For a team with no experience with this stuff, what should we do during the worlds?
While in our team area and mixing with the crowd.
Advertising?
Wristbands?
Sabotage other teams?
Thanks.
It is always fun to bring pins, candy and other giveaways. If you don’t go to the game reveal, the practice field will be wide open :).
Talk to people in your division, make friends. Fix the robot, it will be broken at first. Practice on the practice field and show off your robot. Scout for picks. Do no play any games, this is serious.
Precisely 
Can we put anthrax in the candy?
Hi @NattyMan0007,
After we get our official match schedule, we try to scout all 30 teams that we will be with/against. Make sure you create a flyer about your robot to hand out. If you are eligible, make sure you schedule your design/excellence presentations. Also, make sure to use all 6 of your skills runs at some point during the tournament, if you place top 30 in either skills challenge you will get an extra run on the final day. Also, make sure you get inspected early as the lines get REALLY long.
Our plan is go go around and find out about the auton program of our opponents and teammates throughout the matches and structure the Auton of our robot per match to avoid collisions and the like.
This may get hairy if teams have multiple strategies but worth a shot.
Also will be looking at other teams and what their robots can do.
If they have an autonomous that goes out of the climbing zone, you can hit them off course and if your lucky, make them score in your net. Wouldnt be the first time… 
(wow… the forum sure changed since I last logged in… now to find my old profile picture from my external hard drive.)
Productive things:
- Standard pre-match meetings. You should meet with your alliance, etc., well before your match. One thing that is somewhat different about Worlds is that there can be a (small) language barrier depending on who you’re teamed up with. Allow a bit of time to talk through things because it’s possible your alliance member may have a very different “standard strategy” than you due to regional differences.
- Checklists/robot inspection. It’s possible your robot was damaged during transit, and you should certainly make sure that your robot is at its best; we lost the first match during my last trip to Worlds because we didn’t drive our robot enough to realize our drive train had broken in transit.
- Visit the pits of well-known/“famous” robots and get a close-up look to see how they work. While it would be too late for modifications this year, it can help for future years. While you’re at it, pay attention to how other teams laid out their pit areas so you can copy things you like next year.
Fun things:
- Get a tshirt and have people sign it from various teams. I remember seeing 1103 do this (if I recall correctly), and I really wish it was something I had done.
- Meet GDC members and VRC/RECF high-ups. I got JVN, Karthik, and some other well-known VEX/RECF staffers to autograph an event map one year (and thus managed to get mentioned in JVN’s post-competition blog post!)
- Visit pits of forum members! It can be really exciting to meet the person behind a screen name
- Stop by sponsor booths (when I went, there was ROBOTC/easyC, Autodesk, and a couple others); not only do they often have nice swag, it can be a great opportunity to discuss robotics with the people who made the equipment you use to compete!
- Trade shirts/buttons/stickers/flyers or something. Trust me: if you do this and look back on the memento years later (like I just did), you’ll remember the season like it was yesterday.
–Andrew
Definitely go around not only to see the other robots, but also to meet new people and learn new things. It’s really a great experience to go to a huge convention of people from all around the world who love doing the same thing that you do.
Don’t put anthrax in the candy, and don’t sabotage other teams pls.
Handouts are always good. Get your team known!
- Buttons are always popular
- Wrist bands with your team name and number
- We did Vexmen Trading Cards in 2011 but got to be wicked expensive.
When can we get real BB code things to make images resize? Sorry for the big pic. The buttons were 2.5" diameter.
Precisely what @RoboDesigners said, you are gonna want to get yourself out there as much as you can. During alliance selection when the alliance captains are looking for their first or second pick, they may run out of options by their turn. Most captains will then turn to memory, trying to remember who they talked to over the past couple days.
Whatever you do, don’t lay low, make your pit eye catching, and most importantly have fun!
May I recommend stopping by my team’s pit this year 
?
Last year we went around to every team and collected button pins and other goodies from them, so if you want a wall full of memories, I would suggest you go out and about while you’re there!
Lastly, do not decide to walk across the campus to nap in a quiet area, we almost missed a match that we didn’t see on the list last year!! That’ll for sure scare your lead member ( @Martinmavexforever )
You should try and interact with as many folks as you possibly can.
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Ensure you meet someone from at least two additional countries (if not more). Not just pleasantries of introductions, get to know them. Try and break through the language barrier with at least one. No, that New Zealand accent does not count as another language for the US/Canada folks.
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Meet people from at least 5 other US States and territories. Again, not just pleasantries.
Go watch some matches at the other grade level divisions - college, middle school, high school, and the IQ event. IQ is a bit of a hike but you can shortcut it by going outside.
Go to the company booths - the US Army had a great obstacle course last year. Great team activity there!
Pick up a Vex Worlds t-shirt or two. They have many designs so choosing what you will buy will take longer than you think. Good thing to do on Wednesday - stand in line for a t-shirt! Or a Vex Worlds backpack like I carry now for robots.
1.) Don’t change your auto at the event, practice fields will never be empty. Make sure that for every autonomous plan you have, you have two t three different paths of approach. Limit yourself to three autonomous plans, until you have all 9 variations done. Make sure you take footage of each variation, so the teams you are working out match plan with know what you are talking about.
2.) Don’t radically change practiced game/ strategy approaches. Find 2-3 approaches you are comfortable with and practice them before worlds. You will be versatile without approaching a task or strategy for the first time, and you your driver doesn’t need to pause to think during the game.
3.) Scout every team you are facing. Scout your opponents before your alliance partner for the match, so if they can’t come to scout with you, you can still build a strategy.
4.) If your alliance partner isn’t working, you want to know. Check up with them 1 1/2 hours and 45 minutes before every match, and if they need help, offer it. If you can spare the resources, don’t hesitate donating some parts they can borrow (or keep) for worlds. One c-channel won’t kill your budget, and it could get you that top spot in the rankings if your partner works.
5.) If possible, test and run your autonomi when you get to worlds, and an hour before every match.
6.) Batteries. Batteries. Batteries. Always have two fully charged ones. Never go under that. So many teams lose matches because of battery issues.
7.) You may not be in the top 8, or top 24, but you should still scout, and you should still talk to other teams about why you are a good pick. You may be just what they need.
8.) Have fun- in your downtime, get food, talk to other teams, go to the game reveal, watch matches, go to other levels, collect swag, hand out team cards, go to sponsor booths.
9.) Don’t do the following- stick to yourselves, play video-games at your table, miss matches, not talk to other teams, get mad, get mad at the referees.
If you have 13 batteries like me, and only 2 chargers, either, pre charge batteries, or, buy more chargers.
28 batteries, 18 chargers also a portable option for all the chargers makes it easy for trips across the center
@ThunderRobotics That charger was also a big fire hazard and I know because I built it.
But did it work?
By fire hazard he means it charged the batteries to 170 degrees and a few other things