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FRC Registration Opens Soon!
Registration for the 2016 FRC season opens on Thursday, Sept. 24 at noon, which is only a few weeks away! 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 through TIMS before the team is able to register, which can take up to 30 business hours to process. Check the FRC calendar periodically to make sure you don't miss any important deadlines!
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Pre-Rookie Team Support
There are several resources, initiatives and grants available to teams competing in FRC for the first time. Be sure to connect any potential rookie teams that have reached out to you with your local Regional Director and encourage them to pre-register through TIMS. Your local RD can help these teams, as well as your team, prepare for the upcoming season.
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FRC Blog Updates
The following updates come from the most recent FRC blog post:
Windows 10 and FRC 2016
LabVIEW 2015, which will be used for FRC 2016, does not officially claim support for Windows 10 at this time. That doesn't mean it won't work, but it does mean that we can't guarantee there won't be some hiccups. The Control System Team is currently testing the FRC 2016 software on Windows 10 and attempting to identify any issues and potential workarounds.
Software Beta Testing
FIRST is looking for 90 teams, 30 for each software language, to help test the 2016 FRC software. Make sure to fill out the application found here by Monday, Sept. 14 if you're interested. Beta teams will be asked to upgrade their 2015 robots to the 2016 software, perform some specific tests, and help educate other teams about the changes for 2016.
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BattleBots Victory Celebration at WPI
You are invited to attend a dessert reception for Paul Ventimiglia (WPI, '12; former mentor FRC 190, current mentor FRC 254), designer/builder/driver of "Bite Force", the 2015 World Champion BattleBot. This event will be held in the Campus Center of WPI on Tuesday, Sept. 8 from 8-9:30 p.m.
The 250-pound Bite Force, replete with its battle scars from defeating the number 1 seeded Tombstone in the finals round, will be demonstrated (safely!) and ready for selfie poses. Paul will discuss his design and strategy for winning this competition and include a bunch of great videos.
Following his presentation, there will be a Q&A session where Paul will be joined by new WPI student Will Bales, builder and driver of the famous HyperShock battlebot, as well as one of stars of the movie "Bots High." Please contact Ken Stafford at stafford@wpi.edu for further information and to confirm your intent to attend the event so he can better estimate audience size.
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Save the Date: New England FRC Pre-Season Events
In addition to Mainely SPIRIT on Saturday, Sept. 19, New England has three more pre-season competitions for the fall:
Bash at the Beach
Saturday, Oct. 3
Lyme-Old Lyme High School
69 Lyme St, Old Lyme, CT 06371
Registration is capped at 24 teams and will open by Sept. 15. Stay tuned for more information!
River Rage 19
Saturday, Oct. 17 (tentative)
Manchester Memorial High School
1 Crusader Way, Manchester, NH 03103
Battle of the Bay
Saturday, Nov. 14
Prospect Mountain High School
242 Suncook Valley Rd, Alton, NH 03809
Interested in competing outside of New England? Over a dozen additional pre-season events can be found on the FRC calendar.
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NE FIRST University Day in Connecticut Updates
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. All FRC team adults and students are invited to attend these free workshops. University Day will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Registration closes this Wednesday, Sept. 9 (a change from the original deadline).Individuals and teams can register here. If you have any changes to make to your registration once it's submitted, please email ljefferson@usfirst.org.
Arrival: Check-in will be at 8 a.m. outside of the Alumni Hall in the CCSU Student Center. Following check-in, there will be a continental breakfast and a short welcome from our event sponsors. Workshops will then be held in nearby Copernicus Hall. A PDF of the campus map can be found here.
Lunch: A buffet-style lunch will be held in Memorial Hall from noon to 1 p.m. Lunch will be $10/person and must be ordered in advance through the registration form.
Schedule: The FRC workshop schedule can be found here. Please note that the schedule is subject to change as we get closer to the event. The two LabVIEW sessions are the same; if you are planning on attending either of them, please bring a flash drive if you want to save your work.
- Each LabVIEW session is limited to 24 attendees. However, both sessions cover the same material. If you plan on attending, please bring a flash drive to save your work.
- Class size for the Hands-On Team Spirit workshop is limited to 10 people and carries a nominal fee of $3.00 for materials, payable at the door. RSVP here if you are interested in attending (the link is also included in the registration form).
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NH TechFest 2015
The 2015 New Hampshire TechFest, hosted by FRC 3467, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Windham High School in Windham, NH. The mission of the NH TechFest is to interest and excite middle and high school-age students from throughout the New England area about the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) through hands-on exhibits and entertaining presentations. The event is targeted towards teens in grades 6-12 and admission is free.
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Connecticut STEM Conference 2015
The fourth annual Connecticut STEM conference will take place on Monday, Oct. 5 at the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford, CT. The daylong conference draws educators from around the region to explore and discuss classroom ideas and innovations for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curricula.
The registration fee of $100 includes the conference workshops, continental breakfast, lunch, and parking. Registration and session information can be found here. Contact Valerie at 860-768-5378 or email gilleran@hartford.edu for more information.
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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.
UTC Grant
Deadline: Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 5 p.m.
United Technologies is now accepting team grant applications for all four FIRST programs in the upcoming competition season. The grant application can be found here.Grant levels are as follows:
- FRC - Rookie Team: $6,000
- FRC - Veteran Team: $5,000
- FTC: $1,500
- FLL: $1,000
- Jr.FLL: $500
Additionally, UTC will pay the registration fees for any FRC team that qualifies for the New England District Championship or the FIRST Championship.
Grants are applied for on a team-by-team basis, rather than by school or organization. To qualify for a UTC grant, teams must have at least one mentor who is an employee of UTC or a UTC business unit (ex: UTC Building and Industrial Systems; Pratt & Whitney; Sikorsky; UTC Aerospace Systems; United Technologies Research Center). Additionally, teams must compete in at least one official FIRST event during the 2016 season.
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Upcoming Events
NE FIRST University Day in Connecticut Saturday, Sept. 12 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Central Connecticut State University Register here by Wednesday, Sept. 9 Mainely SPIRIT Saturday, Sept. 19 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Messalonskee High School 131 Messalonskee High Dr, Oakland, ME 04963 Bash at the Beach Saturday, Oct. 3 Lyme-Old Lyme High School 69 Lyme St, Old Lyme, CT 06371
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