In General…
Families generally travel with their students to events. A family is welcome to foist their student onto another family for transport and supervision of their student. However, if another family is supervising a student overnight, a Travel Consent Form will need to be completed and provided to the team directors (Brent, Brian, Tressa, or Ron). If a family can’t afford to send their student to a competition, please let one of our team directors know and we will see what can be worked out - we want every active student to be able to attend at least one of the main season competitions.
Please note that each family will need to make their own reservations. We’ve obtained group rates at both locations. Check the Central Illinois and Seven Rivers pages for specific hotel information.
Typical Event Schedule
Here’s an example of a typical event schedule for a main season competition based on experience from prior years. Specific event schedule information is provided on the Central Illinois Regional and the Seven Rivers Regional.
Wednesday
Five individuals are permitted to do a Wednesday evening load in of the team robots and equipment. Depending on the event, pit set-up may or may not be permitted. Load in is typically 6:00 - 8:30 pm. The five individuals involved are on an invitation only basis - i.e., this is not a full team activity. Do not appear for load in unless you are one of the five individuals. Extra people get in the way and slow things down. However, other families are welcome to make a hotel reservation for Wednesday night if they prefer not to travel on Thursday.
Thursday
Thursday is a set-up and practice day. There will be some practice matches, but most of the time will be spent on getting the robot and pit ready. Only those directly involved with the robot and safety need to be there that day. More specifically, drive team, programming team, pit crew, and safety need to be there. However, others are welcome to come as Thursday is usually the best day to check out other teams. Doors typically open at 8:30 am. The team will be kicked out at 7:30 pm or so.
We will have a team dinner available in the hotel from 5 pm to 9 pm. Stop in and get some food when you have time. To defray our team cost, we ask families to contribute $5 per person. Families traveling Thursday afternoon are welcome to go directly to the hotel, grab some food with us, and relax.
Friday
Friday is a full day of qualifying matches. We encourage everyone to attend to cheer our team on! The schedule is typically:
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8:00 am - doors open
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8:30 am - opening ceremony with matches beginning shortly thereafter
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12:00 pm - lunch
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1:00 pm - qualifying matches continue
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5:45 pm - awards ceremony
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6:30 pm - we get kicked out
Families are on their own for dinner - typically we’ve seen enough of each other by this point. Depending on how the competition goes, we may have a short team meeting at the hotel in the evening.
Saturday
Another day of matches! Again, we encourage everyone to attend to cheer our team on. Typically, the schedule is:
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8:00 am - doors open
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8:30 am - opening ceremony with matches beginning shortly thereafter
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12:15 pm - alliance selections
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12:30 pm - lunch
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1:30 pm - final rounds
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4:30 pm - awards ceremony
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6:30 pm - we get kicked out
Roaring Robotics at 2022 Central Illinois Regional