Event Volunteers
BEST staffs these positions for Kickoff, Practice Day and Game Day events - Click here to volunteer!
Volunteer Position Descriptions
Team Registration Check-in
- Two to four person check in team provides programs, information, instructions, etc., and receives the Engineering notebooks from each team on Practice Day and return the notebooks as teams check in on Game Day. This crew also receives team, mentor, teacher rosters and paperwork.
Hospitality
- Three to four person team sets up the volunteer break room and provides food to volunteers and teams. Staffs the BESTique booth.
Volunteer Check-In
- One to two person check-in team provides programs, information, instructions, t-shirts, etc. to event volunteers.
Robot Compliance Judges
- Four to eight people—familiar with the robot design requirements—inspect each team’s robot for compliance with the regulations before the competition, including the 24 pound maximum weight requirement and the 24 inch cube dimension requirement. The winning robot may also be inspected again following the competition. These judges use a Compliance Checklist and are trained on it prior to Practice Day.
Pit Boss
- The Pit Boss manages all activities in the Pit including Pit volunteer recruitment and training, Pit area set-up on event days, collaboration for in house security and emergency medical personnel. The Pit Boss is the final authority for all problems in the Pit, including Robot Compliance Check-in to, access control to Pit to teams and judges, and ensuring good safety practices in the Pit. The Pit Boss coordinates with Judges and oversees the Staging Crew.
Staging Crew
- This four person crew queues up the teams for each upcoming match so that they are ready to move onto the game floor without delay after the teams from the previous match have cleared the floor. Two people work at the “On Deck” Staging Tables near the game floor. Two people work at the “In The Hole” Staging Tables to organize the next group of 4 teams. This crew requires excellent communication capability.
Pit Monitors
- This four person crew oversees all pit operations and report to the Pit Boss. This crew checks that people in the pit are wearing pit passes and looks for safety-related issues. They forward teams with hardware / software issues to the Technical Support Team in the pit. The Pit Monitors carefully view how much work is being done on the robots by mentors. Mentors are allowed to help with repairs, etc., but must not take over the repairs.
Runners
- A few runners assist the Staging Crew, Scorekeepers and other officials. They post scores on the bulletin board; locate individuals or teams as needed; assist communication between the scoring table and teams, or between the field and the pit area; and perform other tasks as needed.
Emergency Medical Technician / Nurse
- A Certificated medical person will be present and available during the events to medical attention/first aid as needed. The EMT reports to the Pit Boss.
Floor Boss
- The Floor Boss (FB) is the final authority for any dispute that arises during the contest. The FB acts as the “Trouble Shooter” to resolve any problem that arise. The FB must be very familiar with the rules and the Q & As, and is available at all times during the contests. The FB participates in the training of the referees and judges.
Head Referee
- The Head Referee (HR) supervises the referees and backs up their decisions. The HR is the official timekeeper for each match, and as such, starts and concludes each match based on his stop watch with a beginning and concluding whistle. The HR verifies teams are in position to start, referees are ready, and the game floor is set before starting each match. The HR wears a striped referee shirt. A backup HR allows trade off relief during the contest.
Referees
- Four to eight referees – with two teams of four allowing trade off relief during the contest, either singly or as a team. Referees must be trained on the rules, what to look for, and the scoring procedure. Their role in the scoring and the communication with the Scorekeepers is critical to the smooth operation of the contest and keeping protests to a minimum. Referees monitor each of the teams and have ultimate authority during the competition. They count game field pieces and complete the scoring sheet after each match. They then reset the game floor to prepare for the next match. They wear striped referee shirts.
Scorekeepers
- Two to four scorekeepers enter data into scoring software from scores provided by the referees at the end of each match. They may also perform manual scoring as a backup and double check the automated scoring. The Scorekeepers computers display match results during the competition, including the conclusion of the seeding matches, prior to the wildcard match, after the semi-final matches, and the conclusion of the competition.
Head Judge
- The Head Judge (HJ) is in charge of all of the judging. The HJ recruits the Award Judges and the Head Notebook Judge and briefs them. The HJ collects the notebook scores from the Head Notebook Judge and consults with the MC and the Scorekeepers to determine the teams to compete in the Wildcard match. The HJ collects the scoring results from the Awards Judges and provides all of the judging results to the MC prior to the Awards Presentation.
Award Judges
- Three judges each are needed for the Founders Award, Creative Design Award, Most Robust Machine Award, and for any optional awards. The judging will take place during the Game Day competition and the scoring results are given to the Head Judge prior to the Awards Ceremony.
Master of Ceremonies
- The Master of Ceremonies (MC) is the director for both Practice Day and Game Day. The MC gives the opening welcome and remarks; organizes and directs the opening ceremony; explains the game, its story, and the scoring to the participants and the spectators; introduces each step of the contest; and conducts the awards ceremony at the conclusion of the contest. The MC works closely with the Announcer, the Floor Boss, the Head Referee and the Scorekeepers to keep the contest moving on schedule throughout the day.
Announcer
- The Announcer announces the participating teams and their assigned color for each match. At various times, the Announcer announces the leading teams and scores, the teams for the wildcard match, the teams advancing to the semi-final and final matches. In addition, the announcer is responsible for the background music at various times during the day (including intermissions), for providing guidelines to team bands and cheering teams, and for any other miscellaneous announcements.
Photographer
- The photographer takes digital still pictures of each team at the beginning of the Game Day competition, each winning team during the Awards Presentation, staff, and random pictures for the web page.
Video Photographer
- The Video Photographer takes video pictures of the event: competition, pit area, participants, pep bands, cheering teams, interviews and awards presentation.
Head Notebook Judge
- The Head Notebook Judge (HNJ) is responsible for recruiting and briefing the Notebook Judges, scheduling the judging, collecting the scores and providing the results to the Head Judge. This judge picks up team notebooks from the Check-in Crew after they have been turned in on Practice Day and returns team notebooks to the Check-in Crew before Game Day, to be returned to the teams. If required, she may act as a Notebook Judge. At the completion of the judging, the HNJ reports notebook scores to the Head Judge.
Notebook Judges
- A group of Notebook Judges are needed for one day during the week before Game Day. Each team is required to prepare a notebook and turn it in on Practice Day to be eligible to compete on Game Day. Each judge will judge a few notebooks, based on the BEST Awards and Judging Policies and Guidelines. The Notebook Judges use Score Sheets to record points for each team’s notebook. The Score Sheets are provided to the Head Notebook Judge. The Notebook Judges will be briefed on the applicable rules and score sheets by the Head Notebook Judge prior to the competition.
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