Out to New England FRC teams...

NE FIRST Things FIRST

Week of August 24, 2015

FRC Registration Opens Soon!

Registration for the 2016 FRC season opens in less than a month! Be sure to update your team's profile and contact information in TIMS ASAP to ensure that you receive all important communications. Any new Main or Alternate contacts will need to clear YPP before the team is able to register, which can take up to 30 business hours to process.

Additionally, be sure to add these registration dates to your calendar (registration opens at noon in TIMS unless otherwise specified):

Thursday, Sept. 24 - 1^st district event registration opens
Thursday, Oct. 8 - 2^nd district event registration opens
Thursday, Nov. 5 - Unrestricted regional/district registration opens
Thursday, Nov. 12 - Inter-district registration opens
Monday, Nov. 23 - Payment due for 1^st district event, 2^nd district event and all regionals

Be sure to check the FRC calendar periodically to make sure you don't miss any important deadlines!

NE FIRST University Day in Connecticut Registration

This year's NE FIRST University Day in Connecticut will take place on Saturday Sept. 12 at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) in New Britain, CT, in conjunction with the CT FIRST University Day for Jr.FLL and FLL Coaches.University Day will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.All FRCmentors, students and community membersare invited to attend these free workshops.

Registration: For planning purposes, please register here by Monday, Sept. 7. Lunch will be $10/person and must be reserved in advance. If you have any changes to make to your registration once it's submitted, please email ljefferson@usfirst.org.

Schedule:

8 a.m. - Sign-In/Coffee/continental breakfast
8:30 a.m. - Opening remarks (large lecture hall gathering)
9 a.m. - Morning workshops
12 p.m. - Lunch
1 p.m. - Afternoon workshops
4 p.m. - Departure

Workshops: Our confirmed topics for FRC include community outreach, fundraising, social media, project management, and scouting. A full list of presentations and presenters will be available soon.

Behind the Lines

Have some time before the season gets into gear? Take a look at the Behind the Lines episodes from last year hosted by FRC GameSense. Topics covered include "Things Every FRC Team Should Know," "Motor and Gearbox Selection," and "Effective Team Communication."

Upcoming Deadlines

BAE Systems Grant

Deadline: Monday, Sept. 14

The 2015-2016 BAE Grant application can be found here. Preference is given to teams that participate in BAE Systems-sponsored events, have a historical affiliation with BAE Systems, are mentored by a BAE Systems employee or are located near a BAE Systems facility. Questions about the application can be sent to bae.firstrobotics@baesystems.com.

PTC Grant

Deadline: Friday, Sept. 18

Notification: Friday, Oct. 16

PTC will provide two levels of grants, $1000 and $2500, to FRC teams for the 2015-2016 season. These grants will be distributed directly from FIRST to the team, and will ideally be used for registration fees. However, the funds can be re-granted by FIRST for travel expenses, general robot expenses, computer's needs, etc. For organizations/affiliations with multiple FRC teams, only one team per organization/affiliation is eligible for a PTC team grant. The application and requirements can be found here.

Upcoming Events

Mainely SPIRIT

Saturday, Sept.19

8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Messalonskee High School

131 Messalonskee High Dr, Oakland, ME 04963

Website

Registration Link

Volunteer Sign-Up

Contact Us

NE FIRST Executive Director

Bruce Linton (blinton@nefirst.org)