Los Altos Robotics Tournament Volunteer Roles

This page describes the volunteer roles for the 2014 Los Altos FLL scrimmage and tournament.

It takes a lot of people to help us run the teams and make the tournament a success. We will need help again this year. The team registration forms provide a place to volunteer to help your child's team. You may also contact the volunteer coordinator, Linda Ren LindaRengmail.com, directly. Let her know which coach and team you represent or if you are not associated with a specific team. Also, please list your phone number in case we need to contact you. Linda can also be reached at 650-450-0546.

Most of the tournament roles are available to parents and people who know the players. Some roles, such as judges, are only appropriate for volunteers who do NOT know the players.

You should select more than one opportunity in case your first choice is taken. You may also decide to split a role with another person who represents your team so that you don't have to do it the entire time. Work this out with that person yourself.

If something happens and you cannot do the role, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO FIND A REPLACEMENT AND NOTIFY THE VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR, Linda Ren, ABOUT ANY CHANGES. Every year we have some volunteers who don't show up at all. This is the worst scenario, because we have to scramble to fill the role in the middle of running the tournament. Los Altos Robotics reserves the right to deny participation at either the scrimmage or the tournament to a team that has not provided a volunteer for the event.

All of the Master Score Keeper, Assistant Score Keeper, Event Marshal, Table Transport, Announcer, Time Keeper, and Judges positions below are event day commitments only. Some of the positions require preparation time to be spent before the events. These event days are great fun for all involved. So please sign up for volunteer spots. You can sign up for more than one position. Please tell us if you can only volunteer for the scrimmage or local competition. We have a lot of materials from previous years to help make all of these jobs easier.

Numbers for the roles are for guidance only. The volunteer coordinator determines final numbers based on need and volunteer availability.

Competition Room Set-Up	(5 for scrimmage and tournament) Work with Tournament Director to set up the Multi-purpose room (4 adults who can lift tables, 1 adult to position floor tape and post signs) – set up pit tables and risers for competition tables, set up chairs, put positioning tape, set up crowd stanchions, put power strips at pit tables, put signs on pit tables. Hours are 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. for scrimmage, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. for tournament.
Judging Rooms Set-Up	(1 – tournament only) Help the Judge Recruiter with room set up, post signs directing people to the judging rooms. Help with Multi-purpose room set up when finished. Hours are 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. for tournament.
Table Check-In	(2 - FLL-experienced students or adults for scrimmage and tournament) Inspect competition tables, select tables based on quality and compatibility for each of competition, practice and (at tournament) design judging. Inspect game pieces to make sure they are properly built. Students OK. Experience with FLL tournament tables and game pieces preferred. Hours are 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. for scrimmage, 7:30 a.m. - 9 a.m. for tournament.
Volunteer Check-In	(1 Adult + 2 other adults or students for scrimmage and tournament) Check in teams and volunteers. Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. for the scrimmage and 7:30 a.m to 9:00 a.m. for tournament. When checking in teams, collect a copy of the latest team roster. If any team members have been added since registration with Playing at Learning, waivers must also be collected for those team members.
Volunteer Snacks	(1 for scrimmage and tournament) Bring snacks for volunteers including referees. At tournament this includes picking up lunches and coffee. Expenses will be reimbursed.
Queuing and Judging Room Monitors, Guide	(4 adults for scrimmage; 2 adult supervisors and 12 students for tournament) For scrimmage: Hours are 1:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. or 2:45 pm. – 4:15 p.m. Table Queuing only. For tournament: Hours are 9:00 a.m. – lunch or lunch – 5:00 p.m. Table Queuing (2 per shift): The Table Queuer stays at entrance to robot competition area, allows team to enter at scheduled time, directing them to their competition table, and ensures other teams do not enter too early. The Pit Runner goes to team's pit table 5 minutes before their match to tell them to queue up. Judging Room Monitors (3 per shift): 1 student per judging track. Stays outside judging classroom, keeps teams quiet while waiting their turn, helps keep judges on schedule. Judging Area Guide (1 per shift): Guides teams from their pit tables in Multi-purpose room to judging area (at least) 5 minutes before their judging sessions.
Announcer	(2 for scrimmage and tournament) Do play by play of the robot competition matches.
Time Keeper	(2 for scrimmage and tournament) Use a stopwatch to time the robot matches. Hours are 1:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. or 2:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. for scrimmage, 9 a.m. to lunch or lunch to 5 p.m. for tournament.
Table Reset	(4 for Scrimmage, 3 for tournament - students) Reset the game pieces after each match. Two resetters per shift at the scrimmage, one at the tournament. Students with FLL experience preferred. Hours are (i) 1:15 to 2:45 and (ii) 2:45 to 4:15 for the scrimmage and (i) 9:15 to lunch, (ii) lunch to 3:00 and (iii) 3:00 to 5.
Score Keeping	(1 master scorekeeper, 3 assistants for scrimmage, 2 master scorekeepers, 2 assistants for tournament). Assist the scoring coordinator to calculate and post scores. Hours are 1:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m, for scrimmage, 9 to lunch or lunch to 5 (two shifts) for tournament. Master scorekeeper must be an adult, assistants may be senior high school students.
Score Runner	(3 for scrimmage) Take the scoring sheets from the competition tables to the scoring table. Hours are 1:15 - 2:15 p.m., 2:15 – 3:15 p.m. or 3:15 – 4:15 p.m. for scrimmage. Ideal for 3rd or 4th grade younger siblings.
Practice Field Marshals	(1 to 4 for scrimmage and tournament) Manage practice area: One marshal queues up teams for practice turns (clipboard with sign-up sheet recommended) - Allow only team members to enter, no adults. The other marshals manage the practice tables - Limit each team at a table to a 5 minute turn using timer. Ensure teams reset the table to starting conditions and leave all field pieces behind before exiting.
Competition Tables	(10 for scrimmage and tournament) We need people to bring their tables and game pieces to the scrimmage and the tournament so that the kids have something to compete and practice on. We ask each team to bring their table to either the scrimmage or the tournament. We need the tables at the scrimmage by 10:30 a.m. and at the tournament by 7:30 a.m.
Room Clean-up	(2-4 for scrimmage and tournament) Put away tables, chairs, discard trash, etc. and return rooms to original state.
Backup volunteer	(1-2 required for scrimmage and tournament) Fill in for sudden volunteer cancellations or unexpected volunteer needs.