What do you use scouting for?

[MRL180YTL2002]

Originally posted by Pin Man
Scouting makes the competition so much easier

It also makes strategizing easier as you know what EXACTLY (well almost) you're up against. Again believe it or not, it helps in the pits. Why? Less to fix...i.e. you know if you can't move them and they have a brake...don't burn out your motors trying to move them, etc...

[J Flex 188]

scouting is amazingly tedious at times.. (Come on.. who can actually sit for at least 3-4 hours at a time,even with great 'bots on the field) but also amazingly useful.. at west michigan we had 2 seperate teams of people on different sides of the field, watching each match, ranking each robot, coming up with our own top 24 list and then ranking them again with drive team input and discussion between the groups.. quite effective i should think = )

[Pin Man]

One of the main reasons why people pick us is because we have the best palm scouting... We have won some awards for it...

[odin892]

Most all the students on our team scout if they are in the stands. Usually we only have scouting left over from the practice matches because when the information would be useful it is still in the stands with whoever evaluated the teams.

[MissDaisyGirl]

Scouting I know is not really seen as being that important to a lot of new arrivals on my team but the veterans know how pertinent it is. If my coach asks me what a team does and I don't know, I feel as if I have let my team down b/c of how important it is. Every round I tell my coach what to expect from a team and any interesting plays they have had thruout the day. Sometimes the people in the booth may never use the information but when they do it was all worth it. It may not seem like sitting in the stands with a laptop is very hard but it is a very stressful job as my successor on my team has found out. Scouting was especially useful this yr b/c we were in picking position in Galileo. The following is a picture of our database, we use Filemaker Pro.

[Jared Russell]

Scouting got us teams 175 and 236, neither of whom was seeded particularly high, but with whom we won our division.

Thanks scouting crew

[Aignam]

Scouting for Team 25 is used to help pick alliance partners, to strategize against opponents, to find strengths in our qualifying round partners, and sometimes even to help other teams. We used printed sheets with spaces for crucial information for the pit scouting, and sheets that assist the scout in recording the match for round scouting. We dedicate most of the team's manpower to pit scouting during practice rounds, and anywhere from four to six scouts to round scouting during qualifying rounds. And even then I handed out tiny memo pads at nationals for anybody else to record anything noteable. Yes, we here on team 25 are always busy. If anyone wants a copy of the sheets used by 25 for either pit or round scouting, PM me and request a copy, I'd be more than glad to get it to you.

[Sophey Chan]

Well, I was the scout for our team this year, and I can tell you this much, scouting is good to see what your alliance partner does most of the time for our team. We decide whether or not to put delays in our auto, who should run what auto, and so on. It also helps you with stragedy, knowing who does what with their bot, whether or not people could go under the bar this year, and so on. It also let you knwo what you where up against. I know some of the time I was helping other teams plan stragedies based on the things I had calculated, and I was liek a "Human Database" asmy friends called me. Most of the teams whom I knew people on, helped me talk stragedy over with our alliances a lot, like poor ol 662 and my firends here, and also HeatWave, I could do their scouting or them, and talk over stragedy with their scouters and such. I dunno, I find it a useful waste of time, but it is hard to do with only 3 people on your team, lol.

[CAD-Demigod45]

The most frustrating thing about scouting is that the scouts spend so much time doing it, and see very little of the results. On my team, a few key adults look over the heap of info and only god knows what gets used.

[Sophey Chan]

Originally posted by CAD-Demigod45
The most frustrating thing about scouting is that the scouts spend so much time doing it, and see very little of the results. On my team, a few key adults look over the heap of info and only god knows what gets used.

lol, no kidding, I was talkig to your team and 74 near the end and it was like the drive team said "I dunno who we are picking that is the scouter job" That was a lttle odd, to not see your alliance partners play and then pick them, ya know?

[Chris Nowak]

Originally posted by Sophey Chan
lol, no kidding, I was talkig to your team and 74 near the end and it was like the drive team said "I dunno who we are picking that is the scouter job" That was a lttle odd, to not see your alliance partners play and then pick them, ya know?

sorry about that. Its not true in the slightest. The human player on our team, David, who is known as TEAM_74 on these boards, was in a massive hurry at that point. Saying that our scouting team decided who we picked was a lie, actually we worked closely with them and it was more of our decision. In the end David is the guy responsible for the choice. I think he was kind of in a hurry at that point and he was sick of all the people coming around asking us to pick them.

[Sophey Chan]

I know, I was saying in general, liek if you went and talked to the scouting team durning reg comp, most scouter were liek talk to the drive team, and the drive team during pairings were liek talk to te scouters type of deal. I know I talked to erg, I don't mean to be mean, but the short guy on your team, and he had no clue what you all's alliane partners did, and I think he was in pit, not too sure, but he said the scouters picked. Yep, your HP was really nice, and did question all the people wanted to be picked by you (I was there silly), and I knwo you all talked to the other teams like Delphi (45) wouldn't denounced your offer and such, I know I know, I was there, I talked some stragedy over with ya all's team, and even cheered for you all in the finals, and talked to one of your coaches, liek when Buzzed got DQed for intentinal tpping, lol, I knew more bout your team than you prob know, lol.

[Chris Nowak]

Originally posted by Sophey Chan
I know, I was saying in general, liek if you went and talked to the scouting team durning reg comp, most scouter were liek talk to the drive team, and the drive team during pairings were liek talk to te scouters type of deal. I know I talked to erg, I don't mean to be mean, but the short guy on your team, and he had no clue what you all's alliane partners did, and I think he was in pit, not too sure, but he said the scouters picked. Yep, your HP was really nice, and did question all the people wanted to be picked by you (I was there silly), and I knwo you all talked to the other teams like Delphi (45) wouldn't denounced your offer and such, I know I know, I was there, I talked some stragedy over with ya all's team, and even cheered for you all in the finals, and talked to one of your coaches, liek when Buzzed got DQed for intentinal tpping, lol, I knew more bout your team than you prob know, lol.

wow...I didnt realize you hung out with us so much. Yeah, you shouldnt pay attention to the short one. Hes the operator but he doesnt ever get involved in scouting.

[Sophey Chan]

Originally posted by Chris Nowak
wow...I didnt realize you hung out with us so much. Yeah, you shouldnt pay attention to the short one. Hes the operator but he doesnt ever get involved in scouting.

lol, yea, I knwo a o about the teams I did hang out with, Hence me being the "Huan Database" according to a ot of my friend, I felt sorry for Heatwave when I knew someone who went agianst them, could give the whole layout of their bot and the weak points and such, lol, but I didn't, that wouldn't of been cool, but I could inform of the auto and such, lots of fun. You all, I jsut know what happened and stuff, not details of the bot, liek I did with 312 and such. Go me, I REMEMBER what I socut, lol.

[Halon]

Originally posted by Sophey Chan
I know some of the time I was helping other teams plan stragedies based on the things I had calculated, and I was liek a "Human Database" asmy friends called me. Most of the teams whom I knew people on, helped me talk stragedy over with our alliances a lot, like poor ol 662

Yeah, your scouting binder helped us out a lot. I think we actually did have some scouters on the team, but I never saw any filled-out scouting sheets and they all stayed in the Stadium where the drivers never went except for when we had matches.
Thanks again for helping us out with scouting!