Out to New England FIRST Robotics Competition teams...
Week of December 14, 2015 |
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Happy Holidays!
NE FIRST would like to wish all of you Happy Holidays and good luck with preparing for Kickoff and FIRST STRONGHOLD in the New Year!
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2016 District Committee Chairs & Lead Key Volunteers
Here are our 2016 NE FIRST District Event Chairs and Lead Key Volunteers:
District Committee Chairs
- Waterbury & Hartford: Mike Todd
- Granite State: Kari Karwedsky and Josh Landry
- WPI: Colleen Shaver
- North Shore: Sanat Patel and Kyle Henry
- UMass Dartmouth: Kristine Atiyeh Chair UMass Dartmouth
- Rhode Island: JR Casey
- UNH: Patrice Russell and Mark Critz
- Boston: Brandon Holley
- Pine Tree: Jamee Luce and Aaron Basford
Lead Key Volunteers
- Lead Robot Inspector: Dana Henry
- Lead Referee: Dave Goric
- Lead FTA: Matt Simpson
- Lead Judge Advisor: Jon Mittelman
Thank you to our wonderful District Chairs, Key Volunteers, Committee Members, and, of course, all of the volunteers, individuals and sponsors that make our NE FIRST District Events possible!
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The 2016 FRC Administrative Manual is Now Available!
The 2016 Administrative Manual can be accessed here and bookmarked to your personal dashboard on the new FIRST website. The 2016 Game Manual will be accessible after the Kickoff broadcast. Administrative manual sections include team resources, team organization, information on robot transportation, information about events, and awards. Be sure to go through the manual before Kickoff and look out for updates as the season progresses. The blog has information on some exciting changes for 2016, as well.
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Behind the Lines Season 2, Episode 6
Best Practices after Kickoff
Expert: Ken Stafford from FRC190
This show focuses on a great way to maximize your team's effectiveness in the first few days after Kickoff, including game and strategic analysis, brainstorming, and the creative process. The archived episode can be watched here.
Subscribe to FRC GameSense on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Twitch to get updates on when broadcasts go live!
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"Last Chance to Ask an Expert" Event
The Last Chance to Ask an Expert seminar is happening again this year on Friday, Jan. 8 from 1-4 p.m. at FIRST HQ in Manchester, NH. FIRST Senior Mentor Dana Henry, along with a panel of mentors, VISTAs and possibly FIRST staff members, will be available in person as a resource to the FRC community. Looking for advice? Need questions answered before going into Build season? This is your last chance before Kickoff to relax, have some good conversation and get your answers.
Feel free to stop by at any point during the event! If you have any questions, email Dana at dhenry@firstinspires.org.
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2016 Safety Animation Award Reminder
Safety Animation Award submissions must be submitted by your team's student award submitter through the Youth Team Member System (STIMS) by Thursday, Jan. 21 at 3 p.m. The topic for this year's Safety Animation Award competition is 'Working Safely with your Robot'. Every FIRST Robotics Competition team designs, builds, and competes with a robot. Every team also needs to work safely with their robot
- when it's being built and tested,
- when it's being moved to and from various locations at events,
- and when it's being moved to and from the events themselves
Create an animation showing our community the best practices for handling the robot during these times! Your animation doesn't necessarily need to show all three of these contexts, but if you can do so in a fun and engaging way - and in a 40 second animation - please do. It's not a requirement, but FIRST would love to select an animation in keeping with the medieval theme of the 2016 FRC season.
The team with the winning animation will receive a trophy, be highlighted in a blog post and in FIRST Social Media, and have their animation played at every official FIRST Robotics Competition event of the season.
Official information about the animation can be found on the FIRST Robotics Competition Safety Page. The original blog post can be found here.
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FIRST Graduation Cords
BrandIt offers FIRST Graduation Cords to help FIRST Teams recognize their graduating seniors/rising FIRST Alumni and honor individual participation in our programs. These tri-color cords are red, blue, and silver and go for $14 each, with discounts for orders of 144 or more. Teams can purchase the cords on the US FIRST Marketplace. Check out all of the other awesome FIRST merchandise on the site, as well!
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Reminder: TIMS Registration & Mentor Recognition
Please remember to invite all of your FRC Team Mentors in TIMS by tomorrow, Dec. 18. Registration will allow Mentors to receive this season's certificate and pin during National Mentor Month in January. Mentors will also be able to opt-in to weekly communications from FIRST and NE FIRST. Head to the Team Profile section of your TIMS account to invite mentors and contact mentorcoach@usfirst.org with any questions.
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Upcoming Important Dates
By now, everyone should have registered for their two district events and their kickoff events (if not, please contact your Regional Director ASAP to explain the situation). Here's a list of upcoming important dates:
FIRST Choice Round 2 begins
Saturday, Jan. 9, noon
Additional credits will be issued and unused credits from Round 1 carry over. FIRST Choice login information can be found in TIMS for registered teams. Credit allotments are live at FIRSTChoiceByAndyMark.com. See the blog for more details on the FIRST Choice process.
FIRST Choice Round 2 Team Priority Lists due
Saturday, Jan. 16, noon
Safety Award Animation Due
Thursday, Jan. 21, 3 p.m.
Awards must be submitted through STIMS by a student award submitter. Official information about the animation can be found on the FIRST Robotics Competition Safety Page. The original blog post can be found here.
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Upcoming Events
Last Chance to Ask an Expert
Friday, Jan. 8
1-4 p.m.
FIRST Place
200 Bedford St., Manchester, NH 03101
2016 FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff
Saturday, Jan. 9
Broadcast starts at 10 a.m.
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Contact Us NE FIRST Executive Director NE FIRST Advisor NE FIRST Regional Directors NE FIRST Senior Mentors |
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Archives of NE FIRST Things FIRST are available on the archive page and on the NE FIRST site under "News." Submissions can be sent to ljefferson@firstinspires.org.
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