Out to New England FRC teams...

NE FIRST Things FIRST

Week of September 14, 2015

FRC Registration Opens Next Week!

Registration for the 2016 FRC season opens on Thursday, Sept. 24 at noon, which is next week! 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. If you have not started the YPP process and you are the Main or Alternate contact for a team, do so immediately. The pre-registration process is outlined in the latest FRC blog post.

The NE FIRST District Event schedule is now available on the official event page. Additionally, check the FRC calendar periodically to make sure you don't miss any important deadlines!

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.

FRC Rookie Grant

Deadline: Monday, Nov. 2, 11:59 p.m.

Notification: Friday, Nov. 13

FIRST is excited to announce a funding opportunity exclusively available to Rookie teams participating in the 2016 FRC season. Awarded teams will receive $6,000 (to be used for registration) over the course of two seasons. Teams can expect $4,000 in season one and $2,000 in season two. The application link will open live here on Friday, Sept. 25. The application requirements can be found here and sample fundraising plans can be found in the FIRST Fundraising Toolkit.

Criteria and obligations:

Teams must be from a country that has an existing FRC Regional or District event.
Teams should have at least one committed Mentor.
Application must include a copy of the team's fundraising plan.
In order to foster a culture of Gracious Professionalism, Awardees must share lessons learned after their Rookie season. For example, a team may upload fundraising materials to the FIRST Community website, post lessons learned on Facebook, etc.

FIRST Headquarters will collaborate with local FIRST Regional Directors while reviewing applications. NE FIRST Regional Directors are listed at the bottom of this email.

Thinking about starting a team? Start here. For additional support, contact your local regional director (as listed at the bottom of this email), email frcrookie@usfirst.org or call 800-871-8326.

Apply for FIRST Scholarships!

There is over $21 million from over 185 providers in potential scholarship opportunities just for FIRST participants and alumni. Scholarships are updated frequently and the majority of scholarship deadlines are during the major build and competition seasons for FRC and FTC, so starting early is important! Additionally, there are scholarships for both juniors and seniors, and many scholarships do not require recipients to pursue a degree in STEM. The complete list of scholarship opportunities can be found here!

Call for Presentations: NE FIRST University Day at UMass Amherst

NE FIRST University Day at UMass Amherst is coming! We are in negotiations with UMass Amherst to potentially host another University Day in early November. Got an idea for a presentation or a topic that you really want to see covered at the event? Email Dana Henry (dhenry@usfirst.org) or Lauren Jefferson (ljefferson@usfirst.org) with your suggestions!

New England Pre-Season Event Updates

Bash at the Beach

Bash at the Beach will be held on Saturday, Oct. 3 starting at 8 a.m. at Lyme-Old Lyme High School in Old Lyme, CT. Registration is $200 and will open here on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 9 a.m. Payments are due at the door and more info will be given to teams after they register. Please contact Mike Gentry at gentrme@comcast.net with any questions.

River Rage 19

Registration is open for River Rage, the longest running off-season event in FIRST! River Rage 19 will take place on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Manchester Memorial High School in Manchester, NH. River Rage is hosted by FRC 131, 238 and 501. Pits open at 7 a.m. and the event runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Halloween themed decorations/costumes are encouraged on both the robot and team, so long as it doesn't damage or interfere with game play. The registration fee of $250 is due on or before Tuesday, Oct. 13 and teams can register here.

Battle of the Bay

Registration is also open for Battle of the Bay, hosted by FRC 319. The event will be held on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Prospect Mountain High School in Alton, NH. Pits open at 7:30 a.m. The registration fee is $125 and registration and volunteer sign-up are open.

Second Annual Robot Rodeo

FRC 4041, the Gardiner Iron Tigers, are hosting the second annual Robot Rodeo on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Gardiner Area Middle School in Gardiner, ME. Instead of competing on a field, teams will run through an obstacle course using elements from Recycle Rush. Additionally, teams will have the opportunity to complete "Locked Room" logic puzzles and compete in a fashion show/30-second autonomous dance-off. Registration for the event is $60. Teams can register and get details for the event here.

2015 Massachusetts STEM Summit

The 12th annual Massachusetts STEM Summit will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA.

Themed "Promising Practices, Proven Results", the day will include panel presentations, plenary speakers, and exhibitors showcasing STEM initiatives; sharing innovative thinking; and highlighting the goals, plans, and progress of STEM policies and programs.

Sessions will cover a broad range of topics including: early childhood, K-12, and higher education; out-of-school time programs; digital education; research and practice; innovation and entrepreneurship; workforce development and career awareness; state policy and business needs; and more.

See the summit schedule for session descriptions and visit the website to register. The registration fee will be $50 and free for all full-time students.

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.

Upcoming Deadlines

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. 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. 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. Additionally, teams must compete in at least one official FIRST event during the 2016 season. The grant application can be found here.

NASA Grant

Deadline: Friday, Oct. 2 1:59 a.m. (Thursday, Oct. 1, 23:59:59 PDT)

NASA is offering three types of grants for FRC teams for the 2015-2016 season. Teams may only apply for one type of NASA sponsorship per year. Please read the instructions carefully. All funds for the NASA grants are sent directly to FIRST and the application 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

Bash at the Beach

Saturday, Oct. 3

Lyme-Old Lyme High School