#bladernnr TVA Top Gun Award

The Tennessee Valley Authority Top Gun Award is given to the team which scores the most points in a single round. Simple as that. This may take place during seeding rounds, wild card round, semi-finals or finals.

Will you be a Top Gun...

#bladernnr Game Day Schedule Posted

The Game Day Schedule has been posted to the Team Resources section of this site.

Game Day Schedule

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Northeast Alabama Agri-Business Center

 

7:30 a.m.                           Doors Open 

7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.       Registration

·         Teacher/mentor in charge of Game Day must register upon arrival

·         Each team will receive the following in your registration packet:

o   Return of your engineering notebook (this must be in your exhibit all day)

o   Six Pit Passes for drivers and mentors (At least five of these passes must be issued to students. One may be used for a teacher or mentor. NO others will be granted access. Pit passes must be worn at all times while in the pit.)

o   Wrist bands for drivers – Numbered bands will designated driving order

o   Wrist band for team representative – This wrist band will be placed on the one student who is designated to speak to the Field Boss regarding any questions or disputes. According to BEST rules, team members may not question referees. All questions must be referred to the Field Boss through the Team Representative.

 

·         Access to the pit will take place only at the northeast gate ONLY. Do not use other access points to the pit/field area.  

·         Each team will complete a Driver Roster at check-in. Teams must adhere to this list and the order throughout game day. All drivers will receive a wrist band that will determine their rotation. Drivers must also wear a pit pass when competing or in the pit.

 

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.       Compliance Check-in and Pit Set-up

·         All teams must be robot compliant or the team will not be able to compete. Read the rules carefully!

·         Any team that is not compliant will be given the opportunity to go outside and rebuild, make adjustments, whatever it takes to become legal. We want teams to compete!

·         Each team will be provided a table to keep their robot and tool box at all day in the pit.

·         A battery charging station will be located in the pit area. Teams need to bring their own battery charger and are responsible for charging their own batteries.

·         Tables will be set up in the pit area for simple tools. Saws, drills, etc. must remain outside.

·         Compliance staff will be on hand to assist and answer any questions.

 

9:00 a.m.                           Driver’s Meeting

·         ALL drivers should be in the pit by 8:50 a.m. There will be a driver’s meeting at 9:00 a.m. to review rules for the day. Attendance is mandatory for all drivers.

 

9:30 a.m.                           Seeding Rounds Begin and Exhibit Booths Open

·         Seeding rounds begin.

·         Exhibit booths should open and remain open until the lunch break.

 

11:30 a.m. – 1:00 pm       Lunch Break

·         All teams must leave the arena by 11:45 a.m.

·         If teams wish to make repairs/modifications to their robot during lunch they must remove their robot and make repairs outside the arena. The robot must then go back through compliance before re-entering the competition. Compliance will open at 12:45 p.m.

·         Lunch is on your own. The concession stand will be open and a list of local restaurants will be provided.

 

12:50 p.m.                        Line Up for Opening Ceremony

·         All team members should go outside to south side of building to line up for the opening ceremony. We will line up in team number order.

·         All BEST team members in attendance, including mentors and teachers, should be a part of the opening ceremony.

·         Mascots, bands, etc. may march in with the teams.

 

1:00 p.m.                          Opening Ceremony!

 

1:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.       Robot Competition Rounds and Exhibits Open

·         Seeding rounds continue leading into semifinal and final rounds

·         Please keep your exhibit booth manned at all times

·         Be ready for spirit breaks by bands, cheers from your cheerleaders, mascot dance-off, and other fun stuff!

 

4:00 p.m.                          Exhibit breakdown may begin

·         All exhibits must be removed by 6:00 p.m.

·         All booth parts and trash needs to go home with you!

 

5:00 p.m.                          Awards Ceremony (TIME IS APPROXIMATE)

 

Mandatory meeting of teams advancing to South’s BEST will be held after the awards ceremony.

 

NOTES: Very important!! Please read the following to your students:

 

·         MUST WEAR SHIRTS AND NO BODY PAINT! Face painting and tattoos are acceptable.

·         No large flags please (such as those seen at football games). Large flags obstruct the view of others.

·         Only Northeast Alabama BEST volunteers, judges, and VIPs with credentials are allowed in the Hospitality Room.

·         No Frisbees, beach balls, or items that may end up on the playing field will be allowed. This is to ensure no interference with the playing field.

·         YOU MUST HAVE A PIT PASS TO BE IN THE PIT. YOU WILL BE GIVEN 6 PIT PASSES IN YOUR REGISTRATION PACKET. PLAN WITH YOUR TEAM HOW YOU WILL USE THESE ON GAMEDAY…NO EXCEPTIONS.

·         No walkie-talkies allowed in the pit and game area.

·         NO TAPE ON WALLS!

·         Leave the facility cleaner than you found it. Please take all trash, materials, etc. with you when you leave.

·         You are encouraged to bring pep bands, cheerleaders, parents, siblings, friends, relatives, mascots, and school officials to cheer you on. All fans will be seated in the bleachers at the south end of the facility.

#bladernnr Reminder: Engineering Notebooks Due October 28 by 2 pm

Remember that project engineering notebooks are due at practice day, October 28, no later than 2:00 pm. Your team demographic form must be enclosed in your notebook.

#bladernnr PrintCo360 is a Sponsor

We are pleased to announce that PrintCo 360 has joined us again in 2014 as an in-kind sponsor. They have been with us every year and do a great job printing the Tshirts and signs for Northeast Alabama BEST. If you are looking for a place to have your Tshirts or signs printed, contact the good folks at PrintCo 360 and see if they can help.

We appreciate the quality of work that they provide and their continued support of Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics.

#bladernnr A Little Corporate Espionage

Some call it research; others call it corporate espionage. Call it what you wish, but it's good to think about what is allowed and even encouraged in BEST.

First, it is an excellent idea to see as much robotics competition as you can. Even if you don't advance to South's BEST at Auburn, it would be excellent research for next year to visit to learn what others did to make it to South's BEST. Another good research method is to visit other hub's game days. All BEST hubs are required to post their game days on Eventbrite, so you can find out about other game days and visit to see how others have approached the problem. Since Northeast Alabama BEST typically uses the last available game day, there are two other approved BEST Game Days (October 18 and 15).

If you can't attend a game day, you can follow other BEST teams and hubs on Twitter and Facebook and see photos and videos from their game days. To find more BEST teams and hubs, connect with Northeast Alabama BEST on Twitter and Facebook as other teams and hubs follow us. All of these methods are perfectly acceptable and even encouraged.

So put away your spy pens and don't plant a camera in Mrs. Parris' classroom. And don't try to get information about the game before kick off. But going to other game days is just another method of R&D. In BEST terminology that means "Rip off and Duplicate".

If there is ever a question about what is, and is not ethical, do not hesitate to ask.

#bladernnr Exhibit Booths at Made in DeKalb Expo?

Northeast Alabama BEST teams will have an opportunity to set up their exhibit booths early this year so that visitors to the Made in DeKalb Expo will be able to visit the booths and learn more about BEST Robotics. Teams have two options regarding the set up of their booths:

• Teams may set up on Wednesday, October 29 so that their booth may be seen by those who visit the Made in DeKalb Expo on October 30. It is not required for teams to staff their booth all day on October 30, but teams are encouraged to consider it.
• Alternately, teams may set up on Friday, October 31 between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm.  

Regardless of when teams set up, they should remember that all set up should be accomplished by students. Do not send two parents and a teacher to set up. As with everything in BEST, students must do the work.

#bladernnr Check Game Q&A Daily

Just a reminder to check the BEST Game Question and Answer daily to assure that you are current with rule clarifications, field tweaks, and robot questions.