Now that the Fall Classic is over, it is time to start working on the Pre-Ship Scrimmage. We have less than 5 months to go. We need some teams and people to volunteer to take on specific tasks. I would rather see every team volunteer to do **one small thing ** than have one team try and do the whole thing. While we are thankful that we have had powerhouse teams do this in the past, in the long run I feel it hurts that team to put forth such effort alone.
If each of the 60 odd teams in Southern California will loan us one person to do a specific job, we will have a larger workforce than any single team. But we should not unduly stress any team to get it. The team representatives should probably NOT be the team leader as team leaders have enough to do.
We need teams and individuals to volunteer for the following roles:
Event Manager – Oversees the whole event. Twists arms as needed to get “volunteers”.
Host Team – The team taking this critical position will need to provide:
- a weatherproof place to set up the Field, like a high school gym with bleachers
- a weatherproof place for the Pits, this could be a small gym or a cafeteria, but it needs to be big enough to accommodate up to 40 teams.
- Some labor for getting the field set up. We would also get help from other nearby teams
- signs showing people where to park, unload robots, etc
- Provide AV equipment for the Announcer, displaying rankings, scoring etc.
I should note that Team 599 did an outstanding job on this for the Fall Classic. I am sure they would do the same on the Scrimmage if needed. But I don’t think it is really fair to ask them to do so. Let’s have somebody else step up this time.
Field Manager – Oversees Field construction, assembly, operation, repair, set-up and tear down. Will co-ordinate with several teams to get the game elements constructed. The idea is to use the field elements teams will be building anyway for practice and testing for the Scrimmage field. The field elements would have to be built to a common standard, but not necessarily all by the same team. SCRRF can provide funding for the materials required, if they are built to our standard. For example, in 2006 we could have had two teams each make two side goals and a different team or teams make the center goals. So your team could have a field element to practice with for the cost of dragging it to the Scrimmage. Is that a deal or what?
Field Control System Manager – Oversees construction, programming and operation of the Field controls. Terry Wells and his sidekick Mike Neary did an outstanding job here for last year’s Scrimmage. Then they went back and made it better for the Classic. So the next guy will have a much easier time of it. (of course Terry and Mike are welcome to do it again, but I don’t want to presume too much)
Cueing Manager – Makes sure teams get on the field in the right place at the right time and nobody is on the same channel. The Scrimmage is kind of free-form and we probably won’t have fixed match lists. Just get at the end of the line when you are ready to run. The kid from RAWC who handled this at the Classic did a really good job on about 10 minutes training. This would be a good job for a low resource team as it takes minimal pre-event time.
Scorer – Works with the Field Control Manager to set up the scoring system and then keeps records of the match scores for seeding. Another good job for a low resource team.
Head Inspector – We like to provide “courtesy inspections” at the Scrimmage. That way you find out that the extra Van Door motor you accidentally used ( because somebody put last year’s in the Kit box and nobody doubled checked the list for quantity of motors) is illegal or that your robot is ¼” too big, while you still have time to do something about it. Nobody has to pass inspection to run at the Scrimmage.
The Head Inspector will recruit assistants and obtain equipment like a “box” and a scale. Some of the Inspectors might be in training for the regional. Should be somebody with a lot of FIRST experience and detail oriented.
Head Referee – Similar to the Head Inspector except for Referees
Registrar – Keeps track of who is coming, has paid etc. This is esential information to plan adequately for the event. Another good job for a small team.
Food Manager – Most of our volunteers will be working hard all day. We need somebody to see that they have enough energy to keep doing their jobs. Basically provide lunch/snacks/drinks for the crew. Providing the same for everybody else (for a small consideration) is optional.
Public Relations – makes sure everybody who might have an interest in our event knows about it. Just getting the word out to teams is a major job. Getting it out to the rest of the world is harder. We need somebody who is energetic and has good press contacts.
There are tons of other small things to do, but they are mostly “nice to haves”.
Finally a word about finances. Yes, we will charge for the Scrimage. How much depends on several factors. As President of SCRRF my goal is to bring in enough to cover expenses plus 5 or 6%. That percentage provides some margin in case of the unexpected. The big ticket items for the Scrimmage are likely to be Security/Janitorial expenses and Field Construction. The sooner we have a location the sooner we will know about Security/Janitorial expenses. For the Field we will have to wait until the game is unveiled, but previous years Field construction expenses have run from $400-$4000. The total projected expenses will be divided by the expected number of teams. The more teams we can count on, the lower the cost per team.
If you or your team is willing to help with any of the above, or something not mentioned Please PM or e-mail me.
ChrisH
President SCRRF