NE District Championship Updates

District Championship Welcome Packet & Important Information

Teams attending this week's New England District Championship event should be sure to read the welcome packet thoroughly. Here are some key pieces of information:

• The event schedule can be found here.
• There is no limit on the number of people from any team that can participate in Wednesday night load-in.
• If possible, please make sure your team's robot is inspected on Wednesday night.
• Pits will be 9'x9' instead of 10'x10' and will have limited ceiling space due to HVAC, lighting, and electrical outlets. If your team has a pit display, be sure to take the adjusted size into consideration.
• All teams are invited to attend the Team Social on Thursday evening. However, only teams that signed up for food passes for the will have food reserved for them.
• There will be no public Wi-Fi or other internet at the event.
• Information for teams competing for Chairman's, Engineering Inspiration, and Rookie All-Star can be found here.

Dean's List and Woodie Flowers Finalist Award Slides

Don't forget to send your Dean's List Semi-Finalist and Woodie Flowers Award Nominee slides to us to be featured at the NE FIRST District Championship! Even if your team is not attending, we still want to feature your amazing nominees. Slides should include your nominee's first and last name, your team name/number, a picture of your nominee, and a note that is no more than three sentences in length. 

Please send your slides to Jamee Luce at jluce@nefirst.org by today, April 7, at 8 p.m. and email her with any questions.

District Championship Twitter Scavenger Hunt

Coming to WPI on Friday and Saturday? Join the Twitter scavenger hunt! Here are the rules:

• The hunt will be held on Friday and Saturday of the competition. Clues will begin at 8 a.m. each day and tweets will need to be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.
• All participants must follow and tag @NEFIRSTHunt in each of their tweets. All results and clues will be posted to the @NEFIRSTHunt Twitter page and there will be 20 clues throughout the day.
• The top three participants will receive prizes and must be present at the event on Friday after 5 p.m. or Saturday after 2 p.m.

Manchester Monarchs FIRST Night

The Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH is hosting a Manchester Monarchs FIRST Night on Saturday, April 18 at 7 p.m. This event will serve as an end-of-the-year party for FRC teams, coaches, families, and sponsors as well as the kickoff to a great partnership between the Monarchs and NH FIRST.

Tickets are $20, with $4 going to the FIRST team of the ticket buyer's choice.

Up to 6 FRC teams will have the option to bring their robots to the Verizon Wireless Arena to showcase FIRST Robotics and show over 7,000 Monarchs fans what they have worked so hard on this season. Participating teams will be determined by group size and a first-come, first-serve basis.

Interested coaches should call or email Ryan Leach at (603) 626-7825 x.6112 or RLeach@manchestermonarchs.com or Scott Heaton, the Regional Director for NH & VT, at sheaton@nefirst.org.

We hope to see you there!

National Robotics Week

It's National Robotics Week! From April 4-12, robotics-related events are being hosted all over the country. To see what events are being held in your area or to post one of your own events, visit the National Robotics Week website.

FIRST Championship Updates

By this time next week, several teams will have received information about qualifying for Championship (CMP). Coordinating the Championship process can be overwhelming, especially for teams that have never attended before. Be sure to check the relevant sections of the Administrative Manual and the Championship planning website. Additionally, please reach out to your local Regional Director (listed at the bottom of this email) if you have any questions or concerns.

Team Registration Process

• If your team qualifies at a competition event to attend the CMP, you will automatically be registered for the CMP the Monday following your event.
• On or before Tuesday at 8 p.m. following your event, please contact the Finance department via email at ar@usfirst.org or by phone at (800) 871-8326 ext. 563 to make payment arrangements. Payment arrangements can be made by Check, Credit Card, Purchase Order from school or Commitment Letter from Corporate Sponsor. One of these forms must be received by the Tuesday following the qualifying regional by 8 p.m.
• If you do not secure payment by the Tuesday deadline, your team will be removed from the CMP registration, and you will be ineligible to register for the CMP (i.e., your spot will not be held past the Tuesday deadline!)

Travel and Participant Registration

Detailed instructions regarding registration and reserving room blocks for Championship are available on the Championship travel website.

FIRSTis requiring that all FIRST Championship attendees register for the event. This includes all team mentors and student team members. Registration grants attendees access to participant-only activities and event transportation. Additionally, registration adds to the security of the expanded event. Team Mentors/Coaches and students will receive their badges at check-in. 

Robot Transportation

FIRST will email teams their shipping documents following their qualifying event. FRC Logistics will send an email no later than the Wednesday following registration with instructions on how to submit the team's shipping information. The team must submit their shipping information within 48 hours. In addition, teams should make arrangements to ship their robot immediately after receiving their shipping documents.

Instructions for constructing your shipping crate can be found here. If your robot does not fit within the crate, you can unbag and deconstruct the robot to fit within the crate's parameters. The robot must be rebagged and no additional work can be done on the robot while preparing it for shipping.

Please note: teams that have already received a Robot Transport Exemption do not qualify for a donated FedEx Bill of lading to CMP. DO NOT ship your robot to the CMP event unless you qualify at your Regional or District Championship event or have already been approved through the waitlist! Only teams officially registered to attend the CMP will have their shipments home covered by the FedEx Donation.