Division Fields and Tower Lights

[pwnageNick]

Does anyone know which fields they are are using for each division. What regional was each field used at last? And at those regionals, were the tower lights working properly, or were they out of order? I'm just worried that it won't matter if XXXX team's minibot is faster by .3 seconds then the others in the match if the tower sensors aren't working up to snuff.

[Mike o.]

I know that this may be a concern, but I would try and put faith in the FTAs and FIRST Engineering Staff that will be there to make sure all the fields are operational to the fullest extent. I would just try and work with the FTA for your field and bring up any concerns and respect their rulings. Remember, we are here to have fun, be with friends, and yeh I guess to compete a little.

[thefro526]

Nick, the fields at the Championship are some of the most well maintained in FIRST. (Not to say Regional fields are bad.) The towers will probably work better than most of the Regionals, but if you are still concerned, I'm sure that you can speak with the FTA about the fields you are using, or station a scout on each field during practice matches and have them watch how well the towers are working. If that scout notices that one tower appears to have a reliability issue, then I'm sure that the FTA will be more than happy to look into it.

[Akash Rastogi]

Dustin and I had a chance to speak to someone who will be helping run the Newton field, she is well aware of issues teams faced during the regional season, and will try her best to maintain the field as well as possible.

I don't ask for perfection, I ask that they make the effort to try to make it perfect.

And yes, on Bill's Blog he did post which fields were being brought to St. Louis for the events. Not sure if he mentioned which division gets what field though.

[Mike o.]

Yes, Bill did mention in his blog which Regional Fields will be in St. Louis, but remember that those will be assigned to either a practice field use or competition field use. Also, remember that the FIRST Engineers have had time between the last regional and championships, and also tomorrow (when they start setting up fields) till wednesday to work on debugging any last inssues in any of the PLC or Scoring Software Code. I am sure they are working hard to make sure that all the towers work to the best they can make them work. Also, it will be a lot easier for the engineers to troubleshoot any issues during Champs than it was during regionals since they will all be in the same vicinity, rather than having to talk with the FTAs over the internet/phone.