[FTC]: [FTC] Competition needs...

[n3rdchik]

Rookie here. I have only attended FRC events. I am going to "scout" a local FTC event, but as it is only a week away from our first competition - I am really nervous about the extraneous items one needs for a competition.

Does one need a cart to transport the Bot?
Is "swag" buttons/stickers expected?
Do we need our own transportable table/work surface?

My current list:
safety glasses/1st Aid kit
Batteries/battery chargers
tools/tool box
spare motors/servos
selection of Tetrix parts
laptop with charger. Loaded with Android Studio and everything from github (our site and ftcmasterapp)
sponsor banners
spirit signs

Personal Pack:
Business cards for networking
ear protection and snacks for Mini Mentor
water bottle

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by n3rdchik

Rookie here. I have only attended FRC events. I am going to "scout" a local FTC event, but as it is only a week away from our first competition - I am really nervous about the extraneous items one needs for a competition.

Does one need a cart to transport the Bot?
Is "swag" buttons/stickers expected?
Do we need our own transportable table/work surface?

My current list:
safety glasses/1st Aid kit
Batteries/battery chargers
tools/tool box
spare motors/servos
selection of Tetrix parts
laptop with charger. Loaded with Android Studio and everything from github (our site and ftcmasterapp)
sponsor banners
spirit signs

Personal Pack:
Business cards for networking
ear protection and snacks for Mini Mentor
water bottle

To answer your questions:

A cart for FTC is much like a cart for FRC: not always absolutely mandatory, but lift that robot all day and you'll wish you had one. This can be a dead simple cart you borrow from the school, or even a little red wagon. (Please don't beat up some kid for his or hers.)

Swag is not mandatory, but it's never going to be turned down either.

Check with your event organizers on the table on what the pits will be like. Most provide a table, but knowing the kind of space you'll have may influence whether you want a second table or cart or whatever.

To your list, I'd add a USB battery pack to top off your phones. I like Anker packs and always have one with me on trips. I'd pick one with 2-3 USB ports, so you can charge both the driver and robot phones (and maybe top off your own too). RE06.d also allows you to use a COTS battery pack plugged into the hub to help power the DS phone.

[BSV]

- Engineering notebook
- Robot

(You think I'm joking on those, but when I stepped into this FTC mentor role two years ago, the culture of the place was such that one of the three teams actually forgot to bring their robot to the first competition and I had to drive one of the kids back to pick it up. The same group also forgot the notebook at another competition.)

[hardcopi]

A small toolkit as well.. at least some allen wrenches.