Today the PNW fields were assembled for the first time. We have had them for a couple of months now, however the area to set them up has been in use manufacturing and assembling all the road cases to hold the fields as well as the production equipment that will be used at the events.
Just to give you an idea of what was involved we used about 120 sheets of plywood, around 1000’ of 1.5" x 1.5" angle and around 15,000, yes 15,000 rivets.
Today we attached the Velcro to the “blue” field and set it up. We then took it down, attached stickers with the case number, put the pieces in the case and stored those cases. We then repeated the process with the red field except that we have left it assembled, to await the field elements and game specific pieces for the 2015 game. Once those arrive next year we will assemble it in the 2015 game configuration, take it down and then repeat the process with the blue field.
While it doesn’t look like much in the picture below this represents around 1000 person hours of volunteer time to get to this point. Thanks to the volunteers that are too numerous to mention that made this possible!
They should–the field plans really haven’t changed much since 2005.
What you’re looking at is the field border and alliance stations, with gates etc., but no game-specific elements at all (pyramids, bridges, pegs, minibot towers, bumps, towers, goals…). I would expect the field to show up at its share of PNW district events for the next decade or so, getting a new set of game-specific modifications/elements every year and a rework of parts that need it on an annual basis.
Just for grins… I’ve torn down enough fields that I could probably put the rails away in their cases without looking at the instructions. Possibly the same for the alliance stations. It’s everything else that takes a while and resembles a jigsaw puzzle. (Same for setup of the rails, maybe the stations if there isn’t anything silly like a basketball hoop in the middle.)
Yes they are brand new and the current set up is the generic field boarder. Some of the pieces seen may not be used in the upcoming game.
Last season was a good example of this as a number of the pieces in the picture were not used. The two center pieces for the sides of the field were not used as well as the two outer sections of the driver’s station to accommodate the angled game specific feeder stations and 1 pt goal.
We may find that we will need to essentially take the entire field apart to assemble it in the proper configuration for the 2014 game. In the mean time we will admire the beautiful, shiny, new field when we are working on many other tasks at the PNW Fieldhouse while we await the announcement of the game and arrival of the field elements for it.
Washington FIRST Robotics, the non-profit organization responsible for producing the PNW District events, is funded by many donors, one of which is FIRST.
From a MAR mentor and volunteer, best of luck to the PNW on your first year of districts! There will be rough patches along the way, but it gets “easier” as you go.
Actually, with the way the field is built, it’s pretty simple to change the dimensions. Just add or remove a section of rail or driver’s station or both. Therefore, [Game Name] could be played on a slightly smaller or larger field. Just sayin’.
