The teams here in San Antonio are interested in organizing an off-season event for November of this year. Can anyone give us some information on how teams go about putting one of these events together?
I’ll try to give you an idea of what has been done for the “Indiana Robotics Invitational” (IRI) the past couple years.
First of all, the location is everything. A big place is good, but if the crowdis packed into a medium-sized location, that could be a good thing. Looking back to when Plymouth North (team 23) started the trend years ago to have post-FIRST-season competitions when the hosted the “Rumble at the Rock” in Plymouth, Mass… their arena could hold about 1500-2000. About 40 teams attended their last “Rumble” and there was room for everyone.
As for staff, I’ll break it down into a few committees and put the number of people and tasks on each one:
Field mechanical set-up:
…2-4 leaders, 10 workers
…We had our own field:
…3-4 hours to tear it down out of our shop
…2-3 hours to set it up
…1-2 hours to get it clean and spiffy
…2-3 hours to tear it down and put it away
Field electrical set-up:
…1-2 leaders, 3-5 workers
…You may need to supply some power distribution cords,
…but FIRST will loan (rent?) you the field electronics. Contact
…Tammy Trimble at FIRST for this ([email protected])
…3-4 hours getting familiar w/ electronics
…3-4 hours to install
…3-4 hours to debug
…2-3 hours to disassemble and pack
Team invitations:
…1-2 leaders, 1-2 helpers
…You gotta advertize, publicize, and then register the teams
Team Programs:
…1-2 leaders, 1-2 helpers
…Make a program which outlines the game, the judges (if any),
…and the participating teams
Judges:
…1 leader, 3-4 helpers
…Invite judges to give out awards (most creative design, etc.)
…Create a judges information packet (rules, program, what they
…are judging, etc.)
…Welcome the judges
…Assign students to assist the judges with anything needed
…Give the judges a room to meet
…Give them a plan and deadline
Awards:
…1-2 leaders, 2-3 helpers
…Decide on what awards to give out
…Decide on what sort of hardware to make/buy
…Make/buy the hardware, label it, display it
…Make a plan to communicate w/ judges &
…give out awards
Scoring:
…2 leaders, 3-4 assistants
…Set the # of teams so that matches can be planned
…Set the # of matches
…Budget for 6-7 minutes per match
…evenly pair the Q matches, randomly… but check for mistakes
…Plan for the finals matches
…Get the scoring software (from teams who have already ran these competitions (190, 234, 222, 95 or others)
…Learn the scoring software
…Debug and practice before the big day
Concession stand:
…3-4 people?
…as any concession stand is ran
Entertainment:
…Get a DJ for the event and approve of a rough song list
… (appropriate material)
…Plan for something the night before?
Get these people to help you have a smooth running event:
…Announcer who knows the game and teams
…M/C (a “woody”) who is charismatic and knows the games
…Refs (5-6) who know the game and who can make a tough call
…Team staging people (2 for each side) who tell the teams
…where they are supposed to be and when to enter the field
…Field set up people (2 leaders and 6-8 kids) to reset the field
…1 technical electrical person who checks to see that all robots
…are ready to go before each match
This is a start. There are more details with the video/scoring/timing/electrical issues.
The overall idea is: “if you build it, they will come”
Good luck,
Andy B.
All I can say is:
Give your self plenty of time. We started planning for Rally well before the 2002 season even started. Never for a moment doubt how much time it will take to get thing organized, there is a huge amount of planning to be done. It comes down to months of planning, a day of setting up the field and pit, a day of play and a long night of taking it all down (or going to the prom for many of us it seems).
-Andy A.
p.s. If you have a split pit, do your self a favor and get some 2 way radios, they are a life saver. The Rally staff used no less then 6 at anyone time. Mine was on all day except for a 2 minute break to replace batterys. 
*Originally posted by Andy Baker *
**This is a start. There are more details with the video/scoring/timing/electrical issues.
**
That’s an understatement…and part of why I’ve become so in demand lately, I guess…3 regular season events under my belt, and I don’t even want to think about what my postseason event count is going to be this year yet…
Thanks for the advice. The list will serve as a great starting point for organizing this event. One thing we really need to know is how much it costs to do a competition. We want to have corporate sponsors and I really need to have a budget to be able to approach them. If anyone can give us some info on costs it would be very beneficial.