team # called for whatever field if they are missing. If you miss your match it is on your team.

While some fields allow for repair work to occur on the robot in queuing, some, do not. Most fields follow a rule of no work to be completed beyond the center curtain where they field is. This is in an effort to keep matches flowing and fields on time. Many events have been getting behind for numerous reasons this season and it is being stressed to stay on schedule as much as possible.

The pits are in the exhibit halls of the convention center. And as such there will be a dedicated robot path for teams to enter and exit the competition floor in the Dome. IF, a celebrity is in the pits (on the field, etc.), either as a mentor to a team (Grant Imahara, Will.i.am, etc.) or to see the event in action, please do not block the path by queuing up to meet them. This causes backups for teams trying to enter and exit the fields.

***Please note, the celebrities are there to support what FIRST is about and to see you do well. Remember you are there because of the hard work and dedication you put in to the season. Please remember to use gracious professionalism when you meet these folks. They want to see you at work, not fan girl-ing over them. Focus on your task, if you have free time and want to meet them. Try not to interrupt the celebrity when they are with other teams interacting with them in their pit or on the field.

You will have lots of opportunities to network with many many people from the biggest corporations of the STEM fields. Be sure to be the best you can be hygienically. Freshly showered each day, wear deodorant, and clean clothes. Guys - remember AXE Body Spray is not the same as deodorant and can trigger asthmatic attacks for folks.

If you have time between now and the championship, put together an academic resume. You will have an opportunity to speak with colleges in Scholarship Row and having a resume on you will allow you an opportunity to see what else you might need to do to qualify for admittance and scholarships when you are ready to apply. It also helps the recruiters identify which scholarships you may already qualify for.

REMEMBER to have fun. This is a competition and we want you to focus, but do not become over stressed about the outcome of the event. We are all there to celebrate our accomplishments and it is a big deal to just make it to the Championship. Remember that. I can not stress this more. HAVE FUN...

Whew... I wrote a lot and I could write more. I live in St. Louis, so if you PM with any additional questions, I will be happy to answer as best I can.


EDIT: Added after initial post on Reddit.

Metro will have all buses that run downtown stop at the Union Station Metrolink stop. Construction at the Civic Center stop (Scottrade Center) will be occurring.

As someone mentioned; Team check in may take a while. Only one representative will be needed for this process. There will be many people doing their best to make this process as smooth as possible. Please be patient with the folks helping as many of them may be volunteers assisting at the last minute.

[Koko Ed]

Being in charge of Queueing I can explain how it works at champs because it is VERY different from how it works at the regionals.

- First thing first YOU will be responsible for getting yourself to the field. Pit admin will not be calling out individual match numbers. There will be no runners coming to look for you. It's is all going to be in your hands. You have a schedule. You have too learn to read it. Find when your matches are and make an appropriate plan for heading to the field.
SUGGESTION: Leave 30 minutes early!. Earlier than that if can. It's a LONG WALK! Plus the dreaded Can O Worms will be making a comeback and anyone who had to go through it last year can tell you what a nightmare it was and what a nightmare it caused.FIRST insist on doing it. They made their choice. It's etched in stone. We're stuck with it.There's no point in complaining about it. Just head towards your field early.
-Make sure you know which one is your field. There are eight of them. Asking random volunteers if they know where your field is most likely will not be useful. They are assigned to a field that may not be yours and thus they don't know who you are because honestly, they really don't need to know you. Just the 75 teams on their field. Me or Dave could be anywhere putting out fires so make a point to know your field and where it's located so you can get there fast a s possible.
- Do not bring the whole team down with you. Security will cut them off and send them away. All your doing is causing a delay by having them deal with them and holding up the other teams. Just bring the media person and arrange to meet with the team afterwards.
- Do not go to other fields to play. Believe it or not a team actually tried this back in 2011. They wanted to fill and didn't want to wait on Curie so wandered over to Gallieo which had a shorter line and got in and them caused everything to stop cold. If you are not in the FMS it will not work with your number and they have to take the time to find out why. Taking away play time from everyone else. Don't be that team.
- When you get to the field be ready to do business. The Championship is under pressure to keep to the schedule. Making major repairs, revisions (plus you'd have to get reinspected for any major changes to your robot) or downloading a whole lot of code is probably not a good idea. And God forbid your late (aka show up at the match time). I have seen several teams get locked out. This year stood out for how patient the FTAs were with teams at event that bordered on sainthood. Don't test those boundaries here. Be on time and keep the event on time.
-When your match ends it'll be easy to want to just hang around and take in the amazing atmosphere of the event floor. That's understandable but remember if 600 teams choose hang out on the floor then the floor becomes a parking lot. Plus your pits are a good walk away and you may have work to be done so it's best to plan to head back to the pits and get ready to get ready for the next round.

Good luck!

[rich2202]

Originally Posted by anishde

Does anyone know where I can find a list of seminars available at champs? I'm dashing in and out on Thursday/Friday for the Dean's List ceremonies, and I'd like to get in whatever i can in that time.

http://www.firstchampionship.org/welcome#block-block-53

[MisterJ]

Our first time was last year. Line to check in took FOREVER. Be prepared.

Make sure that students get out to see the Innovation Fair, and some of the St. Louis sights. Unless you are going to be falling in the top-15 of your field, having a huge scouting section will probably not be super-useful. Explore.

Family restrooms near the escalators and on the upper level are cleaner and private.

Planet Sub, 4 blocks from convention center, is the best place to eat lunch. Skip the arena food.

[hutchMN]

Originally Posted by Amy33Amy33

Yo, FireBears got wildcarded at 10K! Scouting worked! I ran the twitter account! Dean Kamen signed our flag again! We also won team spirit and safety, ie, the two awards that make alumni think we're lying! The drive team ate waffles for breakfast! We had knights that made Monty Python jokes! We didn't run out of buttons!

It will be our first time there. We're not exactly a rich team, so we've been talking a little about camping a little bit since Missouri is warm, and TBH all the hotels are probably gone by now, but we have some qualms about camping, mostly that we don't want to stink. Any Missouri people know of any good campsites with showers? Is camping for championships a really bad idea in some unforeseeable way?

For getting there, we've asked around a little bit to other Minnesota teams because if possible, it would be great if we could go together as a group, so if you are a Minnesota team that is also going to Missouri, you should talk to our head mentor. If we don't go with another team from our state, we might carpool Duluth-style. We don't really know.

Even if we do go camping, we still have a CRAZY amount of fundraising to do. Does anyone have any good tips for fundraising? Also, does anyone have any good cost-cutting tips, like local places to eat that are cheap? If we do end up camping, we'll probably just buy food at a grocery store and cook it ourselves like we did at Gitchi Gummi so grocery store suggestions are also appreciated.

Also, what should you pack to championships? And what cool things and eats are in Missouri?

Thank you!

2502 always loves to help other MN teams. I’m unsure if 2502 is taking a bus or flying this year, but I can send you our lead mentor’s contact info if you wish. Good luck, and I'm glad you guys are going to Champs.