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If MOE (365) is at your competition…theres no need to bring tools or replacement parts.
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Don’t ever let the engineers change things when they have a “good idea”.
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Remember that screw heads have to be in the box while fitting your robot.
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Bring hardware…even if you don’t think you’ll need it or didn’t use it on the robot - bring all you can.
Scout early rather than late. It’s no fun try to figure out who you want to pick in the last five minutes before you have to choose.
Anyone can end up being a picker and anyone can end up at the bottom of the list.
Sometimes a team that you were barely paying attention to can end up being a really great alliance partner.
Never let a problem with another team member get in the way of both of you having a good time.
Don’t take things too seriously; It’s supposed to be fun.
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Team 95 is always the underdog
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Keep the same drive team and pit crew for every match
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Delevop excellent communication between the pit crew and drive team, and within each group
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Don’t forget the chain of command
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Don’t be afraid to break the chain of command
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Reliability the best asset you can have on the playing field
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FIRST ROCKS!
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Don’t bring things you won’t need
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Bring a mini first aid kit, because chances are someone in the stands will need it and won’t want to go to the pits to use that one.
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Remember that even if you are an item, and even if you aren’t eating each others faces off, even the smallest PDA can make people think poorly of your team.
i fully agreee with taht… i met one of the most interesting girls ive met in my life from team 547 (tenesee). . .we have so much in common its like . .whoa…
another one: make shure all your batteries are numbers and use them in order 1-4 and MAKE SHURE YOU SWAP them after each match.,… i went away asuming someone else would swap the batery… but no. … so we had one match of a almost dead battery… it was embarasing…
second one: dont make an A$$ outa yourself and assume… . its not a good thing :d
here is couple more
- you can NEVER finish your robot too early
- AlWAYS give your programers alot of time to test, if you want a reliable code and robot
- if the code don’t work, check the robot(eps. wiring, sensors) as well as your code
- plan out everything before you start
- make sure the radio is plugged in before every match
- and AT LEAST test your autonomous code once, no matter in however a big of rush you’re in
er i think the count was lost, but still:
- Don’t run from a judge, it looks bad for your team (but I’m sure I did my first regional)
- On a similar note, judges aren’t scary people, and after 6 weeks you’ll be surprised at how much you can actually tell them about your robot. They’ll love it, especially if you’re not on pit crew.
- Have a mock-judge practice day where you can talk as a team about some things you can tell a judge if you are approached.
- Don’t forget your Mountain Dew/ Pepsi/ Caffeine pills/ Sugar.
- If your robot has moving appendages that could possibly be at head level, don’t under any circumstances get too close to the bot if it’s on. (unless you, like me, are barely 5 feet tall and are never at risk for it hitting you.)
I’m going to immodestly bump this thread from last season. I think it contains some really good advice, especially for rookie teams.
In response to seven, as a rookie team, this is an issue we are facing. The following happened at our sunday meet:
After 2 hours of group discussions (everyone who showed up) the mentors went into the next room and decided that we would be building a corner scorer, not giving the kids a choice (though the kids would have voted for it anyway, as none of the mentors recommended a shooter). I wrote a long e-mail to my team detailing why that was a mistake.
So my question is, sure kids should listen to mentors, but aren’t there going to be some times when adults need to do things (such as dangerous machining, electrical stuff?)? For example, noone on our team has learned CAD (unfortuneately). We had plans to learn it, but the software came about 1 1/2 months later than expected.
And #8 is just great =)
Paul, this is a great topic. Why not start a thread just for this, so the “101 things” thread doesn’t get off-track? Thanks!
You WILL loose your voice.
Hunger and thirst will disappear, but continue to eat and drink in normal intervals. Don’t over/under eat.
Wash those hands! Don’t get sick!
Bring eye glass wash to the competitions to keep those safety glasses clean!
This is something I learned the hard way at my first event (BattleCry @ WPI)…
-Don’t run down steep bleachers carrying 80 lbs of luggage and computer equiptment, because spraining your ankle less than three minutes into your first-ever FIRST event is not all that fun.
I’m saying this one from a couple experiences of mine.
*Get plenty of sleep before the events. I ended up falling asleep during the Boilermaker Regional last year and ended up missing lunch and one of our matches, and at West Michigan I almost missed the bus because I slept in. 
Bring white boards and markers. My team has done this since the first year we were competing. We use them to go over strategy with other teams, as well as to post when our matches are, with what teams, against what teams, and what color our alliance is.
[quote=aaeamdar]
So my question is, sure kids should listen to mentors, but aren’t there going to be some times when adults need to do things (such as dangerous machining, electrical stuff?)?
[quote]
Yes. There is no blueprint for how a team is formed and run.
*The key to FIRST’s success is the work of over 25,000 volunteer mentors, professional engineers, teachers, and other adults working with students *[/quote]
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Communication is what this is about.
Back to the list… (might want to check out “18 hints for rookie teams from NEMO” in the white papers)
Lots of mentors and other adults read as well as post on chief delphi.
-Judges read chief delphi.
-Every individual post reflects back on your team.
-Judges really want to know about your team, your robot, your business plan, etc. Help them. Lots of hints on this in other posts.[/quote]
>Drink lots of water (It’s amazing how everyone can say this now, but I’ll still forget)
>Those little foam earplugs are nice (They get rid of the loud noises, but you can still hear people talking to you)
>If the code worked during practice, check hardware before the code
>Get cell phone numbers of as many people on your team as possible. Put these on a small list and distribute to your team.
This shouldn’t be something you have to worry about, but: When using free wireless internet, everything you send can be intercepted (Unless the site is https). Again, you shouldn’t have to worry about this… not at a FIRST event.
When going to a competition Venue, Travel Light, at least with personal items. If you can leave your coats in the bus/car/van/practice robot. Take only what you must have, Notebook, Pen/Pencil, Camera (Digital preferable), Wallet, Water Bottle (say good bye to your voice) and Laptop if needed. Other than that you won’t need other personal items (leave your food in the car, run out and get it at lunch time)
Those are probably the best things anyone can do (I sort of disagree on the food part, expecially at the Detroit Regional where you might have to park about a mile away). Now I’m not saying that that will happen, but if there is another big event at the same time, Don’t be surprised!
P.S. Where is the link to the website that had all these things listed?
-dont let the engineers completely design and build the robot
-let the whole team get involved in the planning and building process
-understand how to use a machine properly and safely before using it (mangled fingers…not fun)
-remember that everyone’s opinion matters
-dont wait until the thursday of your first regional to install 2 speed gear boxes
-always read the updates on the FIRST website
-take advantage of all the amazing things CD has to offer :]
NEVER FALL ASLEEP AT A FIRST COMPETITION (PICTURES! )
Continue to participate in FIRST after high school (mentor/volunteer)
Don’t assume you can eat lunch at Subway (VCU)… everyone else thought the same thing.