Suggestions for a event volunteer?

FIRST General Forum
1

I’m working Field Assembly and FTAA duties at the very first Peachtree District competition in Columbus, GA next weekend. While I’ve mentored and worked as a judge on off season events, this will be my first time volunteering at an actual competition. :smiley:

I’m trying to be a good volunteer and be prepared. Any suggestions from battle hardened vent on preparations? Since here are so many zip ties uses in construction, would it be smart to bring my own flush cutters or will there be enough in the field tools to go around? also planning in bringing a good pair of gloves with me!

2

Your own multitool wouldn’t be a terrible decision, as well as your own safety glasses and a good pair of shoes. Depending on venue, if you can bring a water bottle to stay hydrated, itll help greatly to make it through the day. Mage sure to get sleep too!

3

If you can get ahold of an extra copy of the Field Assembly manual, bring that to assist whoever is running it. The more copies, the better because it allows people to do things without running back and forth to understand what needs to happen.

Are the carpet cutters (Black Betty or Brown Betty, not utility knives) included in the tool boxes for the field? If not, it would greatly help to get one or two to assist with the carpet. I was introduced to these by the guys setting up lighting while I was working the carpet in Los Angeles.

Rather than bringing just flush cutters, if you have a tool kit that folds up and has a lot of common tools, I’d bring that instead. Just don’t loan out tools without knowing who they went to, otherwise, you’ll never see them again.

4

Wear comfortable shoes. As an FTAA you are going to be walking to and from alliance stations to get teams ready for the match. On top of that you might be on the other side of the field looking for robots as they drop comms or whatever the case may be.

Don’t stress too much. Stay calm, even if the field is metaphorically on fire. As a first time volunteer you are there to learn. Ask the FTA questions about issues he resolved. Also keep an eye on the field monitor, you can spot issues before they are real issues.

Get to know your CSA. Anything you see on the field (low battery voltage, high ping, high dropped packets) is useful to them. Their job is to get robots to the field in the best state possible.

I don’t bring my own diagonal cutters, but I know some FTAs bring their own. I haven’t seen a shortage of cutters in MAR, however I don’t know how many FIRST provides.

5

All tools will be provided but having an extra set can be helpful.

As an FTAA you will be helping teams to connect to the field and diagnose issues. I would suggest you become familiar with the field monitor. Ask your FTA about getting the field monitor on your phone or tablet, be sure you have a device with a good battery. I don’t know if it has been posted yet but FIRST usually gives their volunteers a quick guide to connectivity. Basically if a team DS is not connected yet, check that. Common fixes are checking the ethernet cable is plugged in and the one for the correct station, restarting the DS software, making sure firewall/windows defender/mcafee are shut down and confirming the wifi on the computer is disabled. The DS has to connect to FMS before the robot can. If a robot is not connecting check if the roboRIO and radio have power, check if they have an ethernet connection. Familiarize yourself with the light codes. If something needs to be changed on the robot (including powering it on), have a member of the team come out and do it.

Remember your job is at the field, don’t leave the field unless the FTA knows you are doing so.

You will also be looked to as one of the more knowledgeable and experienced volunteers. It is amazing how people’s opinion change when they see a volunteer with a radio. If you do not know the answer to a question, find a person that does. No answer is better than a wrong one.

When you first get to the competition (maybe after field set-up) be sure to introduce yourself to the FTA, Field Supervisor, Scorekeepr, VC, LRI, Pit Admin and CSA. These are the people you will need to interact with most. Try to remember their names and also thank them for their help.

Keep in mind that FIRST’s customers are the teams. Be gracious and professional whenever you are working with them or when someone from a team might be around. You will probably get stressed at some point, take a deep breath, don’t get mad, don’t curse, handle the situation with respect. You can tell people that you need to handle certain problems in order of importance. This is also when you can direct robot problems to the CSA or LRI.

Finally, have fun. I enjoy being a FTAA, you get to see a lot of action and interact with the teams. Remember to celebrate a high score (but don’t show favorites) and keep the environment light and fun. Nothing will kill a mode as quickly as seeing a volunteer that doesn’t want to be there.

6

Oh boy! You’re going to love working with the Georgia FIRST volunteer crew! They’re family, and an amazing group to get you started in on volunteering :slight_smile:
They like to have fun, so don’t be surprised if you’re encouraged to wear a headband with deely boppers or a tiara, we have amazing volunteer coordinators who have been known to save the field team by leaving candies and treats for us to snack on in between matches. Last year we also had silly tags hanging off our volunteer badges that said things like “I color outside the lines” and “QUEEN BEE”

I forget which of the two Head Refs will be at your event, but both of them are amazing. Echoing what other people have said, comfortable shoes is important, if you wear glasses, bring side shields, though we usually have spares for people.

Of course, always be near the field. The moment you walk away is when you will suddenly be needed (Murphy’s Law!).

To add on to what rtfgnow said, you will be looked at as knowing what’s happening and will inevitably be asked questions by students, mentors, other volunteers and the like. The crew your working with are mostly going to be many year vets of volunteering and will gladly help you out if you need it.

I won’t be at this event for Georgia, but I will be at the district champs. Is Columbus the only event you’ll be volunteering at this year, or are you planning on joining us for any of the others? :smiley:

7

Arrive early. Check in with the Volunteer coordinator.
Thank the people providing the vittles.
Help each team to compete.
Dance when you can.

8

^^^ THIS THIS THIS!!!

As a ~10 events or so FTAA, and now an FTA myself (I so can’t wait for Week 2), make sure that you and your FTA are both drinking water. It will be hectic, particularly during the practice rounds (all defenses can change and robots are seeing/connecting to the field for the first time), and you tend to forget to take care of yourself. Feed off of and take queues from the FTA. You can learn a LOT from them if you just absorb.

A good pair of comfortable shoes is a must. You may have to sprint a little bit to see what lights are on inside of a robot that suddenly went still. For fun, wear a pedometer to track how much you moved around during the day.

Most of all, have fun! The participants can sense when you are having fun and feed off of it. Cheer them on when something really cool happens. Enjoy your time in front of the glass.

9

Everyone has made some great suggestions, so I’m not going to reiterate them, with the exception of STAY HYDRATED cause that is super-duper important, and oft forgotten.

It’s probably too late for this season but if you are going to be volunteering at multiple events, I suggest buying your own headset for the radios. (Just check what connection you need, 1-pin vs 2-pin). Everyone has preferences as to what type of headset they prefer, and that might differ from what the event has.

Bring a spare pair of socks with you and change them out at lunch. I know this seems kinda silly and trivial but you would be surprised how much it helps.

And the most important thing to remember at the events is: HAVE FUN!!! Happiness and fun are infectious, so not only will you more enjoy volunteering, but the people around you will enjoy their time more as well.

10

Field Assembly Tips:
Be there on time and ready to move around. Honestly you probably want to dress like you are going to the gym, its a work out. Read the field assembly manuals before you get creative. Not every part of the field is disassembled. Stage the cases before you do anything.

FTAA Tips: Familiarize yourself with all of these documents if you can look at a status light and know what it means, you’ll be super helpful. The At The Event section is particularly helpful. Keep a notepad with team networking issues on them. Establish how you will communicate with the CSA’s and Inspectors quickly.

More FTAA Tips:
The first cycle of matches is the worst, teams don’t know where to go or what to do, make sure you are prepared to give them direction on everything, where to go, what to plug into, turn the robot on, ect. Take notes from the drivers meeting too.

Don’t wear jeans, you’ll get tired faster. Give your scorekeeper cookies.

11

Some more FTAA tips:

  • Understand what the field monitor looks like (your FTA can give you a walk through on practice day). Know what all the lights and numbers mean and learn to correlate that info to the different failure modes robots have. For example, a roboRIO reboot means the robot loses connection for ~30 seconds, while a radio reboot is slightly longer at ~45 seconds.
  • The two fuses in the PDP like to wiggle out. They need to be really pushed in hard, harder than you think. This post has some examples.
  • You will have to remind teams of the match flow during the early part of the event. You may have to remind teams to power their robots on - but don’t touch their robot yourself. Get their attention, have them come over, and let them do it. They’re most comfortable with their machine.
  • Keep notes. If you know a robot dropped communication their last match, it means you can be paying extra attention to the status lights and maybe learn something more. If you have an Android phone, I wrote a simple app for note taking and tracking network issues over the course of an event.
  • Finally, be relaxed, have fun and keep cool. It will be exhausting but always stay calm and professional - you are one of the faces of “the field” to many teams. If you’re happy and positive, the teams will feed off that.
12

You all rock! Thanks for all the suggestions!

@alicen:
Right now this is it. Next year I’ll try to do more, my schedule just has not allowed as much FIRST as I would like this year.

13

One last thing: Remember that nobody can hear anything between the field and player stations. Set up a standard set of hand signals and let the drive teams know them at the meeting.

14

They won’t be remembered. Printed signs are more effective.

TURN ON YOUR ROBOT
PLUG IN THE DRIVER STATION

Slapping them against the glass is a good way to get the drivers’ attention.

15

This. I’ve seen this done to mallets (Allison Phelps) and hat brims (Jerry Budd) and heard of at least one FTA doing this with shoe soles. Whatever it is, make it loud and clear.

16

Add one more that I tend to have to use quite often although the Driver Station display now helps to notify the teams when it occurs:

WRONG PLAYER STATION

I have two of these to show both station 1 & 3.

17

Another FTAA (3 years) chiming in. The posts in this thread are right, bring good shoes, a copy of the Field Manual, and your wits. ::rtm::

You should have already gotten an invite to the Box folder. I would suggest looking over all the powerpoints and troubleshooting docs a few days before your event (my first event is next weekend, and I am looking over them now). You are not expected to know everything, but be prepared to be thrown into anything.

When you get to the event, you will probably meet the FTA, Volunteer Coordinator, and Field Supervisor during field setup. The next day, you should meet the Scorekeeper, Head Ref, Lead Robot Inspector, and the CSA(s). These are the people you will interact with the most and serve as the primary points of contact for any issues that arise.

There is an earlier post that the field is your first priority. I somewhat disagree. You are the FIRST Technical Advisor Assistant, not the Field Assistant or Field Supervisor. Your first role should be to help the FTA and his or her sanity. 99% of the time they will assign you to the field, but your FTA may send you to do something else if needed (e.g. if you have more connection issues than the CSA’s can handle, you may get sent to the pits to help them out).

You will probably be issued a radio, use it if the venue is loud or you need to find someone. It seems like a simple thing, but having a radio makes you seen like middle to upper level management at the event. Students will ask you random questions about things that are not at all in your purview (I once had a nuanced question that was at the intersection of Game Rules and Robot Inspection). Try to point them to the person who will know and be patient, they just don’t know better.

On a more serious note, you are the FTA’s backup (assuming he or she does not say otherwise). If your FTA steps out for a bit, you are the Big Cheese and are expected to make the calls. Don’t worry though, I highly doubt your FTA would step our for more than a few minutes and leave an FTAA to fend for himself. That usually happens only after a few years (last year, I had an FTA step out for about two hours :ahh: )

Overall, try to have a good time. Being an FTAA is the best thing I have done in FIRST. You will make friends with most of the volunteers, as you all are there for the same reason, to run a good event and help the kids. After a few times volunteering, you start showing up to set up the field and catching up with friends at the same time.

18

Allow me to clarify my point.

You are stationed at the field and that is where people will expect to find you, you should not step away without notifying the FTA or someone else. That is what was covered in the FTAA training. The job will take you all over the event. I have done the job of a CSA when I was assigned as an FTAA because that is what was needed of me.

alicen said something similar but neither of use stated that the field was the FTAA’s top priority. Their top priority is to help the FTA ensure that the event runs as smooth as possible.