What basketball traditions do you think we’ll see performed this year at FIRST events?
Will teams cut the net?
Will teams have one shining moment in the championship highlight reel?
Will the drivers of a dump-bot go crazy after a monster dunk?
YES! cut the net, one for each member of the winning ::safety:: alliance.
Cutting the net… Please don’t do that. The field has to go to another event. They really want those nets intact, too!
Yeah I was gonna say, I could see it on Einstein but not at regionals
I want to see a drive team do this.
while I see your point, nets are extremely cheap and super simple to replace. It’s not like we’re talking about shattering the backboard and giving pieces of those away. lol
The most valuable thing in FIRST is time and as a Field Supervisor I really would not be in the mood to unnecessarily waste fixing something that I shouldn’t have repaired in the first place. Especially when there is so much else to do to get the event running. Please don’t cut the nets.
The nets on the competition field aren’t typical nets, are they? They’ve got that extended “funnel” connection to the alliance wall hole and ball detector.
Yes they are. They’re $5 apiece.
http://www.competitiveedgeproducts.com/detail.aspx?ID=617
http://www.buylifetime.com/products/blt/pid-0790.aspx
If a $5 net and the five minutes to replace a net are the only arguments against cutting them, I’m completely unswayed. I really do hope they let the winning alliance cut down the net.
Pretty sure the net gets separated from the chute prior to transporting the field anyways.
I noted that the net bottoms are connected to the clear plastic tunnels that lead the scored ball to the counter. I didn’t examine to see if the connection there were as simple as the hoop to net connection is.
Anyway, perhaps we should be trying to inspire the basketball folks to do things the way we do at FIRST competitions.
Correct. The net stays attached to the hoop for transport between events. The current field setup guide says:
Inspect the net, replace if damaged.
I think FIRST will frown on cutting the nets. I know the nets only cost $5 but if the winning alliance cuts off 3 nets at every event, thats over $1000 in replacement nets.
If anyone is really considering doing this, I suggest buying a net and bringing it to the Regional Field Supervisor. I would offer to install it after the award ceremony if a team wanted to cut it down in celebration. If he says yes, great. If he says no, there’s no way I’d mess with the field.
I think a net could be a cool commemorative item for winning teams, but the ultimate focus must be on being respectful towards the field crew who worked so hard to ensure each student had a positive experience.
Just my $0.02
That’s only** 1/5** of what one robot at one competition pays to get in.
51 events
~45 robots per event
5145 = ~2295 registered robots total (including multi-event robots)
2295$5000= $11,475,000 total registration cost
$1000 for nets/$11,475,000 *100 (for %) total registration cost means:
Replacing the nets is roughly 0.087% of the total cost of robots attending competitions.
As for time, can you, being someone who volunteered to work hard for 2 days straight, not take another 10 minutes to fix the nets, so that the winning teams can enjoy a priceless experience, and be able to take another tangible piece of their victory home?
All this being said, I’d say why not?
-duke
P.S. If Nate Laverdure’s calculations are correct, make that 0.0036%
If a playing field isn’t being sent on to another competition site, the cost of giving away a net is a sunk cost.
EDIT: Put another way-- why replace a net that won’t be used in the next week?
My calculations (attached) tell me that implementing the 3-net-per-event giveaway scheme will require a total of 127 extra nets (beyond the minimum number already purchased). Assuming $5/net, this will cost $635.
netLogistics_rev1.xls (26.5 KB)
netLogistics_rev1.xls (26.5 KB)
I really do hope that people plan on asking before cutting. It doesn’t matter how you rationalize it - cost wise, tradition wise - you’re not the one who has to replace it, so it really isn’t your choice.
To clarify: I think it’d be awesome if it’s allowed, and if I was on the drive team this year I’d probably beg. If it weren’t for the potential jinx, I’d have a replacement net ready to go in the pit!
If the cost is really that big of a deal, let teams that cut down a net donate towards a replacement.
How about this - teams can bring net(s) to the competition (make sure they’re identical!) to replace those that they, or other teams, would cut down. I think it would be a great moment for the teams involved.