Welcome to the
FIRST
Webconference
2005 FRC Field
Supervisor Training
Guide
1
Introduction & Overview
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Facilitator: Hutton Snow
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FIRST Director of Engineering
Facilitator: Chris Mikus
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The Field Supervisor plays a
key role in coordinating the
flow of events on the field and
is crucial to a successful
outcome. It is a demanding
and rewarding position that will
challenge your organizational,
operational, and diplomatic
skills.
The following material
assumes some basic
knowledge of how a FIRST
Robotics Competition event
works (experience with at least
one previous competition).
2
Responsibilities
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Establishing event flow and keeping the event on
schedule
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Starting and finishing on time – not late, not early
Training the field reset folks and ensuring a job well done
Identifying and resolving issues by including the
appropriate subject matter expert. Must be a catalyst for
resolving problems
YOU are ultimately responsible for making sure
everything on the field goes smoothly – the buck stops
here, nothing is “not my job” if it involves the field
3
Principles
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Requires great diplomacy and many judgment calls
If there is a rule, follow it or you will be asking for trouble
If there is not a hard and fast rule, keep in mind that you
need to be able to apply the decision across all teams if
necessary
Need to be decisive
Employ the appropriate subject matter experts in
resolving issues. The Tech Advisor, Head Referee, Lead
Robot Inspector, and IFI representatives are your first
choices for most issues you can’t resolve yourself
Remember that your actions will be closely watched and
the teams are looking for consistency and no favoritism
4
Principles (cont.)
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Necessary behaviors:
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Be polite – “please” and “thank you” go a long way
Be humble – don’t be afraid to ask for help
Be approachable – you have to know what’s going on
Be patient – stay calm and work things through
Be a good listener – show empathy but then get to the point
Be flexible – there is more than one way to accomplish most
goals
Be professional – you are representing FIRST
At the end of they day you won’t be able to keep all
people happy but if you are consistent and fair you’ve
done the best you can
5
Key Team Members
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Constant communication is key. More is better. Strive to
over-communicate.
You should establish a productive rapport with the
following people who will be crucial to your success
FIRST Tech Advisor
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He/She is your “go to” person for technical issues
All these people have done your job in previous years and know
the ropes
They are responsible for assisting with field set up / training for
others / tear down and resolving technical issues throughout the
competition
Check in regularly and get feedback on how things are going
6
Key Team Members (cont.)
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Event Manager
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Establish start and end times for each day
Review VIP appearances and needed support
Review media plans & establish ground rules for camera
operators & photographers
Keep them updated on progress versus schedule
Head Referee
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Review interaction between field reset and refs
Establish what signal they will give you for indicating scoring is
over and its OK to enter the field
Emphasize importance of fast scoring – establish feedback
method on pace (“I’m going to let you know if I think you are
taking too long!”)
7
Key Team Members (cont.)
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Head inspector
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Establish method of communicating which teams passed
inspection
Review anything to watch out for on the field (e.g., tires that
could become a problem)
Head Queuer
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Key individual for keeping the event on schedule
Establish flow patterns and expectations for queuing
Establish importance of communication
Let them know that while you want to call teams early to make
sure they are ready, we don’t want to call teams too early.
8
Key Team Members (cont.)
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Innovation First Representative
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Establish rapport, let them know how much you are counting on them
for things to go smooth technically
Establish who checks robots for green LED’s and who gives emcee the
“ready to start”
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Either one or both of you
Review plan for drivers meeting
Pit announcer
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Establish expectations for staying on schedule. Let them know that if
teams are missing from the queue they will be expected to help find
them
 Too much chatter over the pit can be bad. Teams will tune it out and
miss real information. We are looking to the teams to watch the
schedule so they know when to report to the field. Less announcing.
 Review with lead queuer the need to call teams early but not too early
9
Key Team Members (cont.)
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Head Scorekeeper
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Play key role in getting scoring entered and the next match
ready
Make sure they have a direct line to tech support if needed (Tech
Advisor should be able to provide direct line to support
personnel)
Emcee
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Review process of giving introductions prior to each match
Let them know who will tell them when we are ready to start
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Usually either yourself or the Innovation First person – you decide
10
Key Team Members (cont.)
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Volunteer Coordinator
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Discuss how many volunteers you need for field set up, queuing,
etc.
Emphasize the need to have reliable volunteers for queuing and
field setup and preferably some good percentage who work all 3
days
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This really helps maintain consistency and timing
Establish process for having the volunteer coordinator work all
volunteer additions/subtractions that effect the field through you
11
Key Team Members (cont.)
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A/V Manager
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Make sure you know how to find him/her in case of emergency
May also want to get to know the DJ so you can influence the
music selection since you are going to be listening to it for 12
hours a day
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It is also ok to ask them to turn it down if necessary. It tends to
drown out the game announcer
Use A/V Manager with regards to Union Sites or not. They will
know best how to handle.
Head Judge
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Introduce yourself in case they need anything to do with the
field/competition flow
12
Equipment
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You will be on a radio
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Scissors / pocket knife
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Good for communication with queuers, pit announcer, A/V, Event
Manager, Innovation First tech support
In addition to carrying a knife, it’s a good idea to put scissors for
carpet trimming in a central location
List of matches / schedule and a pen to keep track of
progress
13
Equipment (cont.)
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A watch with a second hand – preferably a sport watch
with a stop watch
Know where the tool box is and check to make sure it
has the necessary stuff for field maintenance
Make sure you know where the cleaning supplies are
14
Field Set Up & Checkout
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The Field Supervisor is responsible for field setup and
breakdown.
The FIRST Tech Advisor is a resource to advise and
support the Field Supervisor to ensure timely field setup.
Check with the Volunteer Coordinator to insure that you
have enough people to assist in setup and breakdown.
15
Event Flow
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Review overall schedule with Event Manager, emcee,
and lead queuer
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Start and stop times each day
Match numbers and scheduled breaks / intermissions for each
day
Lunch break schedule
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Reminder: elimination pairings are always going to be before lunch
this year.
Schedule for opening and closing ceremony speeches, special
adjustments done to the field, etc.
16
Queuing
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Review with queuing team the traffic flow of robots to /
from pit
Establish in painful detail:
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Where on-deck robots are to wait
How robots will get loaded on the field
Where carts will go while robots are on the field
How robots come off the field
You have to have a universally recognized, consistently followed
traffic flow
Need to check that robot numbers correspond to the numbers on
the scoring system
Make sure everyone understands stations Red 1, Red 2, Red 3,
Blue 1, Blue 2, and Blue 3
17
Queuing (cont.)
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Alliance team members must decide their robot position on the field
prior to stepping onto the field
The drivers must be under the computer-assigned driving position
Establish that queuers are ultimately responsible for making sure the
right robots / drivers get to the right playing spot
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You and the field setup folks will help but queuers need to be
responsible
Emphasize to the team their importance in keeping the event on
schedule
Let head queuer decide where to post queuing people
Establish radio channel for queuing info
Review guidelines for how long we will wait for missing teams
18
Pit
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Get to know the pit manager and pit announcer as they
will be very helpful in communicating any messages you
may have to the teams
Know the pit layout so you can find teams if necessary,
although you will most likely stay on the field
19
Field Reset
Meet with field reset team and review:
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Importance of speed and accuracy in reset
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No one under Age 12
Review field configuration – exactly how you want it set
up – be firm!
Review importance of not touching any robot or piece of
field until referee gives OK sign (establish what the OK
sign is)
Review rules for what to do with tetras that leave the
field
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Tetras do not get returned to the playing field
Tetras are recycled through the stacks of tetras
20
Field Reset (cont.)
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Assign a head reset person
Review field maintenance procedures
 Trimming
carpet snags
 Re-taping lines
 Replacing damaged tetras – decide when a tetra
needs replacing and establish where reserve is
 Picking up trash
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Put robot parts that look important in a central place
Have trash cans around for debris
21
Field Reset (cont.)
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Establish a sense of pride in how the field looks,
including sidelines
 Picking
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up trash
 Keeping things neat and organized
 Keep judge’s tables/area clean
Review where you want people posted (if important)
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Gates onto field
Human player stations
Helping teams get set up and disconnected
22
Field Reset (cont.)
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Establish protocol for people taking a break
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Who gets notified, etc.
Figure out who will be working which days and let the
volunteer coordinator know if you need more people or
have too many
Emphasize the need for being punctual – you are
counting on these folks to be on time
Make sure everyone has safety glasses and
understands they need to keep them on to be near/on
the field
Tell the volunteers that they must wear their volunteer
shirt and try to look neat
23
Practice Day
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An opportunity to work out kinks in traffic flow and field setup
An opportunity to practice announcing
This is when the teams learn the match timing, get the feel of the
human player mats, etc. THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SET
THE TONE FOR THE 2 DAYS OF COMPETITION WITH THE
TEAMS.
Make sure you have a schedule of rounds
Know if / how the scoring system enforces schedule
Keep rough tabs on how many teams are passing inspection
Look for wear and tear on the field
Don’t swap out tetras unless absolutely necessary
Let rookie members of your team know that the intensity level will be
substantially higher tomorrow – don’t get too comfortable
24
Practice Day (cont.)
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Make sure the scoring system is working properly
Work with Innovation First personnel to swap out cables,
if necessary, at end of day
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They will likely change them at noon on Friday and Saturday
Perform field maintenance at end of day
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Vacuum carpet and trim loose ends
Check tetras
Field markings
Clean glass – both sides
Clean HDPE triangular shapes – yellow, red, and blue
Make sure the green vinyl on the vision tetras is replaced if
necessary
25
Driver’s Meeting
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This will be the responsibility of the FIRST Tech Advisor
and the IFI representative but you may want to weigh in
on field and flow issues.
Work out with Innovation First personnel and head ref
the topics for the driver’s meeting (this should be
scripted ahead of time but there may be additional
topics)
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Innovation First will review technical issues with controls and
scoring system
Head Ref will review point of the rules they want to emphasize
(disqualification etc.)
26
Driver’s Meeting (cont.)
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You should review:
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Traffic pattern
Importance of getting on and off field quickly
Safety glasses and operators badges
Schedule – times indicated on the match list are for reference only – you
MAY GET AHEAD or behind
Here to have fun – gracious professionalism
No replays
Make sure a team rep is available for elimination pairings
See head ref for questions about action on the field
See you for questions about action off the field
27
Event Introduction
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Review schedule with Event Manager
Set up field the way the Event Manager wants it
Let queuers know to load the first teams and have ondeck teams ready before the start of the opening
ceremonies
Check that the robots can establish communications by
powering them on.
Let teams on the field turn off their robots to save power
28
Qualifying (Seeding) Rounds
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Always know what round you are on and where you are
versus the expected time schedule
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May want to keep a stop watch to capture the cycle time from
one round to next – good way to monitor pace versus plan
If not on target, then look for the bottlenecks and fix them
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Field set up time
Getting teams on / off field
Getting teams connected / disconnected
Referee scoring time (work with refs to improve)
Emcee / announcer taking too long
29
Qualifying (Seeding) Rounds
(cont.)
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Early on focus on field set up and make sure this goes
smoothly
Once field reset is going well take a look at how queuing
is going
Periodically check in with all key people to make sure
everything is going smoothly
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FIRST Tech Advisor
Lead queuer
Pit announcer
Event Manager
Head referee
Innovation First personnel
Scoring table
30
Qualifying (Seeding) Rounds
(cont.)
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Coordinate breaks for those who need them
Look for trouble
Keep people pumped up
End of Day One, perform field maintenance
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Replace tetras as necessary
Carpet vacuum and trimming
Cleaning glass
Field markings
Trash pickup
Clean HDPE triangular shapes – yellow, red, and blue
Make sure the green vinyl on the vision tetras is replaced if
necessary
31
Qualifying (Seeding) Rounds
(cont.)
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Start of Day Two
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Ask field set up and queuers to get there early (but not
ridiculously early)
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Verify time of volunteer breakfast
Meet with group to confirm roles / responsibilities
Confirm introduction schedule with Event Manager
Decide with FIRST Tech Advisor and IFI rep if another driver’s
meeting is needed to refresh things
Repeat start up as on Day One
32
Elimination Pairings
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Alliance pairings will be done before lunch this year and
make that announcement
Review with emcee how pairings will work
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Where they will line up
Process used
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Make sure alliance captain bibs are available
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Process used will be the same for all events
Bibs should be numbered 1 through 8
Undoubtedly there will be some team representatives
missing – be prepared to send some runners to the pit to
track them down
33
Elimination Pairings (cont.)
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Help scoring table keep track of selections if
necessary
Make sure if a team declines a selection that
they understand the consequences (they will be
out of the competition)
Once selections are done, meet with alliance
captains to review the rules for making the
match-ups
34
Elimination Pairings (cont.)
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This year there will be a bench, i.e., the next 8
seeded teams after the alliance pairings are
complete
 If
1 of the 3 robots in an Elimination alliance is unable
to continue, the Alliance captain may chose the the
next seed on the bench… it must be the next one in
order and an Alliance can go to the bench only once
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Once selections are done, be sure to get a
printout of the pairings, get them to the queuers,
and keep a copy for yourself
35
Elimination Pairings (cont.)
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Before the eliminations begin, review revised traffic
pattern with queuers and field setup folks
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Need a holding place for teams waiting for their next round
Think this through! Don’t underestimate the chaos that can
ensue when teams come off the field and look for a place to wait.
There will be twice as many teams on deck so be prepared
Be flexible! Try not to move the teams around unnecessarily.
Don’t let the robots go back to the pit if they are in the
elimination rounds
There will be some FIRST-provided batteries at the
scoring table for use by teams. They must be returned.
36
Elimination Rounds
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Help queuers in the early stages to make sure
they have the hang of the new flow
Help manage the turnaround time on the rounds
to stay on schedule, but give the teams as much
time as possible to reset and cool down.
37
Elimination Rounds (cont.)
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Encourage the emcee to fill in any dead time
and entertain the crowd
Work with crowd control to make sure the field
perimeter doesn’t get too crowded and the
people in the stands can see
38
Awards
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Check with Event Manager to see how he / she
wants the field set up
Quickly clean up the carpet, but there is most
likely no time to vacuum.
DO NOT GIVE OUT Tetras
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will need to be collected and stored away.
They will be used for practice at the next event.
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Help staff with medals, etc.
Good time to give positive feedback to the event
team as warranted
39
Clean Up
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Help the FIRST Tech Advisor with field
breakdown and clean-up
40