I Just want to run contrary to a negative narrative put fourth in a few threads. We had a overall positive experience at the Create US Open.
The Event ran on time and most of time ahead which was nice
Pits were well organized
facility was spacious and offered great views for spectators
Commentators were actually good and were knowledgeable on game details
I thought the event officials and volunteers were understanding and eager to help if they could
Vex Support replaced defect motors (huge thanks vex!)
The static spray was unfortunate, but as stated it was done by vex reps and wasn’t Create’s fault. Honestly I would have rather encountered this problem first at the US open than later at worlds.
Only negative for me was the music, but you can’t win them all!
The molded holes that the shafts slide into in the internals of the 393’s were a bit larger than they are suppose to be, and they caused those shafts to wiggle causing the gears to not turn properly. This basically made the motors useless. The support team knew they were an issue and replaced them.
The Vex Tech Support said that there were a few contributing factors, and checked our serial numbers. The end result was that at medium to low speeds, with certain orientations and loads, the motor would bind up, which caused enormous problems for us when it occurred.
Our instructions for future issues was to send VEX the serial numbers from any suspected defects. They are aware of the issue and are very helpful.
For the teams ending their season here, I think it was an excellent opportunity to interact with teams from a wider range of locations and skill levels, and gave them an indication of what to shoot for to grow in their own regions for the next season.
For the teams going on to Worlds, especially for the first time, this was a great small scale preview of the scope and environment, which our team definitely needed. It gave our students a better idea of the value of scouting and networking that they had not really grasped when they were on a first name basis with most of the best teams from their regional competitions.
I thought it was great except the static spray as well.
The Music… LOVED IT!!! of course I grew up in that generation. 80’s Rock!
The only complaint besides the spray was that many of the chairs in the arena were covered in dust.
Scheduling was great.
Pits were great.
Food… not so much!!!
T-shirts… better last year but were ok this year (same vendor)
Staff… great!
Awards ceremony GREAT! (Thanks for the Teacher of the Year Award!!!)
I did like the 16 seeds in each division. It let more have a little more time in the spotlight and still ran on a good time.
Finals matches were AWESOME!!!
We actually liked the music. As unfortunate as some of the things that happened were, we still had a blast, getting to know teams, competing, etc. The static spray was unfortunate, but it was better than all of the fields breaking down due to electronic failure. The refs weren’t the best, but they were also volunteers who put countless hours and dollars into making it a good experience for everyone. As far as fields go, even though they broke down some, it was good pre-worlds competition for those that plan on going
The Kentucky Contingent (HS 2886A, 2886B, 6135F, 6135H, 6135K, 6135W, MS 32545A) all had a good time at the US Open. It seemed well run, and well laid out. We had our individual and team disappointments, of course, but overall it was a great time for us.
During the time while practicing in the engineering room, our robot practically never burnt our whatsoever. At the CREATE competition, my robot kept burning out for the last 30 seconds (Thanks anti-static sprays!) But luckily, over time the spray worn out and our robot didn’t wear down. It was annoying and I really hope that worlds never uses anti-static spray next time, because it affects robots dramatically. Hopefully this makes sense because it was somewhat disturbing to lose some matches of our robot burning out.
I wouldn’t hope for no anti-static spray. Every competition in my region has used anti-static spray without any problems, and having played without it on practice fields, getting shocked by your robot every time you pick it up is not fun. From what I’ve heard, at US Open it was simply applied too much. If it’s applied properly it shouldn’t be a problem at worlds.
Ohhhhh ok that makes sense. Thank you for letting me know! I forgot to add this, but other than the anti-static spray, the CREATE foundation was really well-prepared and never were late on time. They really did everything so smoothly and I would like to thank the announcer for using his breath for hours upon end for our own entertainment.
