--- title: Timeout Process (and Playoff Tournament!) Review description: Reviewing and improving the FIRST Robotics Competition playoff and timeout processes with insights from experienced community members and staff. --- Written by Fiona Hanlon, *FIRST* Robotics Competition Team Experience Specialist As mentioned earlier this year in our [Timeout Trouble blog](https://community.firstinspires.org/2022-timeout-trouble), we are committed to reviewing the timeout process now that the season is over. In discussing how to approach this project, we wanted to be open to ideas that may come up that expand beyond just timeouts so we are reviewing the entire playoff process.   To help us with this task, we have formed a small working group that is composed of members of the *FIRST* community and *FIRST* staff. With their permission, we wanted to share who is on the group as well as some experience they bring: | Name | Location | Experience | | --- | --- | --- | | Bryan Herbst | Minnesota | - *FIRST *Alum (Team 2052), - Team Mentor (Team 2052), - *FIRST* Technical Advisor (FTA), - *FIRST* in Upper Midwest Board of Directors, - Minneapolis Regional Planning Committee Member  | | Collin Fultz | Indiana | - *FIRST *Alum (Team 234), - Game Design Lead, - *FIRST *Robotics Competition Senior Program Manager | | Eric Stokely | Washington | - Team Mentor (Team 360 and 5295), - Woodie Flowers Award Winner, - Volunteer, - *FIRST* Senior Mentor | | Fiona Hanlon | New Hampshire | - *FIRST *Alum (Team 1011), - Team Mentor (previously Team 1011 & 498 and now Team 238), - *FIRST *Robotics Competition Team Experience Specialist | | Hasan Bilgin | Istanbul, Turkey | - Team Mentor (Team 6064), - FTA, - Technical Coordinator for Fikret Yuksel Foundation | | Jared Russell | California | - *FIRST *Alum (Team 341), - Software, Robot Architecture, and Strategy Mentor (previously Team 341 and now Team 254)  | | Karthik Kanagasabapathy | Ontario, Canada | - *FIRST* Alum (Team 188), - Longtime mentor (Team 1114) focusing on strategy and analytics, - Emcee, - and now working for *FIRST* Canada | | Kate Pilotte | New Hampshire | - Game Design Lead, - FTA, - *FIRST *Robotics Competition Senior Kit of Parts Manager | | Liz Smith | Indiana | - *FIRST *Alum (Team 555), - Team Mentor (Team 3940), - FTA, - Longtime volunteer | | Marshall Massengill | North Carolina | - *FIRST *Alum (Team 900), - Team Mentor (Team 900),   - Volunteer | | Melissa Smith | California | - *FIRST *Alum (Team 1251), - Head Referee, & - *FIRST* Board of Directors Member | | Troy Douglas | New York | - *FIRST *Alum (Team 270), - Team Mentor (Team 1468), - Head Referee, - Volunteer across all programs & - most recently Program Delivery Partner (PDP) for *FIRST *LEGO League Challenge for *FIRST* Long Island |   As you can see, these volunteers bring a lot of experience, and we are focused on creating a solution that works best for all involved parties. We are so thankful for this group’s time and effort and we will share more information as we finalize a plan in the fall. ** [FRC](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/frc) #### Share it: [** ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://community.firstinspires.org/2022-timeout-process-and-playoff-tournament-review) [** ](https://twitter.com/share?url=https://community.firstinspires.org/2022-timeout-process-and-playoff-tournament-review) [** ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://community.firstinspires.org/2022-timeout-process-and-playoff-tournament-review) ![Default Author Image](https://community.firstinspires.org/hubfs/Community%20Blog%20v2/images/FIRST-author-icon.svg) Author [FIRST Robotics Competition Staff](https://community.firstinspires.org/author/first-robotics-competition-staff) ### Related Posts ** [FRC](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/frc) Timeout Trouble March 29, 2022 ** [FRC](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/frc) New FIRST Robotics Competition Rules for 2021, and a Few Other Updates! June 19, 2020 ** [FRC](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/frc) 2023 Approved Devices, Rules Preview, and Vision Target Update November 9, 2022 ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1200203950045814&ev=PageView&noscript=1) ![](https://ct.pinterest.com/v3/?tid=2615041699514&noscript=1) ![](https://ct.pinterest.com/v3/?tid=2615041699514&event=PageVisit&noscript=1)