I trust this message finds you well. I am a member of the RoboCup IranOpen Rescue line Technical Committee. Previously, I had the privilege of being a member of the Kavosh team in 2017 and 2018.
In our ongoing efforts to enhance the participant experience in competitions, we are exploring the utilization of the Competition Management System (CMS) and I have successfully tested the CMS on a local server using Docker.
However, I recently became aware that the Technical Committee of RoboCup 2023 Bordeaux opted for a paper scoring system instead of the CMS scoring system. This has raised concerns within our committee, and I am reaching out to seek clarification on the matter.
Could you kindly provide insights into any challenges or uncertainties associated with the CMS that may have influenced the decision to use a paper-based scoring system at RoboCup 2023 Bordeaux? Additionally, are there any specific precautions or considerations that we should be aware of when implementing the CMS for our competitions?
Your guidance and feedback on this matter would be greatly appreciated, as it will assist us in making informed decisions for the upcoming events. Thank you for your time and attention to this inquiry.
Sincerely,
Farbod Younesi
RoboCup IranOpen Rescue line Technical Committee
CMS is what we have used during competitions in the previous years, including Bordeaux 2023, and we plan to continue using it. We only opt to perform scoring of the runs on physical printed scoresheets, which are generated from the CMS itself, and runs are put into the system afterwards. We prefer this option compared to using tablets, due to often unstable wi-fi connections at the venues, which we have little influence over. All tablets used by the referees require stable connection to prevent delays during the competition. Additionally, supplying a high number of tablets is quite costly for the local organizers, while using printed out scoresheets is a more cost efficient option. However, if your local organization can ensure stable conditions and has enough resources, I would say it is just a thing of personal preference.
In Australia we have built our own CMS, managed by @zac.mcwilliam. However our competition is quite different so it would not be suitable if you are running the international rules (perhaps OnStage & Soccer might work). We use it to publicise results so feel free to have a look at the public pages at https://rcja.app/.
However some general things we have learned from running the CMS:
Stable internet is very important. We don’t even bother using the venue WiFi and bring in our own equipment, using 5G or Starlink as the connectivity.
We have a bank of tablets to use, but also ask volunteers to bring their own if they have them. We have also started making some components mobile friendly, so volunteers can just use their phones.
The CMS has been great for publishing results and schedules, saving a lot of emails being sent around
It is important to have a few people at the event who know the CMS well, to get volunteers logged in an.
We are planning to make the system more flexible to support international challenges in the future, and would love to collaborate with others also interested.
Hi @evanfromoz
Thanks for the information and suggestions. We are using exactly the international rules, So i don’t think we can use your CMS. It’s not yet clear for us that we will be provided with enough tablets or not. If that doesn’t happen we will have to use paper for our scoring. But if we get them we will surely run CMS locally and not on a remote server to avoid internet uncertainties. The main challenge for now is that the CMS is not yet updated with 2024 rules.
Best regards,
Farbod