Hi our first VRC Tournament is near after COVID Lockdown and some of our amateur team mates wants a list of things you must bring to a tournment. I have included some like charger, laptop, snacks, highlighter, etc.
visit teams.vex.com
there are plenty of articles to help teams navigate competitions in the KB library.
This is a good resource
I recommend bringing a robot. Don’t forget a driver too.
Check with @tabor473 - drivers might be optional.
A team from New Jersey in Star Struck I believe once lost a 1v0 because they lost auto. Maybe we need to bring back this meta defining strategy
Papper Towels
While v5 is in disputably water proof laptops are not.
One thing I would HIGHLY recommend your toolbox! If you don’t have one, make a box full of things like spare smart cables, screws, rubber bands, spare parts, etc.
If you have a lot of matches you might want to consider bringing cans of compressed air to cool the motors down with. Our team lived off them last year.
Extra pants
20char 20 char 22000
If you’re going to join a VRC tournament discussion, bring a few copies of the latest game manual because you might be the only person to have read it.
This is true. They lost auton by moving stars into opponents scoring zone.
A few might not be enough. I’d bring at least 3 copies per person that will be in the discussion. Can never be too safe.
Bring a bunch of batteries, that way if you forget to charge one you can just use another
… … … … … just a thought
Bring ice cold water and head ache pills. Not even joking I wish I brought these to my first comp. My throat was dry as a Popeyes biscuit and my head was feeling like I just was on a school bus filled with hyperactive 1st graders.
(Well not specifically pills but something to treat headaches, since the newbies will most likely get a headache from stress and whatnot)
Wear comfortable shoes. At our state comp we had to constantly go up and down stairs for matches and the pits, and the pits were pretty large. With the amount of walking I did, comfortable shoes 100% helped make the ache not as severe lol. Same goes for worlds; you will be walking a lot. I’ll extend this to comfortable wear in general too. Most tournaments I’ve been to have lasted nearly 8 or 9 hours sometimes. You’ll definitely want to be as comfortable as possible while competing.
Also, bring snacks and water for the team! If everyone chips something in, it makes the competing experience a more enjoyable. Easy access to snacks and water when you’re hungry and/or dehydrated is a life saver.
Lastly, coffee.
Not an essential but a peice of advice for newer competitors in smaller organizations
If you feel nervous wash your face in a sink and just take a moment to clear your mind and not think about the competition
Maybe have a backup or freshman driver to take off some load off
Dont rebuild your robot a week before the competition
And yall arnt ready to hear this one but actually get some sleep and maintain a good sleep schedule for the competition season
I would specify that the amount of coffee one should bring must be meticulously tuned for optimal performance.