Championship 2007 - Atlanta - What Needs To Be Improved

[Luckyfish05]

I think we were missing some of the magic this year at the Championships. Yes there were lots of good things, but we were missing much of those things that people have already talked about in this thread thus far. But I'm going to state them again plus add some observations.

1. The Closing Ceromonies-
We're was the specialness of the Chairmans? No confetti? No balloons? Wow, this is suppose to be the most special award and half of the teams left before they even showed Wildstangs movie (which was pretty awesome by the way). It's last because it's the most important, people should treat it as such!

2.In the stands-
It seemed quieter, at least on our field (Newton), this year than past years. IMHO, I don't think teams we're yelling as much. Our team was part of the problem, so I'm not trying to say anything about the teams on our field don't get me wrong here. But, I think that's some of the magic, hearing the team get up and cheer. The few times we did try to cheer there were people back behind us that were yelling for us to sit down. Guys, yelling for your team on your feet is good. Getting excited is good. The music was rediculously quiet, but the announcing and MCing were good. That has me confused. There were times I couldn't even tell the music was on.

3. Random thoughts:
Why weren't the lights on in the consession areas for Saturday??? It seems really weird that they didn't have them on. Then for Closing ceremonies when the upper decks are openned up. The guards on the ends, I understand what they were there for, but where they ended the seating wasn't the smartest. It left our team with only one entrance to the aisle, and to get out you had to walk over every other team in that aisle, when there was another entrance out. Caution tape needs to be used to cut an aisle in half when they don't want people past a certain point, but getting yelled at because someone needs to use the restroom and is trying to be considerate by not climbing infront/over of 20 other people doesn't make much sense.

Just remember these are just my negative thoughts. As usual there are so many more positive thoughts than negatives! I can't wait for next year, and I know that much of the rest of the team is the same way. They want to start tomorrow!

[DeAnnaC]

Our family attended the Nationals though our team didn't, so we moved from field to field to check out matches during all 3 days.

I think the rule that is used during hockey games (maybe in other sports) should be followed - no standing/walking to a seat while a game is in play. We were trying to watch matches and would have a handful of people stand up after their team played and just stand - I don't know if there should be an announcement about that or ? but it was very frustrating for us to try and keep up with the action on the field.

We did find it funny that the speaker from Coca Cola encouraged us to visit The World of Coke, as it's currently closed and will not be opened until late May.

[CJV648]

Originally Posted by Luckyfish05

3. Random thoughts:
Why weren't the lights on in the consession areas for Saturday??? It seems really weird that they didn't have them on. Then for Closing ceremonies when the upper decks are openned up. The guards on the ends, I understand what they were there for, but where they ended the seating wasn't the smartest. It left our team with only one entrance to the aisle, and to get out you had to walk over every other team in that aisle, when there was another entrance out. Caution tape needs to be used to cut an aisle in half when they don't want people past a certain point, but getting yelled at because someone needs to use the restroom and is trying to be considerate by not climbing infront/over of 20 other people doesn't make much sense.

You should _never_ cross caution tape without checking with a person in charge what the hazard is. They were right to yell at you and it would not have been inappropriate to eject you from the event.

That said, I thought the Georgia Dome used caution tape excessively and inappropriately. Caution tape should only be used to signify presence of a hazard and not to, for instance, reserve seats or keep people out of an area you don't want to clean. A different sign/tape should be used. The people who cross my caution tape at my hazardous waste cleanups are risking their lives (and sometimes mine); the Georgia Dome staff seems to be training them to do this.

Also the Georgia Dome staff needs training about how the event is organized. I wanted to volunteer at the event and received correct instructions from staff about how to get to volunteer registration, but that entrance was closed unless you had a badge, but the staff member there gave me correct directions to another entrance that was closed unless you had a badge, but the staff member there gave me correct directions to another entrance that was closed unless you had a badge, but the staff member there gave me correct directions to another entrance that was closed unless you had a badge, but the staff member there gave me correct directions to another entrance that was closed .

Finally I met a bunch of guys from the NASA machine shop who were having the same problem, and eventually we ended up entering a closed entrance, but since I was frustrated and the event didn't seem desparate I didn't volunteer.

Also I think they could put the jumbo trons at the ends of the stadium to good use by displaying, for example, the rankings and match schedule.

I enjoyed seeing all the great teams and robots at the event, but I think the regionals I have attended were about as much fun because the individual teams got more playing time.

Rich Vogel (using his wife's account)

[Kit Gerhart]

Originally Posted by CJV648

I enjoyed seeing all the great teams and robots at the event, but I think the regionals I have attended were about as much fun because the individual teams got more playing time.

Rich Vogel (using his wife's account)

From the standpoint of fun, FIRST's best days are behind us. The overall experience will never be as much fun at a football arena as it was at EPCOT. Also, in some ways, it will not be as much fun as before alliances because, if your team is doing well, you spend until about midnight Friday compiling a list of potential alliance picks rather than having fun doing things such as attending a baseball game in Atlanta.

BTW, I'm not complaining about the Championship no longer being held at EPCOT. The event has become too large for the temporary facilities we had there. Also, while the event may not be as much fun as it was at EPCOT, it may be better for the intended purpose of FIRST, and the football arenas are definitely better for watching matches than the temporary facilities at EPCOT.