Volunteer for the FTC Florida Championship
Information about the competition is found here: FTC Florida Championship
This is an all day competition starting at 7:00 a.m. and running until approximately 7:00 p.m. Please indicate on the registration form if you are not able to spend the entire day at the competition.
Thank you for your interest in volunteering at the 2009-10 FTC Florida State Championship. We reached our volunteer quota and are good-to-go for the tournament on Saturday, February 27, 2010. We will open registration for next year's tournament in January 2011.
Volunteer Assignment Descriptions
Key: [# Volunteers Required / # Signed-up]
Bluetooth Specialist: [2 / 2] Position Filled
This person is responsible for helping teams in the playing field queue that are having difficulty establishing a Bluetooth connection between their team computer and LEGO Mindstorms NXT.
- Experienced with computers running the Windows XP and Vista operating systems.
- Able to use deductive reasoning to solve technical problems.
Competition Scorekeeper: [2 / 2] Position Filled
This individual enters the score into the computer from the referees’ score sheets after each match, creates and prints the qualification match schedule, and uses the scoring system to display match results and rankings on a projection screen.
Disc Jockey: [1 / 1] Position Filled
Plays high-energy, age-appropriate music throughout the tournament. Monitors the energy of the crowd, raising crowd enthusiasm with musical selections. Works with the Emcee and Technical Director to coordinate music, score announcements. Brings an appropriate recording of the national anthem for each participating country and plays them during the Opening Ceremony.
Emcee/Game Announcer: [2 / 2] Position Filled
This person is the visible, audible host for the event and should be well-spoken and enthusiastic, with knowledge about FIRST Tech Challenge program and the FTC yearly game challenge and its rules. Someone with a public speaking, performing, or broadcasting background is ideal. He or she introduces each team during the setup time between rounds, announces the scores, and provides the play-by-play commentary to complement the projected video images.
Field Attendant: [5 / 5] Position Filled
These volunteers assist with field reset and moving teams and their robots quickly on and off the competition playing fields.
Field Manager: [1 / 1] Position Filled
The Field Manager is responsible for:
- The competition playing fields.
- Proper team flow, on and off the field.
- Supervising field attendants, team queuer, scorer, and coordinating with Head Referee and referees.
- Maintaining schedule in conjunction with Event Manager.
Field Technical Advisor (FTA): [1 / 1] Position Filled
- Experienced with the TETRIX Robotics Design System
- Knowledgeable about the Field Control System that teams use to wirelessly control their Robot during a match.
- Experienced with computers running the Windows XP and Vista operating systems.
- Experienced with troubleshooting the Bluetooth wireless connection between an FTC Robot and a computer running the Field Control System software.
- Able to use deductive reasoning to solve technical problems.
- Able to repair damage to the Playing Fields.
Field Technical Advisor Assistant: [4 / 4] Position Filled
- Experienced with computers running the Windows XP and Vista operating systems.
- Able to use deductive reasoning to solve technical problems.
- Able to repair damage to the Playing Fields.
Floater: [4 / 4] Position Filled
It is important to have extra volunteers on hand for use as extra coverage in registration or traffic control areas or as runners for the Judge Advisor, team queuer, and referees. These volunteers can also be reassigned if another volunteer does not show up, or needs to leave due to an emergency or illness.
Information: [2 / 2] Position Filled
These volunteers are the official greeters and should be able to answer questions about the site, schedule of the day, and FTC.
Judge: [14 / 14] Position Filled
The judging panel should reflect a cross section of the population and be objective with all judging decisions. These men and women serve as role models to the participants through their actions and frequent interactions during the event, most significantly during the team presentations. Judges should be willing to commit to the entire day of the event, judges’ training prior to the event, and associated reading of judging materials. FTC provides a Judges’ Guide each year with the current judging standards and awards listings.
Judges’ Assistant: [4 / 4] Position Filled
These people will:
- Help monitor and maintain team traffic flow through the judging areas.
- Assist the Judge Advisor to keep the judges on schedule.
- Gather necessary information and supplies for the judges.
Load-in/Load-out: [10+ / 0]
Load-in (Friday afternoon) and load-out (Saturday evening) volunteers setup and tear down specific areas under the direction of that area’s supervisor. Typical area assignments are the robot playing field, pit area, judges’ room, and volunteer room.
Photographer: [1 / 1] Position Filled
This person captures the tournament on film and/or video for archival and future publicity.
Pit Manager: [1 / 1] Position Filled
Oversees the general organization of the Pit. Staffs the Pit administration table. Assigns responsibilities to the Pit crew.
Pit Manager Assistant: [2 / 2] Position Filled
Responsible for announcing what teams are required to be in the queuing area. Uses a radio or walkie-talkie to communicate with the competition area. A team queuer is needed to coordinate the efficient flow of teams onto the competition fields.
Pit / Queuing Area Crew: [3 / 3] Position Filled
The Pit and queuing area are hubs for a significant amount of the activity of the tournament day. Volunteers working in these areas are largely responsible for keeping the day on schedule.
Practice Field Attendant: [2 / 2] Position Filled
Enforce the policy of “first come, first served” or the times teams have signed up to use the practice field.
Referee: [5 / 5] Position Filled
The referee will:
- Carefully watch the actions of the robots and teams, and carry out the other referee functions as described in the game challenge.
- Record scores on Referees’ Scoring Sheets and bring the sheets to the scorekeeper after each match.
- Be very familiar with the yearly game challenge, rules, Questions and Answers on the web, and all possible scoring scenarios.
- Participate in the training teleconference provided by FIRST.
- The Head Referee will confer with other referees in the event of a scoring dispute, and will be responsible for the final decision. (See the annual FTC Referee Guide.)
Robot Hardware Inspection: [6 / 6] Position Filled
Responsible for inspecting robots for compliance with robot construction. Robot inspection is conducted during the first two or three hours of the event.
Robot Software Inspection: [4 / 4] Position Filled
Responsible for inspecting robots for compliance with software rules. Robot inspection is conducted during the first two or three hours of the event.
Sound Board Operator: [1 / 1] Position Filled
Operates sound boards in Competition and Pit areas.
Team Queuer: [5 / 5] Position Filled
Uses a radio or walkie-talkie to communicate with the Pit announcer. Keeps close track of which teams are on the playing field, guides the teams on deck, and directs them to the appropriate playing field. Maintains a smooth traffic flow between the playing fields and the Pit.
Technical Help Desk: [2 / 2] Position Filled
Responsible for helping teams identify and fix hardware, electrical and software problems with robots. Familiarity with the FTC robotics system and at least one of the programming languages (ROBOTC or LabView) is required.
Volunteer and Team Check-in: [3 / 3] Position Filled
Individuals assigned to the check-in table will assist participants with the check-in process, collect consent forms, and distribute information packets. This is a half-day assignment.
Video Camera Operator: [3 / 3] Position Filled
Provides video of robot matches, and the opening and closing ceremonies.
Video Operator: [1 / 1] Position Filled
Operates video switcher, selecting camera and score/computer images for projection.
