Best Practices for an RECF Robotics Competition Event Meeting – RECF Library

What is the Event Meeting?

Each RECF Robotics Competition tournament features an event meeting that occurs before matches begin at the event. The event meeting can be held live in-person, pre-recorded, or a combination of both. It is designed to provide all event attendees—including teams, coaches, and spectators—with information about the event, venue, and key rules of the game. Whenever possible, it should also include an opportunity for students to ask the event’s head referee(s) questions about their interpretation of rules where some judgment may be required. This article provides best practices for what to include in your event meeting.

Try to keep the event meeting as short as possible, or you'll lose your audience. If you have a lot of information to convey, pre-record it and send to to teams in advance of the event. It is the teams' responsibility to read and understand the rules and Q&As, and every team at the event certifies during inspection that they've read and understood these rules. It is not your responsibility to read the rules or Q&As to the team. Brief reminders are appropriate (safety glasses, watch out for tipping, etc.), and a list of rules you'd like teams to go review before their first match is a great idea.

Topics in an Event Meeting

Typically Presented by the Event Partner

Welcome to the event
Introduction of key event staff
Schedule / event agenda review
Locations of restrooms, concessions, etc.
Safety reminders as appropriate to the region and weather conditions
Information about queuing and event flow
Location of and rules for practice fields
Location and schedule for skills fields, and other skills-pertinent information
#s of alliance matches, and how many teams will participate in finals or the elimination bracket
How match schedules will be distributed
How judging interviews will be conducted

Typically Presented by a Head Referee

Reminder of Code of Conduct & Student Centered Policy
Reminders about how to appeal in-match rulings (immediately after the match, before the team leaves the field)
Reminders about what to bring to a match (max # of students per team, safety glasses for Achieve or Inspire, license plates, etc.) and what to do when you get to the field
Reminders of key and/or troublesome rules
- Engage: Driver switch, rescuing a robot, and game-specific rules
- Achieve/Inspire: Interacting with opponent robots and game-specific rules
Brief Q&A with the head referee(s)

Event Meeting Templates

These templates include very basic information as a starting point for your own event meeting script, and are updated each season. You should add or remove content as needed.

Best Practices

These tips and tricks were shared by a panel of experienced event partners and head referees.

Create a “run of show” for each event with a written-out timeline for your tasks that day
Require EVERYONE to be present for the event (close the practice and solo match fields, empty the pits, invite the judges, etc.)
If you’re not the event partner, remember that it’s their event and you’re just a part of their team
The event meeting sets the tone of the tournament, and can put students at ease
Introduce yourself and make yourself approachable
Always talk about the Code of Conduct and Student Centered Policy
Head referees should highlight different rules for different events, based on the experience levels of the attending teams; know your audience and their experience
Head referees should use on-field demonstrations for rules and interactions when possible
Remind teams when the lunch break will be, and how/where they can find food
As the season goes on, event meetings can get shorter
Don’t forget to thank the event volunteers!
The last thing you say at the event meeting should be the next thing the teams need to know or do (e.g., “teams for matches 1-3 should queue now” or “solo match fields are open now, and judges will start interviews in about 15 minutes”)