Out to New England FIRST Robotics Competition teams...
Week of March 7, 2016 |
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Week 1 Event Results
The results for the Granite State and Waterbury events are available! Results, team listings, match schedules, and awards and for all events can be accessed here. District rankings are not currently available but should be accessible here after this weekend. Once posted, District rankings will be subject to change as the season progresses and teams play more competitions.
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Practice Day Load-In
As a reminder, every District Event officially starts at 5 p.m. (or as otherwise indicated in the Team Information Packet) on Practice Day/Day Zero. If possible, please make sure to have your robot inspected by the end of Practice Day. Waiting until the first day of qualification matches for inspections could result in match delays or your team missing its first qualification match.
Please be sure that your team has enough pairs of safety glasses for all team members. Team members must wear safety glasses at all times in the pits, even for load-in and load-out. While we will have a limited number of spares available, these are intended for volunteers, guests, families and spectators.
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NE FIRST Consent & Release Forms
In addition to your printed TIMS team roster or FIRST Consent & Release Forms, please be sure to bring your team's NE FIRST Consent & Release forms to Pit Administration when you check in your team. NE FIRST Consent & Release forms only need to be brought to your team's first District Event. Please note that we will have limited printer or internet accessibility at many of our venues, so your team should have hard copies of forms and rosters.
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Competition Notes & Reminders
Week 1 is behind us and has brought a lot of useful observations for teams going forward. Dana Henry has compiled a list of them:
- Build robustly! This is a rough and tumble game and teams are hitting the defenses hard. Structural frame failures are a definite possibility and several robots have tipped over attempting to traverse the defenses.
- Wiring: Make sure your wire management is up to par. Make service loops and tie off the wire in such a manner that the wire is not being stressed at the connector. Due to the high-impact nature of the game, wires are popping out of RoboRIOs, Power Distribution Panels, radios, etc., resulting in teams losing connection mid-match. Give your connections a "tug test" after mating. (I personally do not endorse hot glue or other adhesive being used to hold in the connecters. It makes it messy and potentially rendering a component unusable.) Make your wiring neat and you'll breeze through inspection, as well.
- Bumpers: Bumpers are back and we are seeing problems with bumpers again. Bumpers should be neat, sturdy, at least 8 inches in length and across all sides of the robot. Pay attention to ALL the details in <R21>. Bumpers cannot sag, so all flaps should be kept high and tight. Keep in mind that your robot can be disabled at any point in the match if your bumpers are no longer in compliance with <G19>.
- Motors: If you are using an automotive-type motor, it is your responsibility to bring the proper documentation to prove to the inspector it is legal. The same goes for electrical solenoid actuators.
Finally, please note the changes to the Low Bar in Team Update 15 for competitions going forward. Happy Breaching!
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Dean's List & Woodie Flowers Award Nominee Recognition
As was mentioned in an email to New England teams last week, we are changing how Dean's List and Woodie Flowers Award nominees will be recognized. During Opening Ceremonies on Day 1 of each competition, nominees will be asked to stand up and their names will be displayed on a slide as in previous years. If possible, please make sure your nominees are present during Day 1 Opening Ceremonies to be recognized.
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Volunteer for New England District Events!
Many events are still in need of or accepting Field Repair/Reset volunteers, among other positions, especially given how intensive field reset has been so far. Interested team volunteers should sign up in VIMS.
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Calling All 25-Year Volunteers & Mentors!
FIRST is looking to recognize any volunteers or mentors that have been with FIRST Robotics Competition since its first year of events in 1992. We're also interested in knowing what volunteers and mentors have been with the program for 20+ years. If you are a 20+ year volunteer/mentor or know of one, please reach out to Carol Scully at cscully@nefirst.org.
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Practice Field Elements & Robot Access Period
The list for practice field element sharing and useful information can be found here. Updates can be submitted through a form on the NE FIRST website and most updates since last week have been posted here.
You will be able to use your six hour "Robot Access Period" before any of your District Events for practice or making modifications to robot. See Section 5.6 of the Administrative Manual for more information on how this time can be used.
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Upcoming Events
North Shore District Event
March 11-13
Reading Memorial High School
62 Oakland Rd, Reading, MA 01867
WPI District Event
March 11-13
WPI Harrington Auditorium
100 Institute Rd, Worcester, MA 01609
UMass Dartmouth District Event
March 18-20
UMass Dartmouth Tripp Athletic Center
285 Old Westport Rd., North Dartmouth, MA 02747
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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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