What to Expect at Nationals

[Sean Marks]

I know its early to be talking about it. But as a rookie team going to Nationals, i wanted to see what to expect.
Is it like Regionals?
Is it Completely different?
Any shared experiences will be greatly appreciated. Stories are fun to hear too.

P.S. I know how it runs with 4 divisions eventually ending in 1 Final. My question is more on what to expect.

Thanks in Advance,
Sean

[Alex Cormier]

Well i will start with the basics, the award gets you a spot in ATL, not a paid entrance.

It is like 4 huge regionals under 1 roof. The matches will be a little more aggressive as this is the last place for most teams to compete. It is always a great time and you will never forget it as a amazing rookie year. i remember our rookie year, we won Buckeye and went onto the champs, didn't do that well but it was a blast and i will never forget it.

Get a hotel near the dome and all in a walking distance, the social is a great time if your team can afford it as well. I reccomend using the MARTA system to and from the airport, saves money for everyone.

Strategy meetings on friday is very important even if your team is in the 20th spot! Just in case be prepared for everything.

im probably forgeting some things, but that's the good thing about the CD community, there is always someone thinking right and adds thier input.

[Steve W]

What are Nationals? I've heard of Regionals and Championships.

[KathieK]

Originally Posted by Steve W

What are Nationals? I've heard of Regionals and Championships.

Ah, yes, Steve is reminding us all that the FRC event in Atlanta is known as the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship ("nationals" is an incorrect term in that FIRST is a multinational organization).

In addition to the FRC event, held concurrently are the FIRST Vex Challenge World Championship, the FIRST LEGO League World Festival, the FIRST Robotics Conference (which I highly recommend rookie teams attend) and several other small unofficial events (including the Chief Delphi Web Hug, the NEMO Annual Meeting, a meeting for rookie teams is usually organized and the Robot Chicks Union also meets - I am sure there are others that I'm not aware of). Altogether over 500 robots will be competing on 6 fields. If you have some time while there, be sure to visit the FLL and FVC pits and competitions on Thursday and Friday... FRC is not the only game in town in Atlanta!

If you look through the threads in the Championship Event forum on CD you will find LOTS of information to help your team prepare for Atlanta.

[RoboMom]

It is a good 10 minute walk from the pits to the playing fields. There will be a lot of time waiting in line. There will only be 4 people allowed to make that walk. You need to have a plan for working on your robot, while standing in line.

It is an even longer walk from the pits to the stands, depending on the escalators and the number of people. You may have team members who end up never going to the Dome, but stay in the pit.

The scale of everything there is so much bigger, and teams need to plan a bit.

[Jack Jones]

Originally Posted by Steve W

What are Nationals? I've heard of Regionals and Championships.

Steve - I agree that with the growing number of international teams, people should stop calling the Championship the Nationals.

After all, isn't one of last year's Champions from Canada?

On the other hand, six teams from less than 30 miles from where I now sit have become Champions over the last five years. So, maybe we should start calling it the MoTown Invitational?

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by Sean Marks

I know its early to be talking about it. But as a rookie team going to Nationals, i wanted to see what to expect.
Is it like Regionals?
Is it Completely different?
Any shared experiences will be greatly appreciated. Stories are fun to hear too.

P.S. I know how it runs with 4 divisions eventually ending in 1 Final. My question is more on what to expect.

Thanks in Advance,
Sean

1. At the Championship, you graduate from basketball/hockey arenas to an NFL Stadium - Atlanta's Georgia Dome. Five full FIRST fields are set up on the dome floor. The central field is Einstein, where the "Final Four" takes place at the end of the competition.
2. Get ready for a lot more walking - some of it outside, but the weather is usually nice. If it does rain, however, it will rain A LOT!!!!
3. The Championship Wrap Party "team social" is held at Centennial Olympic Park on Saturday, immediately after the competition has ended. It is a great time with lots of food, performances, a really, really good fireworks show against a scenic downtown backdrop, inflatable games (boxing, bungee races, pugil stick battles - stuff like that), and other goodies. It's a nice way to end the weekend with all the other teams.
4. Each division is named after a famous scientist - Archimedes, Newton, Curie, and Galileo. Each division holds typically between 70-80 teams, and divisional play is conducted exactly like a normal regional. Because of the huge number of teams in each division, be prepared for fewer matches than you'd expect at a typical regional - make each match count!
5. FIRST typically assigns divisions by ordering the Championship team list by team number and counting off 1, 2, 3, 4.....1, 2, 3, 4.....and so on until the divisional lists are filled. They will release the list sometime after the last regional has played (a week or so afterwards, IIRC) and all qualifying teams are given a chance to register and pay for their events.
6. The overall quality of the teams attending the Championship will be nothing like you've seen at most regionals. Divisional team lists will be filled with great veterans and impressive rookies. A much higher percentage of matches will be competitive.
7. The pits for all teams are set up in the Georgia World Congress Center convention hall, which is right next to the Georgia Dome. Each division has its own section of the hall, color coded by divider curtains. Nothing prepares you for the first time you see over 280 pits and robots together in the same place. You are free to walk throughout the hall to any divisional area, but ALWAYS be aware of your team's schedule and don't lose track of time, especially if you are on a drive team or pit crew!
8. For those who may be tied to the pits most of the competition, FIRST provides a video feed of each field, as well as a continuously-updated rankings list, so you can follow the action from the pit area if you have to miss a match or two.
9. If you are fortunate enough to make the divisional elims, the distance between the pits and field makes it impossible to go back and forth swapping batteries and such, so make sure you bring all essential batteries, chargers, tools, spare parts, etc. with you to the dome floor. Only so many people will be allowed around the field during elims - your entire drive team, your coach, and typically 3 designated team members who must wear a "Pit Crew" sticker. Power is typically supplied to teams behind the curtains on each field, but bring plenty of power strips! Your team should really plan ahead for the best case scenario and be ready to roll in case you seed as a picking team or are picked by another team.
10. Someone else's turn......

[JaneYoung]

- If you have an opportunity to meet some of the fine folks of FIRST, smile, shake their hands, and tell them it is a pleasure to meet them. When you walk away, you can go nuts saying you cant believe you just met....
but save that part until then.

- the spirit and energy at the event is like your regional only magnified. You will be sitting in the stands surrounded by veteran teams and rookie teams. Introduce yourselves and share your give-aways. In the pits, make time to look around. Don't just stay in your division, go check out other divisions. Your first priority is the team and the team schedule, taking care of business so have a plan for people to take turns exploring and checking things out. We use a buddy system at regionals and at the Championship.

- your life has changed and will continue to change with each FIRST experience - for the better

next...

[JBotAlan]

-Don't expect internet access to work. There was one (yes, 1) access point set up, and as you can expect it was just saturated with traffic; I kept getting disconnected. I'd be on CD for 5 minutes, then the next 5 minutes my connection would die. So, don't waste your time on the wireless there. You don't need to get on the 'net anyway...but hey I was a stupid freshman

-Just in case, you might want a rain coat of some sort. Even if it's just a trash bag, you'll want something--you end up walking *outside* to get from the arena to the pits, and I remember my freshman year there was a huge thunderstorm and just the 30sec I was outside I was soaked. And both places are heavily air-conditioned, so it's a bit chilly for awhile.

-Enjoy yourself, at least a bit. As a newbie, I was obsessed with our ranking and missed out on a lot of fun because of it.

That's about all I've got...

EDIT:

- If you have an opportunity to meet some of the fine folks of FIRST, smile, shake their hands, and tell them it is a pleasure to meet them. When you walk away, you can go nuts saying you cant believe you just met....
but save that part until then.

Sounds like you're speaking from experience. Any funny stories associated with this?

[Sean Marks]

Thanks for all so far. Hopefully more to come. I am sorry for calling it Nationals, because it is the Championships. I will correct myself from now on. It all sounds like a lot of fun with so many things to do.

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

- If you have an opportunity to meet some of the fine folks of FIRST, smile, shake their hands, and tell them it is a pleasure to meet them. When you walk away, you can go nuts saying you cant believe you just met....
but save that part until then.

QFT.

I did a lot of traveling last year, perhaps too much, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's to watch and listen to all these people you meet. The more you see how things operate, you'll come away with a great deal of knowledge. How does a team working out of a mentor's garage with a drill press and a chop saw build a robot that makes it to within one match of going to Einstein? What's the magic behind West Coast Drive? Why did 25's robot last year don a new paint job for the later off-seasons--and how do they turn into such a brick on the field when they want? All of these were answered by asking folks questions and hearing what teams had to say. These opportunities don't come around often.

Also, make sure you give yourself a bit of time one of the days to just do a complete walk of all four divisions, plus FLL and FVC if you can swing it. (My preferred time is Thursday night, when nobody's running off to the field.) You can see a lot of great teams and robots that way.

[BlondeNerd]

From what I understand from these posts (correct me if I am wrong) is that teams must go outdoors to get their bot from the pit to the field. So, if it is raining, then the bot must go out in the rain to get to the field? Sounds like the fabled water game to me. How are the bots kept safe in the rain?

[SPurekar]

Originally Posted by BlondeNerd

From what I understand from these posts (correct me if I am wrong) is that teams must go outdoors to get their bot from the pit to the field. So, if it is raining, then the bot must go out in the rain to get to the field? Sounds like the fabled water game to me. How are the bots kept safe in the rain?

There is a tunnel underground for the drivers and robot to get from the Congress Center to the Dome, so rain doesn't affect the robots. Everyone else has to go outside to get to the pits.

[Alex Cormier]

Originally Posted by BlondeNerd

From what I understand from these posts (correct me if I am wrong) is that teams must go outdoors to get their bot from the pit to the field. So, if it is raining, then the bot must go out in the rain to get to the field? Sounds like the fabled water game to me. How are the bots kept safe in the rain?

The spectators must go outside, there is the under ground railroad for robots and drivers.

[BlondeNerd]

Originally Posted by SPurekar

There is a tunnel underground for the drivers and robot to get from the Cogress Center to the Dome, the rain doesn't affect the robots. Everyone else has to go outside to get to the pits.

Thanks