Kickoff Traditions

FIRST General Forum
#1

Does anyone have any quirky kickoff traditions?

I set my alarm very early, get up and dressed, then watch the kickoff. After watching the kickoff I start working on a scoring program for the new game to share with my team and Chief Delphi. :slight_smile: After that, I go to our teams kickoff meeting, held at the town library. Its almost like a party, with pizza and snacks. We discuss the new game and try to have a good time.

How about you?

#2

We go to the Kickoff at NJIT.
Sunday - mostly sleep, or some do strategy and such
Monday & Tuesday - We meet at school to discuss robot design, the game etc
I guess we do it like most typical FIRST teams.

#3

Our team pretty much wakes up extremely early, goes to the school all groggy-eyed, gets in cars, and flies on the highway to kickoff wherever it may be, and then we just go back to the school and spend 3 hours working on strategy and whatnot. Fun stuff. Our team’s boring compared to yours though Tom. =( Sad.

#4

The night before, I make sure that NASA channel is still channel 213 on my TV, test a tape on my VCR and go to sleep.

Then I wake up at around 9:30, and wait for the FIRST logo to show up on NASA TV signaling the start of a brand new season.

Then I tape the Kickoff, and surf CD with anticipation and the excitement of a kid on Christmas Day.

Then, I either DL the manual, print it out, or both…

Sunday, we have a Kickoff Pot-Luck Dinner with the team where we introduce everyone to the game (by my video) and eat… All people are expected to know at least most of the rules by Monday and fully comprehend what the game is…

Then, Monday… The Fun begins. Brainstorming, and then Design.

#5

WSe dont exactly have any traditions other than gathering at our school and watching the kick off on the NASA chanel, but this year we are skrewed cuz the school doesent get the chanel any more. So our “tradition” has ended but we are gonna watch it on the web cast. Yeah.

#6

i guess we are starting a tradition this year.
Everyone who isn’t going to the kickoff either in New Hampshire or the remote kickoff is going to our Public Relations mentors house to watch the kickoff on the Nasa channel.

#7

Wake early…
Brush teeth…
Wash Face…
:eek: …reolize what day it is and freak out trying to get moving and pulling together all my pre-kickoff paperwork. (for our team brainstorming meeting)

It really is an exciting day…and a long one too.

The snow we are expecting should put even more excitement into the fun tomorrow! :slight_smile:

#8

I get strangely hyper even though I have had NO coffee or sugar whatsoever, contrary to popular belief. And then I spin around in my spinny chair. I’m like a 6-year-old, seriously.

… My teammates do that, too.

… Does that count as a tradition?

Anyhow, always tradition to get an ultra-expresso frapuccino from Starbucks in the morning! :stuck_out_tongue:

#9

RAGE gets together to watch the broadcast together, then meets on Sunday afternoon to brainstorm. And I sit in the corner, absolutely amazed at all the creativity flying through the room.

This year we are holding a local kickoff event - 130 people coming - and I’ve been worried about the snowstorm all day. I HOPE the weather will be OK in the morning! :eek:

#10

Also, we tend to call the team members at the kickoff, so they can get our questions answered.

#11

I go to the kickoff with my team and stay for workshops. Then we go to someones house and stay up till about 3 making robot designs and having a good time.

#12
  1. Saturday:Wake up early walk to the Theater.
  2. Open up and let in the set-up crew

  3. Get everything hooked up and tested.

  4. WATCH THE NEW GAME!!!
  5. Sunday: There is a noon-ish meeting to throw out some designs to everyone along with strategies for brain food.
  6. Monday: We have off to think of designs.
  7. Tuesday: First official meeting were all thought of designs are brought together and robot design is hopefully finalized.
  8. Remaining six weeks: Would it be corny if I said “priceless”? :smiley:
#13

Prior to kickoff we assign someone to record kickoff from the NASA channel. On the day of kickoff, people from my team meet at school around 5:15AM in order to be in San Jose for the remote kickoff at 7AM. We go to kickoff, say hi to people, pick up our kit, maybe go to Denny’s for lunch, and then go home. Later Saturday night the team meet’s at a person’s house for a pot-luck dinner and viewing of the kickoff video.
Then the stragetizing commences.

Happy Kickoff everyone!
(it’s like a national holiday or something) :smiley:

#14

Wake up early.
Fix my hair.
Drive to Krispy Kream.
Go to Ontario Science Center.
Work like crazy.
Watch video til just the right time.
Unvail the game pieces and set up.
Get ready for Robovision Comp.
Clean up.
Go to another mentors house and check out KOP.
go home to bed cause I am whooped.

#15

Well, idk if its a tradition, but right now we are at a Lan party at the president of the clubs house. Its the first year were doing it, but i wouldnt mind making it a tradition :stuck_out_tongue:

Tomorrow, we’ll wake up (well, really just shut off the half-life2) and drive down to Brophy highschool to watch the remote kickoff. Then freak out cause we know what the freakin magnet is for, and then sleep. Sleep till about sunday night (i wish :P). Then sunday, prolly a team meeting, some minor planning.

We are still debating if we wanna meet on sundays as well as the rest of the week, because if you think about it, if you meet sundays too, u really get an extra week :slight_smile:

#16

We meet at school at 6:30 AM and watch the broadcast. Then we print and read the manual ALL the way through. Then we make little fields on tables and have mock matches to determine all the scoring scenarios. Then I get back to school with the KOP. Then everyone stares anxiosly at the plastic crates while gobbling down their food because we are not allowed to open in until after lunch. Then we open it and I do a presentation of all the parts explaining to all the members what they are and so forth. The parts get passed around and then put away on shelves. Then everyone formulates some ideas about what kind of robot would be good to play the game and about what we can do with the kit parts. Then we break into four design groups and leave at 5 PM.

Sunday we meet at school at 1PM and get right to work in our design groups. Each of the four groups stay mostly separate. We make cardboard mockups and other simple prototypes. Leave at 5PM

For the next 3 days the four design groups work furiously 3Pm-9Pm each day to build inventor models and mockups to present their designs to the rest of the team. On Thursday they can finish up from 3PM until 6PM and then the presentations begin. Each group will get about 15 minutes to present their design in any manner they feel it appropriate as long as everyone can see it. When that is done, the members who were on the team last year all gather round to decide which of the four designs we should go with, or if we should combine components of some or all of the designs into one different design.
We stay as late as necessary to decide on a design.

Then the team breaks up into subsystems (drivetrain, chassis, electrical/programming/ arm, etc.) and goes to work on their own part. The chassis group is also responsible for integration and interference avoidance.

By the end of the second sunday we have a good amountof precision layouts, dimensions, and weight calculations for the final design.

I know that was a bit more than this thread asked for but I am “FIRST Frenzied” tonight. :yikes:

#17

We all are man. Thats awesome though. I wish i could be that organized. Too bad you wont be at the az reg. this year. It was awesome last year (we were your alliance partner in the end, with team 80)

#18

We watch the webcast on a projector screen…nice, clear and big… have breakfast b4 the webcast and order out for pizza around noon…

I get there at 9 tomorrow morning to setup the parts inventory system, get loaded on 3 cans o’ coke, and go to work getting ready…then I wait for the KOP to come…and then my fun begins…we have had problems with stuff disappearing, stolen and other stuff…only to make us really crunch the deadline…that will NOT happen this year…my brass knuckles rule the pahts depahtment!!! I run it efficient, secure and when I deem necessary fun (pahty time!!) :smiley:

Then I have to go unpack the Inventor kit from storage…and we pretty much make a party out of it…

The bad part is, It’s gonna snow tomorrow and I want to go take out my sleds and take out some snowbanks… (sleds are snowmobiles for all those who don’t know) 500cc’s calling my name and playing my song… :frowning:

:smiley:

#19