Your job: provide play-by-play during the tournament, and informative program knowledge between matches. You bring enthusiasm and energy, and a high level of engagement and understanding, for everyone in the room — teams, families, and volunteers alike.
A tournament without an emcee is a quiet gym where things happen. With one, it's an event.
During matches
Call what's happening as it happens. You don't need to catch every scoring detail — the referees own the score. What you're doing is helping a room full of parents follow a game they may be seeing for the first time.
- Introduce the teams on the field by number and name
- Track the action: what the robots are attempting, what just worked
- Build to the finish, then hand cleanly to the referees for scoring
- Never announce or speculate about a score before the referees confirm it
Between matches
This is where the role is really made. Gaps happen constantly — a field reset runs long, a robot needs a repair, the schedule slips. Fill them with something worth hearing:
- Explain the game and how scoring works, for the family who just arrived
- Talk about what the teams have been building, and what the season's game asks of them
- Point people at the pits, the skills field, concessions, restrooms
- Recognise volunteers — most of the room has no idea how many people it takes
Be awesome at it
Learn the game before the day. You don't need to be a robotics expert, but you do need to be able to explain the scoring in one clear sentence. Read the game manual summary and watch one match video.
Get the team numbers right. Ask queuing for the run sheet and practise anything unusual before you're live. Teams notice.
Coordinate with queuing and the referees. They set the rhythm; you follow it. A quick agreed signal for "hold" and "we're ready" prevents you talking over a call.
Have three things ready to talk about. When a delay hits, you don't want to be inventing. Keep a couple of program facts, an upcoming-events note, and a volunteer thank-you in your back pocket.
Watch your energy over the day. Full intensity at 8am leaves nothing for finals. Pace yourself and drink water.
When problems happen
If there's an injury, a serious dispute, or an evacuation, stop the play-by-play and follow the Event Partner's instruction exactly. The microphone becomes the venue's safety tool and nothing else.
If you're unsure whether to announce something — a scoring question, a team disqualification, anything contested — don't. Ask the Head Referee or the Event Partner first.
Who this suits
Comfort with public speaking matters far more than robotics depth. If you can hold a room, improvise through an awkward gap, and stay warm for six hours, you can do this — the robotics knowledge is learnable in an evening. Mostly stationary at a microphone.