NE District Event Updates

Week 5 Event Welcome Packets

The Northeastern District Event welcome packet can be found here. Please direct any questions to the District Event Chair, Brandon Holley, at brandonjholley@gmail.com.

The Hartford District Event welcome packet can be found here.

Week 4 Results

Match results and awards are posted for the UNH and Rhode Island District Events! The latest District rankings can be found here.

Unbagging Reminders

Teams that qualify for District Championship will NOT be allowed the six-hour "Robot Access Period" for unbagging prior to the event, per Section 5.6 of the Administrative Manual. District Championship is a three-day event, so teams will have time to work on their robot on Day 0 and Day 1 prior to qualification matches.

Many teams may be eager to unbag this year's robot to show off at demonstrations or make modifications. However, please wait for the official list of teams attending District Championship, or Championship if your team is waitlisted, to be released before unbagging your robot after your last District event. Teams that qualify for either event based on points have the ability to decline, so teams that might not initially qualify could get moved up in the rankings.

Additionally, District Engineering Inspiration or Rookie All-Star teams who do not have enough points to bring their robot to District Championships still have the possibility of qualifying for the FIRST Championship in St. Louis. If your team has won one of these awards, please hold off on unbagging your robot until you have confirmation that you will not be competing in the FIRST Championship event unless FIRST gives teams permission otherwise.

2015 WPI NE District Championship Scholarship

In 2015, WPI and SolidWorks will offer scholarships to seniors on teams participating in any of the NE FRC District Events. To be eligible, students must be in their senior year of high school, be active on a FRC team competing at a 2015 NE FIRST District Event, have applied to WPI, and be nominated by an adult leader on their team.

Each team may nominate one student for the WPI FRC New England District Championship Scholarship and one student for the SolidWorks/WPI Scholarship. This may be the same student or two different students. Those students nominated must be capable of meeting the admission standards of WPI and must already have applied for admission to WPI.

If your team is planning on submitting a nomination for this scholarship, be sure to do so ASAP. The deadline for the nomination form, letter of nomination from an adult mentor, and short answer essay form are due this Friday, March 27. Hard copy submissions must be postmarked by this date, as well.

Address:

WPI Robotics Resource Center - Higgins Lab

100 Institute Road

Worcester, MA 01609

Attn: Colleen Shaver/WPI Regional Scholarship

Phone: 508.831.6750

Email: wpirobotics@wpi.edu 

The application form and full details about the scholarship can be found on the WPI FIRST scholarship website.

NE District Championship Updates

Award-Based Qualification

As a reminder, any team that has won a District Chairman's Award (CA) will be automatically invited to compete at the NE District Championship. Any team that has won a District Engineering Inspiration (EI) or Rookie All-Star (RAS) will be invited to present for that award at the District Championship but will not be allowed to bring their robot or given pit space unless they qualify based on points._­

EI/RAS teams that don't qualify based on points will be given an 8'x4' space to set up a display with an 8' long table. These teams will be also given the option of interviewing via Skype if travelling to present the award is inconvenient. Interviews for EI/RAS will essentially be extended pit presentations instead of the formal interview process used for Chairman's.

Interview Schedule (approximate times):

• Chairman's Award: Friday, April 10, 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Engineering Inspiration: Friday, April 10, 1-4 p.m.
• EI/RAS Skype Interviews: Friday, April 10, 4-6 p.m.
• Rookie All-Star: Saturday, April 11, 8:15-11:30 a.m.

Full information on CA/EI/RAS judging for the District Championship can be found here.

Schedule

Planning your District Championship trip and wondering when your team needs to be there? The schedule is here:

Wednesday, April 8 (Day 0)

5:00 pm - 9:00 pm ..........................Load-In, Unbag, Weigh In, Inspect

Thursday, April 9 (Day 1)

7:45 am ..........................................Load-In; Venue and Stands Open

8:00 am ..........................................Pits and Machine Shop Open, Robot Inspection

8:00 am - 9:00 am .........................Field Open for Measurement

9:00 am - 12:30 pm ........................Practice Matches

12:30 pm - 2:00 pm .......................Lunch

2:00 pm - 5:30 pm ..........................Qualification Matches

5:30 pm - 8:00 pm ..........................Team Social at WPI

8:00 pm..........................................Pits, Machine Shop, and Venue Close

Friday, April 10 (Day 2)

7:30 am ..........................................Venue and Stands Open

8:00 am ..........................................Pits and Machine Shop Open

9:00 am - 9:30 am ..........................Opening Ceremonies

9:30 am - 12:00 pm .......................Qualification Matches

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ........................Lunch

1:00 pm - 6:00 pm ..........................Qualification Matches

7:00 pm..........................................Pits, Machine Shop, and Venue Close

Saturday, April 11 (Day 3)

7:30 am ..........................................Venue and Stands Open

8:00 am ..........................................Pits and Machine Shop Open

9:00 am - 9:30 am ..........................Opening Ceremonies

9:30 am - 11:45 am .......................Qualification Matches

12:00 pm - 12:30 pm .....................Alliance Selection

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm ........................Lunch

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm ..........................Final Rounds

4:15 pm - 5:30 pm ..........................Awards Ceremony

6:00 pm..........................................Pits, Machine Shop, and Venue Close

FRC Blog Updates

The following updates are from a recent FRC blogpost:

RoboZone

Check out this great TV show from Michigan about FRC!

The show is produced by the State Champs! Network, which is dedicated to High School sports in Michigan, and is broadcast on several local TV channels as well as made available on the web. Weekly shows are planned throughout the season.

Chairman's Award Resources

Essay submissions, videos, and presentations from teams that have won Chairman's at the regional level in 2015 can be found here. Submissions will continue to be posted as the competition season goes on. If your team receives Chairman's at an out-of-district regional event or the NE District Championship, make sure your main contact, alternate contact, or award submitter follows the link asking them to log into STIMS and enter links to both their Chairman's Award video and their Chairman's Presentation video.

Slingshot

Paul Lazarus' documentary, SlingShot, focuses on our founder Dean Kamen and his work to solve the world's water crisis. But most importantly, SlingShot is a movie that spreads the word about FIRST and STEAM/STEM education. The trailer for SlingShot can be found here.

Each team interested in hosting a SlingShot screening just needs to select a date and get permission to use their school's auditorium or any other screening facility. We will create an event webpage that will take care of all the rest- tickets sales and donations. Then, all each team will need to do is spread out and get people to come see this inspiring documentary.

FIRST teams all over the country have had successful fundraisers. Recently, FRC Team 1410 from Denver, CO had a terrific experience. Here's a quote from Dylan Gatlin, Student and the team's General Manager: "Overall, we made $2,100 in profit from the event. It was a lot more than we expected, and we all had a great time."

This is an exciting opportunity for all FIRST teams. Interested teams should contact SlingShot's Impact Producer, Chloe Simmons, at chloe@whitedwarfprods.com or visit SlingShot's homepage and click "Host a Screening."