AWS 41 Discussion

[Remote-Controlled Dave]

Well, 29th is fine by us, long as a date is confirmed soonish

[teamocean]

Hi Guys,

Due to a very busy couple of months ahead (got a lot of projects which need completing) I'm not going to be able to organise the next AWS. Getting the uni to get back to me is proving difficult and given the time available I think I'll have to hand over to someone else.

[BeligerAnt]

OK guys, any offers of an AWS41 venue?

Note, you do *NOT* have to provide a fully equipped theatre with video streaming, PA, etc etc.

A village hall, community centre or Scout hut is perfectly acceptable.

Basically, we need power, tables and space. Parking nearby is also fairly important.

If you need help running the event on the day, there are plenty of people willing and able to help out. You will need to organise the venue and make sure you have a list of entrants on the day. Also some certificates for the AWS and FWS winners, plus optionally some fun awards which you as organiser get to award as you see fit

All volunteers please step forward...

[joey_picus]

I'd host it in Brooks, but a) I suspect it's quite a distance to travel and b) I don't want to risk half the teams being incapacitated by the stench that greets them from the meat processing plant...I just wish I could make it back in time to take part

Is the University of Brighton not an option this time or is it more lack of people willing to help run in the absence of James?

[StuartL]

Village halls/community halls are pretty readily available, but they usually charge per-hour. Are the community up for an 'entry fee' per robot to cover the hall hire? If so the possible venues expands dramatically.

Quick maths...

Most halls near me seem to charge £10-£20/hour. At £20/hour a ten hour day is £200. 40 robots at 5/robot is £200, so it's doable depending on number of entries, the exact hire rate (some halls will give day-rate discounts) and whether roboteers would pay to run the competition...

[razerdave]

£20 an hour ? Balls to that! When I hosted AWS 29, I had the hall for a whole 12 hours for £65!

[joey_picus]

I had my old college for £50 for AWS35 (although I did get a bit of a discount because I could tie it in to the Extended Project I was putting not terribly much effort into at the time!)

[peterwaller]

It does seem to vary a lot from place to place. I just had a look round the Aylesbury area and the only one I could find a price for on line was £285 for a Saturday. The biggest problem seems to be that most of them have regular events during parts of the day at weekends so you can't get them for the whole day.

[EpicentrE]

The Auditorium that I used for AWS39 cost me £150 for the day. It's normally £300, but as I work there I managed to haggle them down. We were going to apply to host another event later in the year, but I think this would be too early for us.

[Rhys]

I've had the same issue. Most places either cost hundreds of pounds, are fully booked on weekends, or will only allow morning or afternoon hire, not both. There's still one potential lead I'm following up, so I'll keep you all posted if it comes to anything.