Need information about the World Festival

[Eagle 1]

Our team qualified for the FLL U.S. Open. We're assuming it will be run a lot like the World Festival and hoping that some of you who went to the World Festival when you were doing FLL can tell us what it is like.

Obviously, the competition will be tougher, but are there differences in the way they do Project, Teamwork and Technical judging? Anything you wish someone had told you before you went the first time?

Any tidbits would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by Eagle 1

Our team qualified for the FLL U.S. Open. We're assuming it will be run a lot like the World Festival and hoping that some of you who went to the World Festival when you were doing FLL can tell us what it is like.

Obviously, the competition will be tougher, but are there differences in the way they do Project, Teamwork and Technical judging? Anything you wish someone had told you before you went the first time?

Any tidbits would be appreciated. Thanks.

Take a look at this site put together by the W.A.F.F.L.E.S., who are the most impressive FLL team I've ever come across. Not exactly what you're looking for, but there are some good tips for the World Festival that will probably apply for your event.

http://teamwaffles.com/coachs-corner...festival-tips/

[Joe G.]

I went to the World Festival in 2005, and imagine a fair amount has changed since then. However....

Major differences that I can remember, as well as some suggestions:

-I know that this is not a change from some regional events, but it was for us: instead of passive observation by the judges, teamwork judging is a scheduled presentation, just like the project and technical.

-If you are traveling long distances to attend, be sure to pack your robot well. There were more than a few broken upon arrival. Gratuitous amounts of bubble wrap worked well for us.

-Don't count on having great access to practice tables, or the ability to set up your own. The pits were much more structured, and cramped, than at regional events, and the large amount of teams kept the tables full at all times.

-Have a backup computer. Crash on the second day....hurt our performance just a bit.

-Get hotel rooms early. Especially for the World Festival, as they are generally already fairly full of FRC teams by the time you qualify.

-Bring handouts. Many teams went with buttons. A few did more creative/elaborate handouts. We wrote a computer game, and handed out CDs of it, although looking back, something that could have been handed out to everyone who wanted one, rather than one per team, would have been better.

-In addition to your research board, have another, explaining your robot, who your team is, etc. Things like this that are rare at state tournaments are commonplace at higher levels.

-Watch robots! The designs are...rather insane, and I don't think my brain has been the same since (in a good way...I think...)

-Bring lots of extra parts, not necissarily just for your robot. You never know when the opportunity to help another team out will come up.

-Keep protection from camera flashes, and in the case of the RCX, IR autofocus, in mind, as the risk increases with a bigger arena.

[GaryVoshol]

Congratulations on your success.

A couple years ago I wrote a white paper about the World Festival: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/1925

Last year on the FLL site there was a great deal of information on the World Festival. I don't know if there is some way to find that through archives or not.

I assume this is the Ohio event? I worked with a ref at World Festival who is the head ref in Ohio. If he is indicative of the others involved with it, you will have a good time.

Has there been a list of awards posted from the Flint Championship?

One thing that World Fest did differently than Flint was that the judging is done sequentially. You go directly from presentation to teamwork to technical (or whatever order they decide). So you need to be able to carry all your props and equipment with you. Depending on the venue, the interviews could be right next to each other, so you will have to be able to project your voices to be heard over the background noise. It's different than presenting in a classroom at a school.

[Eagle 1]

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol

Last year on the FLL site there was a great deal of information on the World Festival. I don't know if there is some way to find that through archives or not.

I remember seeing that. Unfortunately, I haven't found a way to access anything prior to this year.

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol

Has there been a list of awards posted from the Flint Championship?

I don't think it has been posted, but the tournament director sent out an email with it yesterday. I can forward it to you if you like.

[KathieK]

I'm volunteering for FLL for the first time this week at the World Festival, helping register teams, and I'm so excited! Can't wait to see all the teams on Wednesday!

[ttedrow]

The best way to find information on the Ohio Open is to contact the event organizers. They will be glad to share information with you.