Utilizing breaks between matches.

[EricH]

I agree that there's a bit of a break between matches. But... there's ALWAYS activity.

For those that aren't aware, each event has a cycle time. That is the time it takes to run a match, ideally. A general target is in the 6-8 minute timeframe, unless it's a small event or a particularly rough field setup, when 10 minutes is more common, or a particularly fast field setup, when 5 minutes could be achieved (maybe).

For a 7-minute cycle time:
2:15 (or thereabouts) to run the match
0:15 to double-check scores and if there are issues that need discussion
Green Field (cue reset for the next match)
4:00 to reset the field and begin team introductions (the most variable part--this is also the "hey, why isn't my robot connecting" part--but this is where the "extra" time comes from in a longer schedule)
0:30 to finish team introductions, check for green field status (ready to play), and count 3-2-1-GO!

Oh, yeah, and about 30 seconds of that 4-minute block of time is score announcing, and exactly when it happens is variable based on any discussions that need to happen.

So, for all practical purposes, you're talking about filling 3 minutes of that cycle time with something else. While that isn't a bad idea, there are two primary restrictions on what you can do. The first is that being on the field itself is going to be a really bad idea (it's already crowded with 12 teams, 8-10 field reset, and a couple of refs). The second is that there's all that motion going on, with communications--that's a distraction, and all that. (And there's the time factor.)


There's a few options here, but I'd suspect that having some 1-minute analysis soundbites would be a cool idea. Maybe not video, but basically you get 2-3 people at the event who have some idea of what they're doing and have them do some commentary on stats, strategies, teams, stuff like that, with a 1-minute time limit. Some of it could be pre-done (even before the event, or on practice day) for the first set of matches, and then done over about an hour at a time for recording sessions.

The big kicker is the elims, with the mandatory 6-minute field timeout for teams in back-to-back matches. That's when you maybe slide some awards or Chairman's videos in.