After coming back from the off season down at Southern California, I had this idea after I talked to Wendy Wooten about how much it cost for their competition, what are the benefit for the participating teams, what did it take to organize and run the event, etc.
It got me thinking, “hey, there are so many off season competitions this year, and each of them is ran differently, and have different purpose.” That’s when I thought of doing a report on all the off season competition this year.
The other reason is, I’ve been chatting with different people about having smaller, cheaper events during the season that are just like the scale of off season comps, and how that would be much cheaper to run. There was a thread in here talking about exactly the same thing, a “new trend” that could make it possible for FIRST to have more teams in the program, while not having to host a lot more what’s known right now as regional competitions.
My opinion is, there will be some difficulties in making that happen, but at the same time, might be well worth the work to get more teams into FIRST.
But back to this idea of a report for off season comps. I haven’t exactly put together a complete list of questions yet, but I am aiming to do so in the next few days. I have some examples at the bottom of this thread. With all the questions, I want to generate a report that will show what it takes to put up an off season competition, what kind of impact it made, and what involves in obtaining the venue, etc etc etc.
Hopefully the report will give us some insights about a “new trend” that’s starting to emerge all over the country.
Example questions: (This might be too little or too many questions. I am planning to work it out in the next few days. Please feel free to suggest more questions!)
Regarding the financial aspect of the event:
How much did the entire event cost?
How much was the entry fee?
How much money was spent on the venue, and how much was spent on services while using the venue?
How much money was spent on the playing field and shipping?
How much money was spent on A/V equipments?
How much money was spent on electronics and computers?
How much money was spent on registration and office supplies?
How much money was spent on signage?
How much money was spent on …?
How much of the entry fee was left over after all the event usage? (entire event cost - # of teams X entry fee?)
What was the left over budget used for?
Regarding the organization and management of the event:
What sort of organizational structure did the event has?
How long did it take to plan and organize the event?
What sort of management positions did the event has?
What tools did you use to help organize the event (in terms of computer software)?
Regarding equipments and technical aspects:
Did you use FIRST’s field electronics?
If not, how did you run the matches without the FIRST field electronics?
Did you use FIRST’s scoring software?
What A/V equipment did you use at the event, and how many?
Regarding the venue:
What kind of service did you have to pay while using the venue? (Custodial and security service?)
How much help did you need from the venue staff to setup the event? (such as custodians who know where the light switches are, electricians who know the circuits around the gym, etc.)
What procedures did it take to obtain the venue? What kind of paper work is needed to ensure the venue is booked for the dates of the event?
What relationship do you have with the school/organization that own the venue?
What kinds of supplies were needed from the school? (tables? Extension cords?)
What sort of floor protection did you have?
Was insurances required for the event?
How many spectators did you plan for, and how many actually showed up?
Was there enough parking for all the teams and spectators?
Regarding volunteers:
What volunteer positions were there to 1. planning, organizing, and preparation before the event; 2. setting up the event; 3. running the event?
How many volunteers were there to 1. planning, organizing, and preparation before the event; 2. setting up the event; 3. running the event?
Was food supplied for the volunteers? If so, how much money was spent on volunteer food? (per person and total)
Was drinks supplied for volunteers? If so, how much money was spent on volunteer drink? (per person and total)
Did you have staff shirts for volunteers? If so, how much money was spent on volunteer staff shirts?
Where did the volunteers come from? (teams, friends, family, students, etc)
What did it take to organize and manage the volunteers?
What was done to make sure the volunteers know what they are doing, and have all the information they need to show up at the right place and the right time,?
Regarding teams:
How many teams participated at your event?
How many team members did each team bring? How many of them are veteran members, how many rookie members?
What did the teams use the event for? (Recruiting tool? Just for fun?)
How far did the teams have to travel to go to the event?
How much expense did teams have to spend beside entry fee? What kind of expense are they?
Regarding PR and exposure to the community:
What was done to spread the word of the competition?
How much media coverage was there?
Estimate how many non-team spectators came to the event.
Did you have any guest speakers/VIP at the event? If so, who are they?
Regarding food:
How much was spent on buying the food before the event?
How did you estimate how many people will show up?
How much money was made from the concession?
What kind of food did you have?
How many people did it take to run the concession?
Support from FIRST?
How much support did you get from FIRST?
Did FIRST provide anything beside the playing field for your event?
Misc. info about the event:
What sort of difficulties did you face when organizing/running the event?
What else did you have at the event beside the stack attack tournament? Any demo’s or booth?