I've never entered a robot competition before - just building a feather at the moment - and I'm wondering whether the "International championships" would be a good 1st event to enter or not!

Also getting time off / someone to look after pets (it's complicated!) for 3 days could be an issue. Basically what I'm wondering is - what's the format of the competition? i.e. do the heats take place on Friday, and if you get knocked out you might as well not come back on Sat/Sun? Or is there more to it than that?

Are there any whiteboard matches? Is is possible to just do the testing day?

What does it cost to enter? Do we need tickets to the Gadget show or something?

Insert usual apologies here for being a n00b