Uncrating Wed. night - unload pit stuff?

[Brandon Holley]

From my past experience:

You ARE allowed to bring in your tools/toolboxes etc.
You ARE allowed to "arrange" your pit (not unpack your tools and what not, just get your table in its place, put your toolboxes where they are going to go)
You ARE allowed to take the robot out of the box.
You ARE allowed to charge your batteries.
You ARE NOT allowed to work on the robot by any means.
You ARE NOT allowed to setup any kind of pit display.

It is a courtesy to allow teams to come in thursday morning and get cracking right away. They are expecting teams to do the GP thing and uncrate their robot and comeback the next morning ready to work.

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by Brandon Holley

It is a courtesy to allow teams to come in thursday morning and get cracking right away. They are expecting teams to do the GP thing and uncrate their robot and comeback the next morning ready to work.

Actually, it is to get as many of the crates out of the way as possible. Moving the crates always a huge problem before they started letting in the "advance teams". It would be very difficult to even get to your pit first thing in the morning due to the crowds and then the moving people had to fight their way through the mess with these large objects on pallet jacks. They could barely move without running somebody over. This was especially true in the "Disney Days". I like this method much better.

[TKM.368]

After a bit of searching last night, I was finally able to find the Championship Essential Information for 2007. Note the Load In/Load Out and the Registration and Uncrating sections.

It also has a lot of other useful information for teams that have not been to the Championships before. I'm sure the 2008 version will be available in just a few days.

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by ChrisH

Actually, it is to get as many of the crates out of the way as possible. Moving the crates always a huge problem before they started letting in the "advance teams". It would be very difficult to even get to your pit first thing in the morning due to the crowds and then the moving people had to fight their way through the mess with these large objects on pallet jacks. They could barely move without running somebody over. This was especially true in the "Disney Days". I like this method much better.

Believe me, I was around in those days too, and i know what you are saying

My point was that it is a privilege to be in there on wednesday night so teams should just uncrate, get neat, and get out...not try and bend the rules to do some random task.

[artdutra04]

Last year while in Atlanta, I volunteered on most of Wednesday working in the pits, distributing tee shirts and the posters, as well as acting as one of the "bouncers" making sure teams only brought in three members to uncrate, and they all had safety glasses.

So coming from a volunteer, here's several things that will make everyone's lives easier:

• You need a wristband to enter the pits on Wednesday. These are available at the registration tables in the lobby of the GWCC.
• Please keep everything - all totes, carts, etc. - on the plastic when rolling it through the GWCC lobby. This does not come from FIRST, but from GWCC staff who are very protective of the carpeting.
• Please have your safety glasses on and ready to go.
• When you leave the pits, you need to have your wristband cut off; to keep everything moving quick please don't but them on tight.
• And last, but certainly not least, please do not work on your robot or try to sneak more team members in through other entrances. I lost a LOT of respect for a very well known/successful FRC team last year when I found they had snuck nearly twenty team members (mentors and students) into the pits and were beginning to work on their robot on Wednesday.

If everyone can abide by these simple rules, everything will go much quicker and smoother on Wednesday evening, and we will all be able to get on with getting dinner/sleeping/strategizing/exploring Atlanta/playing Rock Band/trying to get one more Webhug ticket/having a good time.

[Chris Fultz]

i was told you could only carry in what you need to open your crate,
then unack the crate, plug in batteries, and leave.

i have posted the question in the FIRST Q+A so we can get a final answer.

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by Chris Fultz

i was told you could only carry in what you need to open your crate,
then unack the crate, plug in batteries, and leave.

i have posted the question in the FIRST Q+A so we can get a final answer.

Like I said from MY PAST EXPERIENCE, you could bring in all of your stuff

I do not know if it will change this year or not, but it seems to me like that would not be advantageous because it clears a lot of "traffic" out of the way that shows up on thursday morning.

[midway78224]

last year when we uncrate wed. night u get to unload as much as possible to put in ur pits. u are allowed 3 members like if it was in a regional on the first day of competition. u are allowed to uncrate ur robot and set up ur batteries to let them charge overnight if u so choose. thats wat i remeber last yr. when i went to uncrate at the championship.

[petek]

Originally Posted by Brandon Holley

Like I said from MY PAST EXPERIENCE, you could bring in all of your stuff

I do not know if it will change this year or not, but it seems to me like that would not be advantageous because it clears a lot of "traffic" out of the way that shows up on thursday morning.

Except that the purpose of Wed night uncrating is to get the crates out so that there's room for all that stuff. Last year teams were limited to what the three people could bring in one trip.

[Jon236]

While we haven't yet seen the guidance from FIRST about pit access on Wednesday for this year, it is clear that the intent of Wed evening access is to get the robots out of the crates, in order to allow unfettered team access on Thursday.

I would therefore plan on uncrating your robots, plugging in your battery chargers, and going to the FIRST Robotics Conference, which will be starting Wednesday evening at 5:00 pm.

Looking forward to seeing all of you there!

[Ben Piecuch]

I'm not sure when FIRST posted this, but the 2008 Essential Information document is now online.

The Wednesday Night Load In rules are VERY different from last year. You are NOT allowed to bring in carts, wagons, trolleys, tools, etc... Please read this document prior to showing up with your entire tool set.

Having volunteered during Load In, I can tell you that many teams have tried to take advantage of what one would consider "hand carried." While I'm not a huge fan of these new load in rules, we'll be armed with just a battery tote and a cordless drill to open the crate. See you all in ATL.

Bengineer

[Don Wright]

Darn it. Oh well...

[Pat Fairbank]

Originally Posted by Ben Piecuch

The Wednesday Night Load In rules are VERY different from last year. You are NOT allowed to bring in carts, wagons, trolleys, tools, etc... Please read this document prior to showing up with your entire tool set.

I can't really envision a safe way of bringing in a team's collection of batteries and chargers for the purposes of plugging them in without using a cart - do you suppose an exception will be made for "battery carts"?

[cziggy343]

Originally Posted by Pat Fairbank

I can't really envision a safe way of bringing in a team's collection of batteries and chargers for the purposes of plugging them in without using a cart - do you suppose an exception will be made for "battery carts"?

idk... but our battery charger is connected to our pit... i guess we have something to do tuesday night

[Anne Shade]

By the way,

This is NOT the same Essential Event Information document that was posted late last night. The original document did not mention anything about carts not being allowed. I happened to have a printed version of the document I read last night sitting in front of me. The version now on the FIRST website is different. I have not compared the entire document yet. I hope everyone reads the new version.

I just wish we didn't have to have the same discussions every year about all this. FIRST has tried for several years now to not allow teams to bring in things during early unloading but have always been convinced to change their minds after teams voiced their safety and logistical concerns. Do we always have to re-learn the same lesson the hard way each year???