Wednesday, October 24, 2018

FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Update: Season Housekeeping!



The start of LEAGUE MEET SEASON is upon us!   Central Oregon and Columbia Basin kicks off today with Midwestern, Capitol, Cedar Mill and North Coast this weekend holding their League Meet Zero events.  "All the fun and the points don't count".  Teams will be make new friends, help each other get their robots moving, learn about inspection and the Rover Ruckus game. And the Rover Ruckus fields will be up and available for scrimmage and practice.   If your team doesn't have an official Rover Ruckus field, this is your opportunity to test, measure and design.

Non-League Teams are welcome to attend any League Meet Zero event. Just pop in and introduce yourselves.

Some Rover Ruckus Season Housekeeping 

TEAM ROSTERS For our Central Oregon and Columbia Basin League- this message comes too late for League Meet Zero.... it's okay... I know you'll all have your paperwork for your LM-1. 

I'm going to try to say all of  this in the most polite way possible.

Printed Official Team Rosters are required to be submitted at the Team Check-in Desk by every team at every event.  Once you do it once, it is easy to do. For paper Consent forms, I suggest keeping a master copy set and printing them.  If at all possible, have your team members electronically register as youth members by creating FIRST accounts and have a parent/guardian sign an electronic copy of the Consent Form. This is good for the entire season and will show as such on the Team Roster. I know this does not work for everyone. Read on...... 


  • Official Team Roster is your Top Sheet - These are a few tips for successfully printing the official Team Roster. 
    • #1 Rule - Never use Internet Explorer or any other browser from MicroSoft  when trying to print the Team Roster. Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, all good. 
    • Where do I find the official Team Roster? 
      • Lead Coach/Mentor-1 and Lead Coach/Mentor-2 can access the Team Roster from their FIRST Dashboard. (log into firstinspires.org - upper right corner)  
        • click > MY TEAMS 
        • click > Your Team (note: you'll need to repeat this procedure for each team you may have) 
        • Under Team Contacts/Roster > click Drop down menu  > Contact Options
        • click >PRINT ROSTER 
        • You should see a screen with all of the information that will print. 
        • click > PRINT ROSTER - do not click Print Blank Roster. 
        • and then..... check it 
      • Check to see the names that printed out on the roster 
        • Check the Consent Form Column 
          • For every team member listed is there a check mark under Consent Form? 
            • If yes, Great! 
            • If no (there is an "x"), that team member is required to have a paper Consent Form signed by a parent or guardian. 
            • Attach the signed paper form to the back of the printed roster  
        • If some/all students are not printed on the Team Roster, then each student must have a paper Consent Form signed by a parent or guardian. For paper Consent forms, I suggest keeping a master copy set and printing them. 
        • On the Official Team Roster > under Additional Members - hand write in all of the team members with paper forms and then attach the paper forms to the back of the Roster. 
      • Download Youth Team Member Paperwork (English version)
      • Download Youth Team Member Paperwork (Spanish version)
      • FAQ: If all of my team members have paper Consent Forms do I still need to print out the official Team Roster?  
        • YES, you do. The printed roster will list the two official Lead Mentor 1 and Lead Mentor 2 persons and all of the basic team information. The Roster is the required TOP sheet for entry to an event. 
      • FAQ: What if we are having issues getting the FIRST system to allow us to invite a Lead Coach/Mentor-1 or Lead Coach/Mentor-2.   
        • If you are having system issues inviting a Lead Coach/Mentor-1, send me an email with who should be invited and what happened to the former Lead Coach/Mentor-1. I have a contact at FIRST that will help you. 
        • If you are having system issues with inviting a Lead Coach/Mentor-2, not sure what is going on. That should be pretty easy for the LeadCoach/Mentor-1 to do. Email me if you can't figure it out. 
New Inspection Procedures 

This season we are requiring teams to print and bring their own Robot Inspection forms and Field Inspection forms.  Print a dozen or so, tuck them in your equipment box and bring to your events. Be   Gracious Professionals - Share with teams that forget or don't read my emails. :-) 

THIS IS ON THE ORTOP WEBSITE - UNDER TOURNAMENTS NEW GUIDELINES FOR LEAGUE/NON-LEAGUE  PARTICIPATION – INSPECTION PROCESS 
  • FTC Teams should PRINT copies of the Robot Inspection sheet  AND BRING IT WITH YOU TO THE MEETS/TOURNAMENTS .
    • Teams should self-inspect their robot and check off for Pass/leave blank for Fail, using the Left Column on the Robot Inspection Checklist. Use a “?” to indicate if you are unsure if the robot passes or fails a specific line item.
    • Bring your Robot Inspection sheet to the meet and give it to the Robot Inspector volunteer to inspect the bot and make checks in the Right Column.
  • FTC Teams should PRINT copies of the Field Inspection sheet AND BRING IT WITH YOU TO THE MEETS/TOURNAMENTS .
    • This sheet does not provide a column for self-inspection, but teams are advised to conduct their own prior to the meet. Bring your copy to the Field Inspector Volunteer to go through Field Inspection.
    • Please note: almost 95% of teams who do not pass inspection at tournaments, fail on Field Inspection, not Robot Inspection. 
  • For help, consult Game Manual 1,

National Registration and Event Sign-up 
As a FIRST  Affiliate Partner I am required to adhere to the rule that states to participate in a FIRST event, a team must be nationally registered and paid.  This season FIRST has figured out a way to make sure all teams that participate are nationally registered and paid. Nationally registered and Paid teams will be in a database in the new Scorekeeping System. To be in the Match Schedule, you must be nationally registered and paid.
By my count we have 7 teams still not nationally registered and paid. Please take care of it, or communicate with me what the issue is and I will try to help you.

And we have 7 teams who have not yet signed up for a Non-League Tournament. The deadline is October 31st. Please take care of this. BTW, Tigard Non-League QT Jan27 is filled. Do not apply for it.
And finally Payment for your League or Non-League Events - this is different from the national registration payment. Both are required. 

FTC OREGON EVENT PAYMENT INFORMATION 





Sunday, October 7, 2018

FTC Oregon EVENT SIGN-UP - Tues Oct 9 at 5:00 PM

FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Community:
TOPICS FOR TODAY
  • National Registration
  • Event Sign-up 
  • Rookie Note: League or Non-League???  
  • Mentor - mandatory background screening for admittance into events 
  • Benson BotFest - SURPRISE! It's happening Oct 20
  • A Total Chaos Tech Talk - (not chaotic as all, well worth your time) 
My sincere hopes that our teams have started the season well.  My in-box is filling with inquires about events. Here is the scoop.  If you are reading this, then you are receiving email from the Google Group -  ftcoregon@ortop.org  

FIRST Tech Challenge National Registration 
Every Team must be Nationally Registered and Paid to participate in FTC Oregon Leagues and Non-League Events. I understand that schools paying by check or PO will not show as paid until everything is processed.  I am allowing teams to sign up for FTC Oregon Events while their national registrations are showing as unpaid. However, all teams must show as paid by October 31st.

FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Event Sign-up - Launch - October 9th at 5:00 PM To sign-up for a League or a Non-League event, you'll be required to complete a "SurveyMonkey" form. The Link will be available to teams on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 5:00 PM 


Complete information is at this link. I suggest you click and read it.  Scroll down page to see event profiles.

What is NOT at the link is the following:
At this point we are down 25% on paid national registrations. Not sure why. Only 155 registered teams as of today (10/7).  

By my preliminary assessment: We are looking for teams for the Capitol League in Salem, Midwestern League in Junction City, N. Coast League in Tillamook and any league in the Greater Portland Area. If you have never tried a league, this might be the year.

ROOKIE TEAM NOTE:     The difference between League and Non-League paths.
League teams progressively work on their robots and compete at League Meets in Oct - December. Each league has one scrimmage/workshop meet (League Meet 0) and three league meets. Lots of field time to see how the robot works, practice driving. Each event lasts 3 - 4 hours. Teams go through an inspection and play 5 qualifying matches.  Leagues provide a learning environment and technical help from the community to keep teams progressing. It is not expected that robots be completely built to do all of the tasks by League Meet 1. Most robots do not achieve that until the January League Qualifying Tournament.

Non-League Teams- work on robot during the fall at your meeting place, compete in the January Non-League Qualifying Tournament with formal inspection, Judging, Matches, and Awards. 

Lead Coach/Mentor1 and Lead Coach/Mentor2 - Youth Protection Background Screening

Every team must have a Lead Coach/Mentor1 and Lead Coach/Mentor2 in the FIRST Registration system. These individuals show as having passed the Youth Protection Background Screening to be admitted with their teams at any event.  Both might not be present at the event but the printed Team Roster must show both individuals as having passed the background check. This can be accomplished from the FIRST Dashboard. 

BENSON BotFest - SURPRISE! It is happening! On Saturday - October 20th !
At Benson High School in NE Portland - Our annual workshop skills tune-up day. This is a fabulous opportunity for rookies or new kids on the team to learn some skills. Or for 2nd year teams that "now kinda get it" and want to improve. We are looking for some presenters to cover some topics.
We would like an idea who would like to participate in the sessions. 

More information on THIS PAGE - If you are interested - CLICK HERE 
And if you can't come 
CLICK HERE  has lots of online resources to help your team.  

TECH TALK - presented by Total Chaos -  Total Chaos' third annual Tech Talk planned for October 13th, 2018,Beaverton City's Griffith Park Conference Room 330. It will be from 1:30pm - 4:30pm. The theme for this year’s event is Women in STEM. With this Tech Talk, we hope to share the work and experience of accomplished women in the fields of STEM, and inspire the next generation to engage with science and technology.  In addition, we are planning robot and coding activities to get people of all ages engaged and interested in this unique technology. Guest Speakers: Barbara Miner, Ph.D, retired from Intel, Amber Milavec, Principal Technical Architect, Nike, Alyssa Tomala, Vice President of Development and Innovation, Jesuit High School
Information Flyer



Cathy Swider
FIRST Tech Challenge, Affiliate Partner, Oregoncathy-swider@ortop.org
www.ortop.org
FTC Oregon blog - read what's happening!
Join us for #2019FIRSTLaunch season