FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Community: 

COACHES: If you haven't had a chance to signup for a some great team oriented workshops at the Benson BotFest, this is a reminder to do so.

We have three teams for our Scare-a-fier Scrimmage. We really need a fourth!
Does your team have a robot that moves and can attempt two tasks? Any combination of beacons, corner goal, vortex goal, lift the yoga ball... Email Cathy Swider

Note to our awesome FIRST Tech Challenge VOLUNTEERS - The training sign up is for both in-person training at the Benson BotFest and early November teleconference training. Our events are now listed in the FIRST Volunteer Registration System. Please sign up at this link to volunteer at our upcoming events. 

Benson BotFest 2016 - Saturday, October 29th 546 NE 12th Avenue Portland, OR - PARKING MAP
Links to Workshops and Sign ups for Teams and Event Volunteers

• 9:00 am - Team Check in
• 9:00 - close: Phone set up, configuration, and phone problem help table (SWAT Team) - available most of the day (+ panel on Setting Up Android, SDK, Java, App Inventor)

Team Member, Coach and Mentors Workshops

• 9:30 am - 10:30 am Workshops - Click here to sign up for any workshop(s) in this time block
• New Coaches Round Table
• Building Techniques, Materials, Pitfalls, Best Practices and Tools
• App Inventor "From the Beginning" Programming
• Java "From the Beginning" Programming

• 10:30 - 11:30 Workshops - Click here to sign up for any workshop(s)  in this time block
• Preparing for Judging: The Judging Panel, Practicing Your Own Judging
• Iterative Design Cycle Panel
• Java "Now that you know the Basics" Programming

• 12:30 - 1:30 Workshops - Click here to sign up for any workshop(s) in this time block
• Engineering Notebook
• App Inventor "Now that you know the Basics" Programming (ends at 2:00 pm)
• CAD and 3-D Printing
• Game Strategy Driving Strategy and Scouting Panel (1:30 - 2:30)
  
• Video Production Workshops
• 10:30 - 11:30 am - On the Spot Reporter - click here to learn how team members can be part of a web broadcast team for This Week in FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon
• 12:30 - 1:30 pm  - Producing a Promote and Compass Video (no signup needed)

• VOLUNTEER TRAINING  
• Click here to sign up for any Volunteer Training at Benson BotFest or by teleconference call at a future date
• 9:30 - 11:00 am Referee Training (followed by practice refereeing at the Scare-a-fier)
  9:30 - 10:30 am  Field Technical Advisor &  Inspector Training
• 10:30 - 11:30 - League Manager/ Volunteer Coordinator & Scorekeeper
• Volunteers will be served a complimentary lunch at 11:30 am

• Scare-a-fier Scrimmage - an 4-Team Elimination Round Scrimmage on the Velocity Vortex Field - Great Prizes!

12:30 - 2:00 pm - Opportunity for teams to watch real matches and for referees to practice refereeing matches.

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NON- LEAGUE QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT SIGN UP

Last day to sign up for a Non-League Qualifying Tournament is Tuesday, November 1st. At this time the only remaining slots are at Hood River Valley HS on Sunday, January 22, 2017. Teams do need to also be nationally registered with FIRST. Click here to signup for an FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon event.

Dear FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Community:


BENSON BotFest - October 29th
CLICK HERE FOR SCHEDULE AND Workshop Signup - Team Member and Event Volunteers.
We hope you have "Saved the Date" for the Benson BotFest 2016 - Saturday, October 29th, 546 NE 12th Avenue, Portland, Oregon. Check in is at 9:00 AM, Workshops start at 9:30 am, the event will end at 2:30 pm.

ORTOP thanks the Benson HS Robotics teams and their mentors John DeLacy, Jeff McBride and Liz McBride for their organizational efforts to make this 8th annual event possible.

THE TEAM MEMBER AND MENTOR WORKSHOPS

• I have embedded SIGN UP Links into the Benson BotFest Schedule. CLICK HERE FOR SCHEDULE AND Workshop Signup.
• Workshops are COLOR CODED but this is only a suggestion. Pick the workshops that you think best fit your team members current needs.
• Please SIGN UP BY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28th at 4:00 PM so that I can print who is in what class. This is on a FIRST Come, FIRST Serve basis. If we get oversubscribed for some workshops, I'll let you know. I think we should be able to accommodate almost everyone.

FIRST Tech Challenge VOLUNTEER TRAINING

We are including LEAGUE volunteer training for Referees, FTAs, Scorekeepers, Inspectors, League Managers/Volunteer Coordinators.
CLICK HERE FOR SCHEDULE AND Workshop Signup at Benson BotFest or signup for a future teleconference training.

SCARE-A-FIER SCRIMMAGE!  Rookies need to see what a match looks like and Referees need to practice.

• We are holding an 8-team Elimination Round ONLY  SCARE-A-FIER at the Benson BotFest.
  
• It's not a Qualifier, it's a SCARE-A-FIER (get it, Halloween is on Monday). 
• I am looking for FOUR more teams who have robots that can MOVE and attempt to do TWO of the Velocity Vortex game tasks.
• Cathy Swider is personally making the SCARE-A-FIER Trophies for the Winning and Finalist Alliances.
  
•  All eight teams will get something for making the effort to have a robot move and be part of this. It'll be fun. 
• INTERESTED? - email Cathy Swider

LUNCH AT Benson BotFest!
You can bring your own or ORDER delicious whole Pizzas made by Sparky's delivered directly to the event. The Benson Robotics Club is making this possible. Cheese, Cheese and Pepperoni, Hawaiian and a Meat/Veggie Combo ranging from $15 - $20 per pizza. 
Click here Place your pre-order by Friday, October 28th at 9:00 pm 

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FIRST Tech Challenge EVENT SIGN-UP Update
I think I have hounded almost all known teams to sign-up for an event. At this time we have 199 participating teams. Yes, that is 7 more teams than last season.  Next task is to get all of you to pay for your events.
CLICK HERE for PAYMENT INFORMATION.  It says League Teams due by Oct. 31, but I'd be happy if everyone paid or got their PO's into us by November 7th.
For Non-League Teams, please have payment in by November 15th.

To check LEAGUE TEAM ASSIGNMENTS - CLICK HERE
To check NON-LEAGUE TEAM ASSIGNMENTS -CLICK HERE
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ORTOP Team Social for FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition
We have a date and venue secured for our first team social!
It will be FUN!!! Movies, board games, video games and karaoke

When:  December 9th
Where:  World of Speed, Wilsonville

You get to PICK the movies!
Please have each team member fill out this movie survey and I hope to have a flyer with more details for you sometime next week. 

FIRST Tech Challenge Registration and Event Status 

Dear FIRST Tech Challenge Community:
Thank you for your patience through the national registration and event sign-up process.

Many of you have contacted me wishing to know several points of information.
1. Is our team's national registration showing as paid? 
2. Did ORTOP receive our team's Event Signup form? 
3. To which event is our team assigned?  - This will be announced after the sign-ups close.
4. When are the deadlines? Monday, October 17th for League and Tuesday, November 1 for non-league  

I have answers for #1 and #2.

Please click and consult the  FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Registration and Events Status table I prepared this morning, Monday, October 17th. The information is current as of 10:00 am.  It does not update automatically to reflect additional national registrations or event sign ups submitted after that time. I must to that task daily by manually changing the spreadsheet.

 I've represented team status as to national registration and Event Sign-up in text/colors in Column B.

• No Color - National Registration Paid and Event Sign up received. YAY!! 
• Bright Yellow - National Registration Paid but Event Signup has NOT been submitted
• Peach - 2015 Team - Did not re-register for 2016 season,  Event Signup Not Submitted, has not contacted ORTOP to say team will not be participating - please do this.  
• Goldenrod - National Registration is NOT PAID but event signup submitted 

Please consult the table and check your team numbers to see your status. 
Other Registration and Event Information

• Event Signup Deadlines: Monday, October 17th for League and Tuesday, November 1 for non-league  
• For links for National Registration Sign-up and Event Sign-up - CLICK HERE  
• For Event Payment Information - Click here - Please begin the process of payment at the same time you complete your event sign-up form. I'll add a event payment column once we have event sign-ups closed. 

League Signups - As of 10:00 am, Monday, October 17th

League	Number of teams signed up	STATUS
Beaverton League - Conestoga Park & Rec	17	CLOSED (5 teams will be assigned to Hillsboro)
Capitol League - Sprague HS	9	Room for 3 more teams
Central Oregon League - Bend- 3 locations	10	Room for 2 more teams
Columbia Basin - Pendleton Conv Ctr. (2 Leagues)	26	CLOSED
Hillsboro - Hillsboro HS (2 leagues)	18	Room for 1 more team
Mid-Columbia- Hood River HS	15	CLOSED
Mid-Western - Junction City HS	11	Room for 1 more team
Portland - Eastside - Madison HS	8	Room for 4 more teams

Southern Oregon Coast                                  2                Room for 10 more teams 
SOAR                                                       11                 Room for 1 - 4 more teams 

 Non League Event Sign-up - Qualifying Tournaments 

• OSU - Saturday, Jan 28 - CLOSED - some teams will be assigned to Sunday
• OSU - Sunday, Jan 29 - OPEN 
• Hood River, Sunday, Jan 22 - CLOSED

It appears demand for non-league QT events is stronger than last season. ORTOP is looking for a venue and Team Tournament Host  in the Greater Portland area to hold a non-league QT on January 21st. Contact Cathy if your school has a gym/cafeteria, or auditorium/cafeteria, large commons area that is available. 
OTHER NEWS: BENSON BotFest  for October 29th  - Sign up COMING SOON! 

Regards,
Cathy Swider 

OCTOBER 4, 2016 - FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Event Registration Update 

FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Event Signup launched last night, October 3rd at 5:00 pm. We've had only a few hiccups. 

• Thank you to everyone who let me know about the issue with question #10 on the League registration. I've changed it to be not required. It only pertains to teams in the greater Hillsboro and Beaverton area. 

• Some of you have submitted signup forms using temporary numbers. This means your team is not yet fully nationally registered and paid.  This is a requirement. Your signups will be set aside until you can produce a valid paid registration number.
• SLOT AVAILABILITY: Before you register for a League or Event - Click here to see if it is full or available. 

•  I WANT TO KNOW.... if you are having issues with the national FIRST Registration system. I am here to help you work through these issues; please email Cathy Swider. 

• Issues with getting through YPP- Youth Protection Program screening 

• Not seeing your paid registration on the ORTOP Paid Registration tracking board.  I updated it this morning to show all paid national registrations. 

• Not seeing a FIRST related grant that you know you received applied to your team account. 

• Fill in the blank _______________________________________

• Payment for League Meets/Qualifying Tournament and non-League Qualifying Tournaments. At the end form SurveyMonkey send you to www.ortop.org/ftc . There is a Yellow Box with a link to the FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Event Signup information page.  Link to the Payment information is there. 

• The Sliding Scale for Payment. This season there is a sliding scale to pay for events. It ranges from full cost of program to a minimum fee which is the same as last year. To receive a discount, simply indicate how much of a discount you are requesting and click one of the boxes provide a reason. We fully understand that many of you will not be able to pay more than what you did last season. ORTOP is actively seeking additional sponsors to bridge the gap between the cost of running FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon and what our participating teams can pay.
• Using the ORTOP Payment online system. We have a new payment system for receiving the payments to ORTOP. So far only one coach has reported an issue with making a payment. It's a technical glitch that we are working to resolve. Everyone else had no issues. 

That's all for now!  Onward! 

OCTOBER 2, 2016

FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Community:

We have enough of the schedule confirmed to go forward with FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Event SIGN-UP tomorrow, MONDAY, October 3rd at 5:00 PM. 
Links to register will be sent to this email list just prior to 5:00 pm - 10/3/2016. The Sign-up form for events will be per Team, not per school.

• LEAGUE SIGN-UP CLOSES on OCTOBER 15th at 11:59 pm - This will allow me time to create league rosters. Assignments will be posted by October 22nd if not sooner. 
• NON-LEAGUE SIGN -UP CLOSES on NOVEMBER 1st at 11:59 pm - Teams will be informed of their assigned event by November 10th.
  

PRE-INFORMATION  SIGN-UP INFORMATION
Teams should be national registered and paid prior to signing up for an event. You can check the status of your teams at the link below or by checking your team profile on the firstinspires.org dashboard.

• Here is a link to ALL NATIONALLY REGISTERED and PAID Teams AS OF 10/2/2016 at noon.
• Here is a link to last season's teams that are unregistered for this season  and new teams with temporary registration numbers in progress

 To nationally register and pay for your team see these links for assistance or contact me by email.

• Help with nationally registering a NEW Team
• Help with nationally registering a Veteran Team

FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon - SCHEDULE OF EVENTS and Venue information
Link to Schedule of League Meets, League Qualifying Tournaments, Non-Qualifying Tournaments, Oregon Super-Qualifiers, Championship and more

• If a team signs up for a League, it means the team will participate in the League Meets and the League Qualifying Tournament associated with selected League.
  
• If a teams signs up for a non-League Qualifying Tournament, it means the team will not participate in any League Events.
  
• League teams are not permitted to sign-up for non-League Qualifying Tournaments.
  
• Teams who select Non- League Qualifying Tournaments will be asked preference of events but be assigned to one event only.
  
• Schools/Organizations with multiple teams can choose all  League or Non-League, or choose a split with some teams in League and some teams in Non-League.
  

FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon - Tournament Fee Policy 2016 
Please read the updated 2016-2017 Tournament Fee Policy

FALL WORKSHOP - 8th Annual Benson BotFest - for rookies and veterans

ANNOUNCING THE BENSON BotFest 2016 - Saturday, October 29th - Online Signup to be posted after event launch sometime this week.


If you have questions about registering, please send me an email.


Regards,
Cathy Swider 
  ______________________________________________________________________

Important Game Material Updates

Critical updates have been made to the following game materials:

·         Field Setup Guide (critical update) – Tape instructions have been changed for the Center Vortex base plate. The original guide instructions showed the blue and red tape that outlines the base being placed half on the base and half on the tiles. With this critical update, the blue and red tape should be placed entirely on the edges of the base. This will not only allow for an easier setup from event to event, but will help partners conserve gaffers tape. Please see step 7-1 in the Field Setup Guide for these updated instructions.

·         Field Assembly Guide – A new paint code has been added to assist those who cannot have the “Mouse Ears” paint mixed at their local Home Depot. The additional color is Behr “Blackout”, paint code number N510-7, semi-gloss (base 3300).

·         Game Manual Part 2 – An image was updated in section 1.3, Figure 1.3-1 to reflect accurate measurements of the Center Vortex height.