Team Name Tags

[Rick TYler]

One frustrating thing about all competition events is the certain knowledge that I am walking right past people I have chatted with on CD and in email, and don't know who they are. At most trade shows the participants wear "credentials" (which usually just means they've paid) showing their name, company, and city in a plastic cover on a lanyard around their necks. Some of the lanyards have safety quick disconnects so that they come apart if caught in something. I would LOVE to have this become a tradition at FIRST events so that we all know who each other are. At FIRST these might have:

NAME
Primary role (student, mentor, coach, volunteer, FIRST employee, etc.)
Team identification (team name and number, NEMO, FIRST, volunteer, etc.)
City, state and/or province and/or country

Frequently these credentials are a sponsored item, with a company paying for the privilege of distributing lanyards with their marketing message on them (like "GENERAL MOTORS," "US AIR FORCE," "ANDYMARK," or "WPI ROBOTICS"). It's both a fund raiser and a great way for us to know who we are seeing.

Some people keep them as souvenirs, as the event name is usually printed along the top edge. I don't keep all my old trade show credentials myself, as I would have to clean out the robot parts storage locker to hold them all...

Thoughts?

[Zyik]

On 973 everyone has a personalized button that has their name and job in addition to the team logo. People from CD have identified me through seeing my button. A more advanced version of this would be interesting to see at regionals/championships. A name tag/lanyard deal would be easier to find then a button, especially on people who have hundreds on.

[EricH]

At events, I always wear a CD name tag. Black and orange bars frame my profile section, including avatar and WAI. That way, I'm easy to find. I also keep it above any mass of buttons I might be wearing.

[Alan Anderson]

Since I keep neglecting to make room in my brain for face/name connections, I really appreciate it when people are labeled for my convenience. (I also prefer it when people use their real names on the Chief Delphi forum instead of a pseudonym...unless they go by that pseudonym in real life as well.)

At the Championship this year, I wore the nametag I received at Westwind. It hung from a colorful lanyard the TechnoKats used last year. I used the lanyard to hold special lapel pins. One side had our Regional Chairman's Award pin from BMR'06 and our President's Circle pin; when our team was presented with a GP pin in the pit, the students handed it to me to add to the collection. The other side had a "Speed Limit 45 (fps)" team pin and my FRC volunteer pin. When I received a SolidEdge blinking race car pin at the webhug, I gave it a spot just above the speed limit pin.

[Madison]

I had a lanyard and name tag on Thursday and a few people recognized me from here as a result. I didn't have any reason to wear it on Friday or Saturday, so I didn't -- but about as many folks recognized me on those days, as well.

I'm really shy and I sort of imagine that most people don't like me very much, so I keep to myself most of the time. Name tags scare me.

[JaneYoung]

Name tags have been a way of life with me for so long, both as a volunteer and on the job, that I don't think too much about them.

What I have noticed is that some people are adamantly opposed to name tags. Not mildly indifferent but opposed. Seriously. Because I can often be one of the people responsible for ordering or creating name tags, I have run into this situation several times over the years. It can get ugly.

I am just very happy that I have never been responsible for the spelling of Karthik's last name on a name tag. Seriously.

[Kevin Sevcik]

You kind of have to be very careful about this. Putting out personal information about high school students is a VERY tricky thing. For instance, one of our mentors this year had a fun idea of creating collectible trading cards of students on our team for distribution at LSR. The cards were printed up and looked spectacular, save for one important item. They were printed up with the student's full name, birthday (MM-DD), grade level, picture, and a few silly facts. The last item isn't a problem, but the first four together are entirely too much information to be handing out on a convenient calling card about a minor. We figured the cards wouldn't fly, but we ran it by our principal to make certain and he more or less looked at us like we were crazy.

So while I like the idea of name tags, and the proposed info would probably be okay, I really think they should be a completely voluntary and self-inflicted kind of thing.

What would be a good/great idea would be for some enterprising team to set up a small, relatively professional printing/laminating service to print up and sell custom lanyards to anyone who wanted them. I think you'd probably need some sort of permission from FIRST if you're selling something with a FRC logo on it, but I don't think it'd be hard to get as long as it's small scale and proceeds are going to the team.

[Taylor]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

I'm really shy and I sort of imagine that most people don't like me very much, so I keep to myself most of the time.

says the lady with nearly 4,000 posts

[Cynette]

Like Alan, I'm not good at retaining the names to go with all of the faces I see, so I also love name tags. Our team shirts actually have a spot on the back for a name, but most of the kids have written something silly in the space.

On Thursday in Atlanta, I used the name tag I had gotten at the OKC Regional and stuck a very large "CYNETTE" over the "Volunteer" on the tag. I don't think it had much impact other than a multitude of people coming up to ask me questions thinking I was a current volunteer (and usually, I was less than helpful). I decided not to wear it on Friday and Saturday and then those that knew me kept asking, where is your name tag? So I guessed it was noticed.

I think I'll still promote it for our team. I've alwayd been fond of the Boy Scout style pin / nametag.

And Madison, I would have loved to meet you. You were actually one I was disappointed that I hadn't connected with in Atlanta. (Someone else I know got to meet you, and I was slightly jealous when they told me! )

[Madison]

Originally Posted by boiler

says the lady with nearly 4,000 posts

...in 7 years!!

[GaryVoshol]

Nametags on a lanyard could be dangerous in certain situations, such as working on the robot.

[Mark McLeod]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

I'm really shy and I sort of imagine that most people don't like me very much, so I keep to myself most of the time. Name tags scare me.

We like you!
I specifically went to look for you in your pit, but didn't catch up to you until we passed on the field. Atlanta is hard that way. We're mostly walking back and forth all day, just check Kathie's pedometer.

Sometimes, people have to jump in front of me, like Jenny did in the airport (repeatedly), before I see who's right before my eyes. I unfortunately block out most of the world sometimes when I'm very focused, as when I'm counting students coming (or not coming) through the security gate at the airport, or when there's ice cream in the offing...

I sure don't recognize everyone from their WAI and name tags would help. It's a little unnerving when you chat with someone you casually meet, then they address you by name as you part. You get to spend the rest of the day worrying about out who that nice person was...
Once a young man probably around 20, struck the back of my car on the highway. He was very apologetic and no damage was done. When we got back in our cars he finished with "Goodbye Mr. McLeod." I have no clue who that was...

Originally Posted by Cynette

I've always been fond of the Boy Scout style pin / nametag.

I have a lot of those, but the fleur-de-lis needs to be replaced by a FIRST logo, and I still have to squint to read them sometimes.

How about if we all wear silly hats instead? No wait .....we already do that don't we?

[rl1806]

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol
Nametags on a lanyard could be dangerous in certain situations, such as working on the robot.

Team 1806 uses a name badge that clips on to a shirt collar so we don’t have anything hanging that can get caught on things.

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol

Nametags on a lanyard could be dangerous in certain situations, such as working on the robot.

This is why I went to a certain amount of trouble in my initial post to mention that some lanyards are designed for technical events and incorporate a quick disconnect to prevent the wearer from getting sucked into machinery. For example: