Important information
All the important information you need about getting to, and enjoying, Pi Wars is below! If you have any questions at all before the event, please use our contact form.
Tickets!
First of all, make sure you’ve got your tickets to the event – Volunteers and those 16 years and under can attend for free and for everyone else, it’s just £6 for the whole weekend.
Getting to the venue and parking
Getting to Pi Wars is fairly straightforward, depending on which direction you are approaching Cambridge. You can see the venue on Google Maps here and on Bing Maps here.
The address is 15 JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0FD.
Here is a map of how to get into the venue (marked with our mascot, Doofus) once you’re on Madingley Road. As you can see, there is a drop-off area for anyone who has something heavy to off-load. This is for equipment only, rather than large groups of people. You will need to move your transport to the Main Parking area afterwards. There is a fairly direct footpath between the Main Parking area and the venue.
A walk-through of the venue
We know that some people don’t deal well with new places. We therefore took a video of the venue where Pi Wars will be held during the Raspberry Pi Birthday event recently. Take a look!
Peace and Quiet / Respite
Knowing our community as we do, we know that some people don’t cope well with noise and big crowds. Pi Wars is busy and it is quite noisy due to the acoustics of the venue. But fear not! There is a Quiet Seating Area upstairs on the first floor and, for those needing a quieter space, there is also a Quiet Room, adjacent to the Quiet Seating Area.
Marketplace and Show and Tell
This time, we have a small Marketplace featuring the following vendors. Get Raspberry Pi bits and advice from some of the best in the business!
- Pimoroni
- Kitronik
- The Raspberry Pi Store (making the enormously lengthy trip from central Cambridge!)
We have a small Show and Tell area featuring Raspberry Pi, electronics and robotics projects. Come and have a go at Micro Pi Noon and take a look at the projects. We even have an outreach ambassador from Airbus coming if you have an interest in a career
Refreshments / Catering
For those who have visited Pi Wars before, we have to announce that the cafe has closed for regular business. Instead, we have arranged for a pizza van and a coffee/tea van to be in the front car park during the main part of the day. You may choose to bring your own food/drink, however, and that is absolutely fine! There is plenty of seating up the far end or even in the first floor Quiet Seating Area.
Arrival and Getting help on the day
Please don’t arrive before 10.15am if you are Spectating 🙂 Challenge course runs start at 10.30am. It is extremely busy before then because all the teams are arriving and getting organised. Plus, we’ll be spinning up some parts of the Obstacle Course to make sure everything works, and our attention will be on that.
If you are a Judge or Marshal, feel free to arrive from 9.30am and sign in at the front desk.
When you arrive, you’ll see the Front Desk. Please present your spectator ticket or sign in if you’re volunteering. From then on, just be free to explore everything happening. Each team has a schedule for their challenge runs, and there will be gaps at challenge courses sometimes. It’s all part of the slightly chaotic day! 🙂 If you need help at all during the day, please come back to the front desk and one of our marvellous Marshals will be able to help you, or find someone
Risk assessment
If you’d like to read the Pi Wars Risk Assessment, it can be found on this page.