101 Things I Wish I'd Known Before My First FIRST Tournament

[dqmot17]

No idea if anyone has said this but:

No matter how geeky you are, or how not geeky you are - one FIRST competition and your hooked.

[[TBT] Vampire]

Originally Posted by dqmot17

No idea if anyone has said this but:

No matter how geeky you are, or how not geeky you are - one FIRST competition and your hooked.

I completely agree, this entire organization is an amazing feat and idea. Dean Kamen is a genius

[waialua359]

Pretend its a 5 week build season, submit awards on Feb. 17th (for 2010) the day before they are due, read the updates in addition to the manual, read Chief Delphi daily, and practice extended periods of no sleep.

[Captain banana]

Always have a back up code. Corruption is always bad, even on computers.

[JamesCH95]

Bring everything, even the kitchen sink, because if you don't bring it, you will definitely need it!

[kaszeta]

Originally Posted by JamesCH95

Bring everything, even the kitchen sink, because if you don't bring it, you will definitely need it!

During my first several years mentoring Team 95, I made soooo many trips to the Home Depot for various tools, parts, and stuff, and that's with us bringing everything and the kitchen sink.

I actually got quite popular with some of the other teams in the pit with my "Going to Home Depot, anyone need anything?" offers.

[kws4000]

Make sure someone is counting the number of rules posted.

???. Make sure your mechanical guys know what it means to switch around the air and motor PWMs and air hoses without labeling them, and their potential implications.
???. Make sure your robot is enabled before you compete AND the bridge eternet is plugged into #1 port on the cRIO.

[Wildcat]

???. when staying at a hotel that serves hot breakfast, make sure you wake up early enough to get some
???+1. pack emergency food (such as poptarts) in case you miss the hot breakfast

[Ryan_Davis]

Do not forget to connect to the arena's ip. This happened at our Ruckus... it was not fun.

[davidfv]

Not being prepared for the Alliance Selection
Especially with the way the seeding is done this year, there are good chances that rookie teams could be ranked pretty high after the qualification matches. It is hard to watch a high seed not knowing which team to select. Be proud that you managed to be ranked high and start thinking about alliance selection right away on Thursday. Even if you only have one person scouting, it is better than none. You could be ranked 12th and be brought into the top 8. Be prepared.

Not asking for help
There should be little reason that we do not have all robots running at the matches... NO ROBOT LEFT BEHIND. If you take a look at how the pits are arranged, you will notice that the low number (veteran) teams are mixed in between the high number (rookie) teams. Most regionals do this expecting the coopertition between the teams. If your robot is not working, just ask for help. Use the pit boss and their microphone to ask for help, you will be amazed how many other teams will be at your side in seconds.

Fixing everything before inspection
If your robot is a 60%-70% ready for matches, and all the hardware is there do the inspection as early as you can. The inspectors may find a major item that needs to be repaired or changed prior to competing. It is much better to find it out early than later.

[kjolana1124]

Pay more attention to the times not spent building the robot. In the end it's those times that will mean the most.

[DarkFlame145]

-Safety first never last have a future not a past............ oh yeah and injury forums suck (comes from the guys with a scare in the shape of Idaho for not wearing a jacket while welding)

-Act like an idiot, everyone else is at competition

-No idea is stupid

-No matter what happens during the season, have fun and learn at least one new thing (one year i learned pneumatic started with ph )

-If no one else take up leadership on something, take it, you might be good at it.