101 Things I Wish I'd Known Before My First FIRST Tournament

[Rick TYler]

I want to write the document referenced in the title of this thread. I don't think I have 101 of my own ideas, so I'll start and let any interested parts of the hivemind chime in.

1. Be aggressive in your onsite marketing. If no one knows who you are, you'd better have a robot so much better than everyone else's that it just doesn't matter.

2. Specialize. Despite what Robert Heinlein said about insects, you can't run a team where everyone is responsible for everything.

3. Check the robot before every match. Use checklists. If it's good enough for NASA, it's good enough for FIRST.

4. Wear comfortable shoes.

5. Bring lots of water. No one wants to pay $4 for 16 ounces of water.

6. If you want to do well at the tournament, pick your drivers ahead of time. The qualification rounds are no time to test new drivers.

7. Adults should keep their hands in their pockets when work needs to be done.

8. Get out of your pits and meet other teams. Otherwise, you might as well watch a Webcast.

9. Wear distinctive shirts.

10. Get more sleep.

11. Be enthusiastic. Yell, cheer, chant, dance. Act foolish.

12. Make sure your robot has the correct code loaded.

That should be a good start. Only 89 to go.