Important Information for San Antonio BEST 2011

Demo-Day - Sunday, October 9 from 12:00 noon to 4:00 PM at St. Mary's Convocation Center, Auxiliary Gym.  Remember; To participate in the competition on October 15, you must bring something resembling a machine to Demo Day (unless your team is located over 60 miles from San Antonio).  We'll have open practice time to test machine interaction with the field and run timed matches for teams that are ready. The schedule will be flexible depending on the number of teams who are ready to play matches. There will also be programming and other help available for your team.

BEST Notebooks - Notebooks must be submitted online before 3:00 pm on Demo-Day. All teams must turn in a notebook; all teams must turn in a team demographics form.

Presentations - A sign up sheet for the BEST presentations will be available on Demo-Day. Presentations will be held on Thursday, October13 and Friday, October 14 at St. Mary's University in the AT&T Center for Information Technology located just inside the Culebra entrance to St. Mary's University. (This is not the Spurs AT&T Center.)

Practice - Open practice will be in the Auxiliary Gym (same location as Demo-Day) Monday through Friday.  The specific hours the field is available will be announced.  We will not be able to use the field when there is a practice scheduled on the adjacent court - more information on that will be provided when it's available.  Please take care of the field - it's the only one we have. Because of the risk of losing game pieces, you will need to bring your own.
Each team member must show a  2011 SA BEST  game button to gain admittance to the Convocation Center.  Additional buttons will be provided to teams at Demo Day. A responsible adult from each team must be present while the team practices.

Machine Check - Friday, October 14 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at St. Mary's Convocation Center in the lobby area of the main entrance.  You should bring your machine plus your entire return kit - even the return kit parts that are not on your machine. We want to verify that you still have the complete return kit. You do not have to remove anything from your machine.  Your machine will be checked for rules compliance - that is, the size will be verified and weight will be checked.  We will also check for illegal parts.  If a part was not on the kit list,  you may not use it.  You may not use more of a specific part than was allowed by the kit list, or make an illegal substitution of parts.  We will not let you play any games with an illegal part. The machine will not be collected at check-in, you may take it with you after we check it.  Remember, that your machine may be re-checked at any time during the competition.  

Drivers List - Your driver's roster must be turned in by 7:30 pm on Friday, October 14 -  the same time your machine is checked.  It is acceptable to substitute a team member on game day prior to the start of any matches. The list will contain the names of all students planned to be present at the competition, and those identified as drivers.  Note that there is no spotter rotation required this year.

Table Display - Teams may set up BEST displays in their assigned display area on Friday, October 14 after 6:00 pm. Please let us know if you do not need a table for your display - that way we can avoid setting out unneeded tables. Note that we cannot guarantee that you will have power at your display. If you need power, you should bring an extension cord and a circuit-breaker protected power strip to share power.

Driver Check in -  All Driver's must check in at the pit table to get a wrist band the morning of the competitions.  Driver's wrist bands will be issued between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM. Driver's will not be allowed on the field without a wrist band (this will result in a zero score).  Please allow time to get your drivers "banded" prior to the driver's meeting; we cannot band everyone at 7:55 AM.

Game-Day Schedule -  Saturday, October 15 at St. Mary's Convocation Center - in the main arena

7:00 AM - Doors open for teams to drop off their machines and set up their pit area
8:10 AM - Driver's meeting
8:30 AM - Opening ceremonies
8:45 AM - Preliminary competition begins
12:00 noon - Break for lunch
1:00 PM - Team participation awards
1:30 PM - Preliminary competition continues
4:00 PM - Final rounds begin (time is approximate)
4:30 PM - Awards ceremony (time is approximate)

Game-Day Notes:

• Adults may not work on the machines. Teams will be given a warning for the first violoation and will be disqualified from a match for the second and every subsequent violation. BEST is for the kids - help us keep it that way.
• We will supply pit tables for you.
• We will provide one power outlet in each team's pit area.  This outlet is intended for charging the R/C batteries and for other low-power devices including a laptop computer for programming the Cortex.
• Items that you bring into the pits must fit either on or under your table. Please do not bring large tool cases etc into the pits - you will be asked to remove these from your table area
• Food is not allowed in the Pit Area.
• Absolutely no silly-string, confetti, glitter, or anything else that would make an incredible mess. Streamers are OK as long as you clean them up. No Helium balloons (regular air-filled balloons should be ok).
• Banners are acceptable, but you cannot use duct tape to hang them. Masking tape is OK.
• No outside food or drink may be brought into the Convocation Center.  However, you are welcome to picnic outside. 
• The fire doors on the concourse level in the arena should not be opened for any reason other than an emergency.
• Concession stands will be open after 10:00 AM (i.e., no breakfast).
• The cafeteria in the University Center, and the on-campus Subway are both nearby and available for lunch.
• There are several parking lots that you can use that are close to the Convocation Center
• Please take care of the facilities. We are guests and would like to be able to return next year.