Tournament Information

Registration

• Registration opens at 7:00 a.m. Teams must check in at the registration desk upon arrival at Gates Center.
  
• The order in which the teams register determines the order of play in the first three rounds.
• Teams will be given a registration packet which contains:
  • Name badges for each team member, which displays your team number. It is important that these badges are worn throughout the day.
  • Last minute information about the tournament.
    
• Practice tables are available. A volunteer in the area where the practice tables are located will have a sign up sheet where you can schedule your practice rounds on a first come first serve basis. There will be three practice rounds starting at 8:00 am.
• At the information table there will be sign up sheets where you can schedule the visit at your table by the Against All Odds judge.
• A volunteer near Room 120 will have a sign up sheet where you can schedule your Hypothesis Presentation and your Technical Interview time slots. The judging starts at 9:00 a.m.
• The tournament tables are available ONLY for calibration of the light sensor between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Teams CANNOT run the robot on the match tables during this period, they can only check the readings.

Staging

• Teams will be called for competition play in the order in which they arrived to the registration desk.
• Each team will have an 6' table with electricity in the pit area to plug in computers, work on their robot and space for any displays that they bring.
• Bring extra batteries and a power extension cord (6 feet long is fine) for your computer.
• Tables in the pit area will have a team number displayed and a placard with the team number. Please take the placard when the team goes from the pit area to the practice and playing field. The team number identifies the team and it helps the judges find and recognize the team.
• Teams will be called to the bullpen area approximately 15 minutes before their play begins. It is important that team members stay together en route to the bullpen area and that their team number is always visible.
• The traffic is one way from the pit area to the bullpens and from the bullpens back to the pit area.
• Only TWO team members are allowed to be directly on the playing field while the robot is running.
• Other team members can stand in the bullpen area, to cheer the team on. Team members can be on the playing field to work on the robot as needed ONLY while the robot is on base.
• After the match is over teams must exit the competition and practice area and return to the pit area.
• The referee makes all field judgment calls, and can not consider protests.

Tournament Play

• The first round of the competition will start at 9:00 a.m. There will be three rounds.
• At the end of the third round the team with the best record will be the winner of the Performance Award. A team's record is the highest number of points that the team obtains from any one of the three rounds, i.e. only the points that the team obtains on its best round are used to determine its record.
• Two teams must move through the complete process every 4 minutes, so the cooperation of the teams is very important.

The Judging Process

• The judges will be walking around and talking with teams (mainly in the pit area) during the day. Please, team member should not feel wary of them. The judges need to get to know the teams so they can make the best decision for the awards.
• Judges are not told what questions to ask. They will decide among themselves the best way to evaluate the teams.
• The judges will hear your Hypothesis Presentation in Room 120 and your Technical Interview in the Aerobics Area (see layout). The 5 minutes for the presentation and 5 minutes for the technical interview includes time for setup, interview, and tear down. Limit your hypothesis presentation to a maximum of 3 minutes. Coaches and adults will not be allowed to be present at the presentation and the interview.
  

The Facilities

• The event is open to the public.
• Bathrooms are located close to the bleachers and off the pit area.
• There will be a food concession stand close to the main entrance.
• No cameras or video equipment are allowed.
  • It has been reported that when downloading programs to one RCX other RCXs in the same room can occasionally get confused even if they are several feet away and not pointed directly at the IR unit.
  • To prevent this type of interference it is advised to keep the RCXs turned off unless they are competing or being downloaded with a program.
  • It also advised that everyone should set the computer software and IR tower to the "short range" option.
  • Also it is recommended that teams bring a cover, such as shoe box, to help protect it from this type of interference.