Setting Up Your Event Space – Global Robotics & Science Foundation

Planning tells you what your event space should look like. This article covers building it: assembling fields, setting up pit tables and chairs, preparing sizing tools for inspection, and labeling the space so teams can find where they are going. It applies to both VEX IQ Robotics Competition and VEX V5 Robotics Competition events, of any size.

How many fields you need, how much space each area takes, and how the room should be laid out are covered in Planning Your Venue and Event Space. Start there, then use this article to build what you planned.

Definitions of the terms used here are maintained in the central glossary.

Nothing here has to happen in one sitting or in a set order. Some Event Partners build fields a week out and hang signage the night before; others do everything the morning of. Work in whatever order your venue access allows.

Plan to Find Help

Setting up an event space alone can be a long, physical job. Plan for a setup crew from the start, using resources that may already be available to you, like:

Your volunteers. Ask a few of your confirmed volunteers to arrive early. Field reset crews are a natural fit, since building the field teaches them how to reset it.
Students. Students who are not competing, or students from your own program, are excellent help. They tend to follow build instructions well and they are usually happy to be there. Be sure to keep youth volunteers supervised.
Teams and coaches. Local coaches often arrive early anyway. Some may have additional adults with them who can help with small tasks throughout the day.
Venue staff. Custodial staff usually handle tables, chairs, and access to storage. Confirm who is moving what before event week.

Setup is also a good first ask for someone new. It is a low-pressure way to get a future volunteer into the building.

Building Your Fields

Your field count comes from the schedule you built and the layout you planned: competition fields, a Robot Skills field, and practice fields if you have room for them.

Build from the current season's official instructions. Fields change from season to season, and last year's build will not match this year's game.

A few things worth knowing before you start:

Count your game elements as you unbox them, and organize them by field. Game elements can get mixed up between fields, so you want to be sure you have an accurate count to help your field resetters.
Check that field perimeters are square, tight, and stable once assembled. Field perimeters can loosen over a day of rough match play, so it is worth having tools nearby for a mid-day tightening.
Leave working room around every field. Field reset crews, referees, and queued teams all need to move around the perimeter without walking through each other.
Set fields where power is reachable. Field control and displays need it, and running long cords across walkways creates problems you can avoid by placing the field well.

Orienting Fields and Drive Team Stations

How you place a field matters as much as how you built it. Set your competition fields in the orientation shown in the current Game Manual, with that same side facing your audience. Teams write autonomous routines and plan strategy against the field as the manual describes it, so a field turned the wrong way is disorienting for Drive Teams and hard for spectators to follow.

Mark your Drive Team stations before teams arrive. Colored tape on the floor showing where each Drive Team stands keeps teams in the right place during a match, gives referees and queuers a clear boundary to work with, and saves your Head Referee from repeating the same instruction all day. Use the positions shown in the current Game Manual, which are also shown and described below.

Level Up Field with labels on the field to indicate where drive team members and the head referee stand. A key is shown at the bottom of the image.

The VEX IQ Level Up Field is shown below. The lower edge of the Field in this image (the long edge with the blue Pyramid Goal) should be closest to the audience.

Looking from the audience view, the blue Driver's Station is along the left side of the Field and the red Driver's Station is along the right side of the Field. The Head Referee stands opposite the audience.

Override Field with marks outside of the field to indicate where drive team members and the referees stand. Head referee is marked with a striped circle and the scorekeeper referees are indicated with a checkerboard circle.

The VEX V5 Override Field is shown below. The lower edge of the Field in this image (with the red Load Zone on the left and blue Load Zone on the right) should be closest to the audience.

Looking from the audience view, the red Alliance Station is along the left side of the Field and the blue Alliance Station is along the right side of the Field. The Head Referee stands opposite the audience with Scorekeepers at the lower corners of the Field.

Preparing Your Sizing Tools

Robot inspection needs a sizing tool at each inspection station. Have one more than the number of stations you plan to run, so inspection keeps moving if a tool goes missing or ends up in a pit.

VEX IQ Robotics Competition: The sizing tool is built from VEX IQ parts. Instructions are on the VEX IQ build instructions page.
VEX V5 Robotics Competition: The On-Field Robot Expansion Sizing Tool is available from VEX Robotics.

Size limits can change between seasons, so check your sizing tools against the current Game Manual before event day rather than assuming last season's tool still applies.

How many inspection stations you run depends on how many Robot Inspectors you have. See Volunteer Roles at a Local Event for those counts.

Tables and Chairs

Every area of your event needs a surface and somewhere to sit. Plan on one table and four to six chairs per team pit. Beyond that, the counts are yours to set based on your layout and your team count.

In addition to the team pits, these are areas that usually need tables, chairs, or both:

Team check-in
Inspection stations
The head table for Tournament Manager and scoring
Judging room and judge deliberation space
Volunteer break area
Concessions, if you offer them

Confirm early what the venue supplies, how many they have, what size they are, and who is responsible for moving them. Table sizes vary more than people expect, and a pit row planned around six-foot tables does not fit the same way with eight-foot ones. Measure before you commit to a pit layout and begin setting up your tables.

Signage

Signage is what lets teams and families find their way without asking you. A well-labeled space cuts down on questions all day.

Label every area. Check-in, inspection, pits, practice fields, Robot Skills, competition fields, judging, restrooms, concessions, first aid, and exits. Add directional signs at entrances and hallway turns, and put team numbers on pit tables so each team can find their space and volunteers can find teams.
Follow the Global Robotics & Science Foundation Branding Guidelines. For logos, program names, and how to use them on printed materials, see Branding Guidelines.
Make signs readable. Large text, strong contrast, and placement at eye level or above. Do not rely on color alone to carry meaning. Print a few extras, and bring tape or stands that work with your venue's walls.

Safety Considerations

The space you build is the space hundreds of people move through all day. Be sure that your space is one where teams, coaches, volunteers, and spectators can move around safely.

Manage your cords. Tape down or cover anything crossing a walkway, and keep power runs away from where teams and spectators walk.
Keep aisles and exits clear. Make sure emergency exits, walkways, and the paths between pits stay open, including when boxes and totes pile up during setup.
Protect the floor if your venue requires it. Many gyms have rules about what can sit on the floor and what tape can touch it. Ask before you set anything down.
Lift and stack safely. Field perimeters, tables, and equipment totes are heavier than they look. Use more than one person, and be careful with ladders when hanging signage.
Make first aid findable. Label the first aid location during setup so it does not have to be explained later. The Check-In Desk is a good central place so people can see it as soon as they arrive.

Optional Additions

None of these are required, and plenty of good events skip all of them. They are worth considering if you have the help and the budget.

Decorations. Banners, table coverings, and school colors make an event feel like an event. Check your venue's rules about what can be attached to walls, floors, and ceilings, and keep decorations clear of exits and fire equipment.
Concessions. A snack and drink table is a common fundraiser and a real convenience for teams who are there all day.
Photo opportunities. A backdrop or a photo spot near the awards area gives teams something to take home. Follow the Branding Guidelines for any competition or Global Robotics & Science Foundation logos you use, and follow your organization's photo and media permission process.
Post the event's expectations. Make the Code of Conduct's six Commitments and Student-Centered Checks visible in the space to remind attendees of the expectations at every event.

Talk It Through with Your Program Support Team

If you are unsure how much of this your event needs, or how to build it with the help you have, talk it through with your Program Support Team. They have set up events in spaces of every shape and can tell you what local Event Partners actually do.