Kickoff Feedback

[hg273]

Hey guys, I was wondering if there were things that we could suggest to FIRST for streamlining the kickoff event. For me, I know that I could've used the game about an hour earlier. While it's understandable to get Dean, Woodie and Dave to speak, I didn't understand the point of the FIRST Alumni speech, RIGHT BEFORE everyone is ready to get the game. When we came back to our lab, one of our alums remarked that he had woken up at 8:30 (PST) to check the challenge, and was shocked to find that it was still going on. Is it just me or was kickoff much longer this year? Also, I wish that very sad news about the bus crash had been broadcast. It would seem appropriate, and a great way to reach all of FRC.
While I understand that going to a kickoff is a way of connecting with other teams from the region, I think almost everyone at my kickoff felt that it went on way too long (even the rookie team sitting next to me!)
Despite this, I'm still grateful to FIRST for all the opportunities they've given me, and to the GDC for creating an awesome game!

So yeh, that's my $.02, anyone else?

[Chris is me]

I think the way the Kickoff's structured forces kids to pay attention to FIRST's message and what the speakers are saying, and that is a very good thing.

While the "couch chat" was interesting to watch, it was a huge time drain and I didn't learn anything from it, so I have no idea why it was in there.

[Karibou]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I think the way the Kickoff's structured forces kids to pay attention to FIRST's message and what the speakers are saying, and that is a very good thing.

While the "couch chat" was interesting to watch, it was a huge time drain and I didn't learn anything from it, so I have no idea why it was in there.

I was falling asleep during the couch chat, in all honesty. Great for rookie teams, not so much for the vets who have heard the same basic things from their own alumni, or here on CD in the case of the newer veteran teams.

I did like the GDC preview thing, though. What an unconventional and unexpected way to introduce the game before the curtain was kicked down. I had to bite my hand to keep myself from screaming at an obnoxiously loud level, out of sheer excitement.

Originally Posted by hg273

Also, I wish that very sad news about the bus crash had been broadcast. It would seem appropriate, and a great way to reach all of FRC.

I believe that I heard that, by the time that those running the event had heard about it, it was too late to announce it. I am very glad that they sent out the email, though.

[bduddy]

I was rather disappointed that, given to the increased number of speeches, a lot of the game-explanation stuff (the sample game, the "quiz show", whatever) seemed to have been cut out, probably to fit within the NASA TV window. Now I know that many of those people have important things to say, but over an hour and a half?

(Note: I can't speak about all of the speeches-I went to a time-delayed kickoff that fast-forwarded through a lot of the speeches to fit within their own time window. Nevertheless, surely something could have gone...)

[Tetraman]

I think every speaker spoke a good amount of time. I Agree that the "Mentor chat" was a gimmick, but it lasted a reasonable amount of time, so it didn't bother me.

If you don't like the speaches, join the webcast 20 minutes before the end. It makes more sense.

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by hg273

Also, I wish that very sad news about the bus crash had been broadcast. It would seem appropriate, and a great way to reach all of FRC.

There were just to many details that were just speculation at the time. It would have been bad for them to make an announcement about something and not have the facts perfect.

[dtengineering]

The GDC video was great. I'm glad to see the GDC has as much fun designing games as we do playing them. Okay... maybe they don't have quite as much fun, but they must have had some fun meetings!

And I don't mind the "talking heads" who've put their time into FIRST getting a chance to say so. It's great that the governors of New Hampshire, Hawaii and Texas are excited about this (maybe they could call our premier), and I am pleased that President Obama knows about and supports FIRST. Perhaps you could have him mention that to Prime Minister Harper sometime.

But the "couch chat", just when I was expecting the game? Well, diplomatically speaking... it might have been better to have that as a seperate video released after the kickoff.

Jason

[Homsar66]

On the west coast you might have wanted it an hour earlier, but I sure would have liked an extra hour of sleep on a Saturday morning Its hard to make everyone happy with a perfect time.

[Lil' Lavery]

Funny, the "couch chat" was my favorite part. To each their own.

[Koko Ed]

Obviously the "Couch Chat" was a big deal to my team beign that our lead mentor was in it but I wished they would have scheduled it earlier. I was really wanting to see the game by then and I felt they were delaying for some reason.
FIRST has this issue with speeches. When people complain about doing to many of them they add more. Maybe we should ask for more and they'll do less.

[George Nishimura]

I agree, I thought the Couch chat was unnecessary, as it had been preceeded by an hour and a half of speeches. Some of our new members were starting to get restless.

I do have a question though. For Dean and Woodie's speeches, they also seem to slightly condemn other parts of society. This year it was sports, last year it was bankers. And I felt that both speeches were longer than they had to be.

And the Obama cut-off was hilarious.

[Tom Line]

Originally Posted by Gnishi2011

I agree, I thought the Couch chat was unnecessary, as it had been preceeded by an hour and a half of speeches. Some of our new members were starting to get restless.

I do have a question though. For Dean and Woodie's speeches, they also seem to slightly condemn other parts of society. This year it was sports, last year it was bankers. And I felt that both speeches were longer than they had to be.

And the Obama cut-off was hilarious.

They have always condemned the negative aspects of sports competition and "financial engineering". Dean has made comments about it for the last 3-4 years about how moving money around to try to make more of it doesn't help society in the slightest. Likewise, he's always pointed out all the issues with sports and how they are presented (just like reality TV). Anything for a the almighty viewer rating and dollar. Guns in the locker room, pretending to bribe officials on the field with cash, carrying a sharpie and pretending to autograph something after a touchdown..... showboating and NO gracious professionalism.

[Salbert]

I got sick of the politicians speaking. Not to be callous, but I don't really care about New Hampshire's women's ice hockey team...

The only time I wanna see a governor talk is if they plan on doing what Michigan did with FRC.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by Salbert

The only time I wanna see a governor talk is if they plan on doing what Michigan did with FRC.

What did Michigan's governor do for FRC except pledge $2M funding for all teams, which was cut to $150K for some rookie teams, and then cut again to zero?

[Kate00]

Originally Posted by Tom Line

They have always condemned the negative aspects of sports competition and "financial engineering". Dean has made comments about it for the last 3-4 years about how moving money around to try to make more of it doesn't help society in the slightest. Likewise, he's always pointed out all the issues with sports and how they are presented (just like reality TV). Anything for a the almighty viewer rating and dollar. Guns in the locker room, pretending to bribe officials on the field with cash, carrying a sharpie and pretending to autograph something after a touchdown..... showboating and NO gracious professionalism.

IMHO, FIRST/Dean should be trying to elevate society by elevating themselves, not by bringing other aspects down. Professional sports are a positive force in society - they encourage children to get active. Things such as robotics encourage kids to exercise their minds, sports encourage them to exercise their bodies. Both are extremely important. We have a dearth of both healthy minds and healthy bodies in our society right now, and I shudder to think of kids in FIRST refusing to play sports/get active because of these comments Dean makes, because all they want to do is build robots. Balance is key in all aspects of life, not just designing a robot.