FTC Oregon Community 

Give Guide

Thank you for the positive GIVE! first year kickoff raising $500 in our first few days from 10 donors. Our goal is $10,000.  Give at ortop.org/GIVE to win incentives.  

 

• Signing up for ftcoregon-skystone@ortop.org email list. 
•  Mentors, you can forward this link to team parents and team members (13+) to  sign up and be placed on the new list for the Skystone season 
  
• FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Non-League Qualifying Tournament Assignments 

• for Umatilla Dec 7 - Philomath  Jan 18 and Philomath  Jan19 and Tigard  Jan25
• Click here to see them! 
• Drive Team Buttons! Shipping to Leagues this week. 
• At their next or first event, teams will receive a bag of Drive Team buttons with team number on the back. Teams are to keep track of them for the entire season and use them at each event. If a team  advances to the State Championship and can show they still in possession of all four original buttons, the team will win a prize. 

Event Payments - please get them in if you haven't already. 

• LEAGUE Payment Deadline is extended  until November 7th.
  • PAY BY CREDIT CARD
  • PAY BY CHECK 
  • PAY BY Purchase Order followed by Check  
• NON-LEAGUE Payment Deadline is November 16, 2019
• PAY BY CREDIT CARD
• PAY BY CHECK 
• PAY BY Purchase Order followed by Check  
• FTC Oregon by the Numbers
• 200 teams  registered for events (down 8 teams from last season)
• Leagues  - 136 teams in 12 leagues 
• Non-League - 64 teams in 4 QT events 

Super-Qualifier February!! 

We are very close to dotting the i's and crossing the t's on our venues for Super-Qualifier February!  I feel confident enough to release the venue and date information!

Click here to see the SuperQualifier: Cities of Star Wars  venues and dates. League QTs and Non-League QTs will advance a total of 96 teams to SuperQualifier February.  This means about half of teams as each event will advance to SQs.  There will be four 24-team events.

Note about our SQ's. Because we are having four SQs that are geographically spread out we hope that will better serve our community. However, there is a likelihood that even with geographic distribution, some teams will be traveling to their event with a planned stay over because of distance. Please plan your fund raising accordingly.  Once a team is assigned the team will have the opportunity to simply accept or decline their SQ slot. All events will have 24 teams.  The SQs will each advance 9 teams plus one host team to the State Championship for a total of 40 teams.

FTC Update: October 30, 2019 - WW Giving Guide, Final Deadlines, What's in a Team Name?

Happy Halloween from FTC Oregon! 

Wishing our FTC Oregon League Meets this week all treats and no tricks!
Central Oregon - Rose City - SOAR - Capitol and Silicon Forest!
__________________________________________________________

Click here for more details! 

_______________________________________________

LEAGUE TEAM PAYMENT DEADLINES

• The deadline to pay for participation in a League is October 31 at 11:59 pm.  
• However, I have not sent out a bunch of reminders on this, so I am extending it to November 7 at 11:59 pm. This means if you haven't paid, please do so. 
• This extended deadline will also extend to taking a reduction on the full cost of program fee.  
• Any league team not paid by the new November 7th deadline will receive an invoice of $400 and loses eligibility for a discount. 
• NEW LEAGUE Payment Deadline is November 7, 2019
• Sliding scale is $400 full cost to $200 minimum fee. 
• League PAY BY CREDIT CARD
• League PAY BY CHECK 
• League PAY BY Purchase Order followed by Check  

NON-LEAGUE EVENT SIGN UP and EVENT PAYMENT DEADLINES 

• Deadline to sign-up for a Non-League Qualifying Tournament is November 1 at 11:59 pm.
• Link to Online Sign up for Non-League QT 

• Deadline to pay for a Non-League Qualifying Tournament is November 16, 2019. 
• Sliding scale is $300 full cost to $150 minimum fee.

• Any non-league team not paid by the new November 16th deadline will receive an invoice of $300 and loses eligibility for a discount.   
• NON-LEAGUE Payment Deadline is November 16, 2019
  • Non-League PAY BY CREDIT CARD
  • Non-League PAY BY CHECK 
  • Non-League PAY BY Purchase Order followed by Check  
• Non-League Qualifying Tournament Assignments will be released on Saturday, November 2nd. 

Need more information? 
Click here to transport to the ORTOP Registration and Event sign-up page 

___________________________________________________

LET'S TALK ABOUT TEAM NAMES
Your team name on your FIRST Dashboard profile should be the same team name that you gave to ORTOP in the event registration, either on your original event registration, or when you updated it.

I will pull your team name for tournament documents from the Event Sign up in SalesForce. And you can still update it in the ORTOP system on future event documents, preferably as soon as possible. Anything submitted after Nov 15 will not be guaranteed to make it into event documentation.
Click here for name change link for ORTOP-SalesForce.  

The FTC live scoring software will pull your team number and team name from the FIRST Dashboard team profile for field matches. So update your national registration name there.

We are going for "matchy matchy" on the team names.... just like a bad '70's jogging suit.

_________________________________________________________________________

NEW EMAIL LIST for FTC Oregon Community starting later this week 
Reminder! On October 31 to be closer in compliance with GDPR guidelines, we will delete ftcoregon@ortop.org  and start new with  ftcoregon-skystone@ortop.org  

Subscribed to the new list will be all current Lead Mentor 1 and Lead Mentor 2 from the national reg and ORTOP event sign-up AND anyone who requested to be on the new list by signing up at this link.     This can be team members (13+,) team parents, volunteers.

___________________________

Finally, an update for you on Cathy's schedule. I am still recovering from my car accident and will be working half time, mostly from home, for the next month.

FTC Oregon Update: October 17, 2019 - League Assignments and FIRST Fair!

FTC Oregon Community:

We are close to ending sign-ups for FTC Oregon Events. So here are updates:

1. FIRST Tech Challenge National Registration and ORTOP Event Sign up Status

• Check this list to see your status for National Registration and if you have submitted an FTC Oregon Event Sign up form. 
• Is your team highlighted in a pretty color ? 
•   Please click here to link to National Registration and Event Sign up Links. 
• All teams must be nationally registered and paid to participate in League Events. Contact Cathy Swider if you are having bureaucratic issues with this. 
• Deadline Reminders 
• League Sign up - Closed 
• Payment to ORTOP for League Due Oct 31
• Non League Sign up - closes on November 1 
• Payment to ORTOP for Non League due on November 16 
• Non-League  QT Assignments (Philomath, Tigard and Umatilla) will be posted a few days after Nov 1. 

2. FTC Oregon League Assignments - 

• I have assigned teams to Leagues that are outside of the Portland Metro Area.  
• You can check this list for your Assigned League 
• If you submitted an application for Cedar Mill, Silicon Forest, Rose City, Tualatin Valley or Capitol, I have not made those assignments yet. There is some shuffling needed. I expect this to be settled by Friday, October 18th

3. FIRST Fair! It's on Saturday, October 19th at Gladstone HS 
See the OCT 9 blog for detailed information. 
FAQ: Does our team need to sign up?  A: No. There is no sign up for the overall event. Just show up. Exception for that would be a few individual workshops that require sign up because there are limited materials (see detailed information). 

FTC Oregon Update: DEADLINE NOTICE FOR League Sign up

Good morning FTC Oregon teams:

It's Sunday, October 13.... I am working the Event sign up lists.

I have 15 teams (in Hot Pink)  that are nationally registered but have not yet signed up for an event.
And there are 17 teams (in Orange)  that are neither nationally registered or signed up for an event.
If your team is dropping, please send me an email.

CLICK HERE and Look at Column A to see if ORTOP has received an Event Sign up for your team.

Yes, the due date is technically Oct 15th, but please.....
https://ortop.org/ftc/ftc-team-resources/ftc-registration/

WHY the urgency? I need to have all of the League Teams in the SalesForce database by Oct 15 at 5:00pm or sooner, please.  League Crates need to be ready for pickup on Oct 19th for FIRST Fair. I need to sort teams into Leagues, prepare PIT signs and Team Rosters and other stuff that depends on Signups in our SalesForce System.

And for the non-league teams --- please do sign up as well as soon as possible.
Assignments are on a first come, first serve basis.

I have some new developments to share:

ADDING A NEW LEAGUE -
There will be a Springwater FTC League Springwater Environmental School 16491 S Springwater Rd, Oregon City, OR 97045 (technically in Oregon City). 
 Here is the map to see the address.    The meets will be afterschool during the week. We are working out details today.
If you are interested in this league. EMAIL ME, even if you have signed up for another league or
It does not appear on the online Sign up.  Transfer will be handled by ORTOP.

NEEDING TEAMS:
The CAPITOL LEAGUE that meets on Saturday mornings in NE Salem, is in need of teams. Currently there are only 5 teams signed up. We need 8 to make a go of it.  If you have already submitted an event sign up and wish to switch to this league, email Cathy Swider.  If you haven't yet signed up, please do so.
____________________________

Woodie Flowers, Co-Founder of FIRST and father of Gracious Professionalism 
It is with great sadness that I share that Woodie Flowers passed on Friday, October 11, due to complex medical issues. 

To me, Woodie Flowers was the heart and soul of FIRST Robotics. He was Yoda.   He put a name and meaning to what it meant to be a gracious professional and what coopertition is.  He made FIRST about more than robots. He was the consummate FIRST Mentor to thousands. He was appreciated for his words and for how he listened to others.

 In FIRST Robotics Competition,  the Woodie Flowers Award names the most outstanding mentor of the year.  And at every FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge event at the World Championship, it was Woodie who personally awarded the Volunteer of the Year and Mentor of the Year awards.   I always looked forward to hearing Woodie speak at events. His words were inspirational and I always learned something new. He was humble and gracious and had a great sense of humor.  I invite you to watch Woodie acceptance speech in the STEM Hall of Fame in 2017. 

Each of us can draw upon what Woodie has shared with us and pay that forward in our words and actions.

FTC Oregon: October 9, 2019

Feels like fall!
Good time to hunker down and build a robot! Turn up the music!  But... before you do.

1) CHECKLIST FOR REGISTRATION : Is your team????

•  ▢ nationally registered and paid for the national registration. 
•  ▢ submitted an FTC Oregon Event application 
• Deadline for League signup participation is October 15
• Deadline for Non-League sign up is Nov 1
•  ▢ paid ORTOP for either League Participation (Deadline Oct 31) or Non-League Tournament (Nov 16)
• ▢ team name change in case you submitted TBD or Unknown at this time - then CLICK HERE AND submit your team name  with your team number. 

Click here to see Resource Page for Registration/Sign ups 

Click and Check your team's status!  - It gets updated after 3 pm each day. Please note, this is a comparison between Last Season and This Season - info in Columns C- F are from Rover Ruckus. Once Registration closes, we will publish current Team Info for Skystone. 

Please do not procrastinate these tasks. Especially if you want to be part of a league, please sign up as soon as possible so that I can go forward with planning for the events happening this month. 

2) WORKSHOP TRAINING :
FIRST Fair - Saturday, October 19th at Gladstone HS 18800 Portland Ave, Gladstone, OR 97027
Judging from the number of sign-ups I don't think many of you have clicked on the provided links to learn about this valuable opportunity.
Here are the complete Class Descriptions   and the Schedule of Classes.   Some require signing up, most do not. Sessions** requiring sign-ups up are here. 
Team members, mentors and team parents are welcome to attend.
Here are the titles of what is being offered for specifically for FTC to peak your interest. 

TIME	WORKSHOP
9:30 AM - 10:25 AM	FTC Mechanical Overview for Rookies - Also a GO TO TRAINING Workshop
9:30 AM - 10:25 AM	FTC Preparing to pass Inspection/What's new!
10:30:00 AM - 11:25 AM	FTC Overview of Skystone (for Team Members)
10:30:00 AM - 11:25 AM	FTC Mentor Roundtable Overview for new mentors by having a discussion with experienced mentors
10:30:00 AM - 11:25 AM	Overview: Using TensorFlow to Locate Scoring Objects on the FTC Field - Applying Deep Learning / Also a GO TO TRAINING session
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM	FTC Referee Training for Skystone (REFEREES ONLY)
11:30 AM - 12:25 PM	Strategies for keeping up with the FTC Engineering Notebook throughout the season so that you have a good notebook to turn in at competition.
11:30 AM - 12:25 PM	FTC - Ask The FIELD TECHNICAL ADVISOR: Ask about all that techy stuff - phones, SDK installs, navitagating GitHub, what's Vuforia?
1:00 PM - 2:55 PM	2 hours - FTC OnBot Java PROGRAMMING** sign up

TITLES  of SESSIONS FOR BOTH FTC AND FRC 

•  FIRST Grant Writing
•  FTC/FRC SIEMENS Solid Edge
•  FTC/FRC Fundraising 
• FTC/FRC 3D Printing Part 1**
• FTC/FRC Synthesis
• Presentation Best (& Worst) Practices
• FTC/FRC 3D Printing Part 2 -Hands on Lab**
• FTC/FRC FIRST Equity & Inclusion Training Roundtable - Registration Required**
• FTC/FRC Interviewer Training** - ORTOP is looking for Mentors/ Volunteers to conduct interviews of team members for an evaluation study. Valuable training and stipend provided. 

3)   This week on the ORTOP FTC Resource Page we are highlighting KEY links that are hard to find on the national FTC page. 

• Cost and Registration
• Game and Season Materials 
• Robot Building Resources 
• Programming Resources 
• Team Management Resources 
• Preparing for Competition
• FTC HQ – Team Blast Email Archive 
• FTC Resource Library
• Know what the Volunteers Know 

FTC Oregon Update: Oct 1, 2019

EMAIL  SENT ON  OCTOBER 1 - 11:03 AM 

FTC Oregon Teams:

It's FTC Oregon Event Sign up Day TODAY at 5:00 pm !! 
I'll be sending out the link to the ONLINE form at 5:00 today.

I'm asking teams to not delay in signing up for events. 
Not yet paid your national reg?  Don't delay signing  up for an event.
Don't have a team name yet? Don't delay signing  up for an event. 

You will need to pay national reg and have a team name by the end of the month but don't delay in signing up for events if you intend to participate this season. 

To help you prepare for this afternoon, please review the information on this page. 

___________________________________________________________________________

EMAIL  SENT ON  OCTOBER 1 - 5:00 PM 

Slow down, enter the information carefully. 

Remember, even if you haven't quite finished paying national reg, or you don't have a team name, please sign up for a League or Non-League events so that I can go ahead and prepare for the season.

LINK TO REGISTRATION PAGE with the link to ONLINE SIGN UP 

--

Cathy Swider, Program Manager

FIRST Tech Challenge

Oregon Robotics Tournament & Outreach Program (ORTOP)

Office Phone: 503.486.7622 x 103

Cathy-Swider@ortop.org  | www.ortop.org Pronouns: she/her/hers

4800 SW Griffith Dr., Suite 215  | Beaverton, OR 97005

FTC Oregon Update: Friday, September 27, 2019

Topics for today

1. Registration: National Registration and FTC Oregon Event Sign up
2.  ORTOP Team Support - FIRST Force
3. Tensor Flow Workshop on Oct. 5 - typo change of venue
4. FIRST Fair - correct date   & FTC Rookie video
5. Plea for venues - SQ fun
6. Alissa Robot Box
7. Email Sign up
8. Recent posts of note on FIRST Tech Challenge Facebook Page
_________________________________________________________________________

•  1. FIRST Tech Challenge National Registration and FTC Oregon Event Sign-up. 
• To signed and  participate in FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon events, teams must be nationally registered and have paid the $275 national registration fee. 
• To register your team, click here for national registration information. 
• FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Event Sign-up launches on Tuesday, October 1 at 5:00 pm. The link will be sent to the ftcoregon@ortop.org list and posted here in HOT TOPICS. 
• Teams will need to request a slot in a League or choose which Non-League event they prefer. There is a separate fee for FTC Oregon Tournaments. 
• There is a separate fee for FTC Oregon tournaments - click here to see payment info
• DEADLINE : League Sign-up will close on October 15
• DEADLINE: Non-League Sign-up will close on October 31
• 2. ORTOP Team Support Update
• ORTOP has exhausted our funding that was available through the Oregon Department of Education. The one funding source remaining with specific requirements. 
• We still have funds for Rookie Teams or Additional New Teams that meet in Linn, Benton, Polk, Marion, Lincoln , and Lane Counties. The application link is open to accept applications for teams that meet this criteria. 
• 3.  Tensor Flow Workshop on October 5th UPDATE
• This workshop has been moved from PSU to the ORTOP office in Beaverton due to a Marathon Race in downtown Portland.  There are 8 slots remaining in the workshop. We will accept applications until Sept 30.   Information and sign-up link
• ALSO, an overview of the Tensor Flow workshop will be offered at FIRST Fair on Saturday, October 19th at 10:30 am at Gladstone HS . There was a TYPO in my last email that referenced this as being on Oct. 5. That is incorrect. FIRST Fair is on October 19th at Gladstone HS.
• 4.  FIRST Fair- Saturday, October 19 at Gladstone HS 
• I hope everyone is excited about this opportunity and plans to attend if possible!  
• The list of workshop offerings are very impressive. Many are FTC only but a number of them are for both FTC and FRC.  Only sessions for team parents and adult volunteers. 
• How this will work.  Most sessions are Show Up and Attend. No pre-event sign-up needed. The FTC Programming Workshops for Blocks and OnBot Java are sign-up workshops so that we know we have enough laptops and workshop robots. 
• The 2019 FIRST Fair Class Schedule is now posted with their class descriptions.  
• Sign up for FTC Programming workshops and others here. 
• And here is a preview of the workshop  FTC Mechanical Overview for Rookie Teams. 
• 5.  Our FIRST Tech Challenge Event schedule for 2019-2020 is posted 
• We have secured venues for almost all events. 
• DESPERATE NEED FOR SQ VENUES:We are in desperate need of venues for two of the three Super-Qualifiers in February. We need a gym (or creative substitute), a place for a pit, a place for lunch and about 4 classrooms for judging.  
• Looking for a Saturday or Sunday, weekends of Feb 8/9, or Feb 15/16, or Feb 22/23.  
• Be a STAR WARS HERO and help us find locations for SQ: Kachirho and SQ:Theed   Contact Cathy Swider if you can help. 
• 6. ROBOT TRANSPORT BOXES!!! 

• During the summer, Alissa Jurisch, from team SPLIT #12000, thought of her time in robotics for her Girl Scout Gold Award project and created 5 storage lockers with FTC robots in mind, but they could be used for FLL parts as well. With wheels and locking casters these boxes will not only allow Hilhi robotics to store their robots safely, but also allow them to be rolled out with tools and parts for competitions. 
• Alissa is sharing her build plans with the FTC Oregon Community so that you can build your own. 
• CLICK HERE for all the details 
• 
  

• 7. FTC Oregon email Subscribe and Unsubscribe - here is the link. The current list will be deleted and change over to the new subscriber list on October 31.
• 8. Important information on the FIRST Tech Challenge Facebook page.  FTC HQ doesn't always send important info in their team blast. To stay up to date, click here 
• Recent informational posts included:  
• To help teams develop the best robots for the game, PTC provides a full-scale SKYSTONE playing field model in AR. 
• Tech Talk: There is a known issue with version 5.2 of the FTC control system software that prevents the reliable operation of the software with an externally connected USB webcam

FTC Oregon Update: September 20, 2019

FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Community:

Before I communicate business items, the Staff and Board of Directors of ORTOP are saddened and stunned by the tragic loss of Charlotte Van Valkenburg, a champion of the Oregon FIRST community. Charlotte embodied Gracious Professionalism in her multiple roles, as Coach of FIRST Robotics Competition Team #5468, Chaos Theory, Mentor and League Manager for FIRST Tech Challenge Central Oregon League, and volunteer coordinator for Bend area Intel Oregon FIRST LEGO League Qualifying Tournaments. Her contributions were recognized earlier this year at the Pacific Northwest District Championships, where she received the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award. We grieve alongside Charlotte's family, friends and students impacted by this loss, but heartened by wonderful memories of Charlotte and committed to carrying on her incredible legacy.
A memorial service will be held for Charlotte at the Westside Church in Bend, Oregon on Wednesday, September 25th at 1:00 PM.
____________________________________________________________________________
A few items of business for you:

• October 5th Workshop at Portland State University - SIGN UP 
• Using TensorFlow in JAVA to Locate Scoring Objects on the FTC Field - Applying Deep Learning
• The focus in this hands-on workshop is writing code that recognizes and locates game pieces. It is a hands-on experience with TensorFlow. Students will modify code to make a robot more capable.  Along the way students will be introduced to Convolutional Neural Networks to help them understand how Deep Learning works.  
• Presented by Dr. Edward Epp, Oregon IEEE Robotics and Automation Chair 
• FTC Oregon is accepting applications for this workshop. Slots are limited to 12 per session. 
• Applications are submitted by the Team Mentor.  The Mentor can recommend a student or an adult mentor attend the workshop. 
• Our goal is to provide this opportunity to teams who have some autonomous Java programming skills but have not attempted using Tensor Flow or have not been successful.  
• CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE SIGN UP.  Open until NOON on Tuesday, September 24. 
• Please note: A lecture style presentation on Tensor Flow will be offered at FIRST Fair on October 19th at Gladstone HS. Because it will not be hands-on there are no restrictions on the number of attendees. 
• 2019-2020 FTC Oregon League, Tournament Schedule 
• We don't have all of the pieces to the puzzle in place but enough to release this to you. 
• CLICK HERE to see the current view of the League and Tournament Schedule 
• FIRST Fair - October 5th at Gladstone High School 
• WOW! There are LOTs of workshop offerings. And we are SO close to sharing them with you. The Class Descriptions, Schedule, Sign-ups. Only the FTC Programming workshops have Sign-ups, all other FTC sessions are open for who ever shows up.
   I expect everything  to be posted on THIS PAGE by Saturday morning, Sept 21.
• Skystone Mentor Letter 2019 - snail mailed. Today I mailed letters with stamps on them to all 2018 Lead Mentors and 2019/20 New Mentors for whom I could find a snail mail address.  Please take time to read it, especially if you are not getting the emails. :-)  If you are getting my emails you can click the link and read it.  It's a Catch-22. LOL!
• FTC EQUIPMENT FOR SALE: And Total Chaos will not be participating this season. Their coach is hoping to sell their equipment to teams that need it. Contact him at: Varad Josh - Varad.joshi (at)yahoo(dot)com Phone: 503-621-8420

We kicked off Skystone! Now what?

FTC Oregon Community: 

Three cheers for all of our Skystone  Kickoff Sites!
Hood River Valley HS, Beaverton School of Science and Technology, Canby High School, Hamlin MS, Springfield, St. Mary's School, Medford, OSU Cascades, Bend, and Tillamook HS!!!  Hope you all enjoyed it.

Now what???? 
If you didn't attend a kickoff -  CLICK HERE to view the folder with all of the videos shown at the Kickoff Sites 

Next up  - 
All the things you need to do to participate in FIRST Tech Challenge 2019-2020. 

Here is a brief checklist: 

• Nationally register and pay the registration fee
• Get both Lead Mentors through background screening 
• Get parents and team members signed up on the FTC Oregon email list 
• Recruit team members and organize them, secure space for meetings. 
• Order needed kits/parts/field elements. 
• Pick a path: Join a FTC Oregon League and compete starting in the fall  or go Non-League and wait until January to compete 
• Get ready to sign up for FTC Oregon events starting on Oct 1 
• For the answers to the above click the link and bookmark it. 
• >>>>FTC Oregon Team Resources https://ortop.org/ftc/ftc-team-resources/ 

A Change in Communication 
Instead of writing long-winded emails/blog posts..... GOING FORWARD... I'll be using the email/blog post to direct you to LINKS on the ORTOP webpage or the national FTC webpage  for key information. 

If you delete an email or can't find something, bookmark ftcoregon.blogspot.com  and go there.

Or go to FTC Oregon Team Resources https://ortop.org/ftc/ftc-team-resources/  and look at HOT TOPICS. 

FINALLY - if you have question, registration issues, want to chat..... email me or call.     My time is dedicated to helping all of you "Get In The Skystone Game" !

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cathy Swider, Program Manager

FIRST Tech Challenge

Oregon Robotics Tournament & Outreach Program (ORTOP)

Office Phone: 503.486.7622 x 103

Cathy-Swider@ortop.org  | www.ortop.org Pronouns: she/her/hers

4800 SW Griffith Dr., Suite 215  | Beaverton, OR 97005

See what’s happening with FTC:  

          

Opening doors to the worlds of science, technology,

engineering and mathematics for Oregon’s youth.                                                                                                                             

    

Fall is almost here - Welcome back - It's KICKOFF TIME

FIRST TECH CHALLENGE SEASON KICKOFF
SEPTEMBER 7, 20199:00 AM PDT - Game ReVEAL
_____________________________________________________

Everyone is invited to our live
FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon Kickoff Events!

The events are open to current teams and interested adults and kids who want to learn more about the FIRST Tech Challenge program, how to start a team or get involved as volunteers.  We are looking forward to seeing new people and returning league and non-league teams and volunteers.Invite someone new to come to the event!
Connecting with a SKYSTONE KICKOFF 

• Attend a live in-person event! There are 7 FTC Oregon Kickoffs scheduled in  
• Beaverton, Bend, Canby, Hood River, Medford, Springfield and Tillamook  - 
• CLICK HERE for event details 
• Hold your own Kickoff party for your own team or invite a few teams and watch the Kickoff on TWITCH-TV from California -  scroll to bottom of screen for links 
• Catch it later by watching the game animation video on the Game/Season page

      What you will have access to on Saturday, September 7th

• Game Animation Video 
• Game Manual 2 with all of the Skystone Rules
• Vision Targets 
• One-page overview of the Skystone game 
•  GLOBAL KICKOFF PAGE – FIRST Tech Challenge  – SKYSTONE 

What will be updated on  Monday, September 9th 

• Revised Game Manual 1 - including Judging/Awards and updated rules
• Most, if not all, the resource materials here  

When will the FIRST Tech Challenge Forum be open for Game related questions?

Monday, September 16th

OTHER SEASON INFORMATION 

How to order your very own Skystone Kit!! 

• Go to AndyMark! and place your order for a full or half Skystone Kit   
• Field Wall/Tiles - complete kit with carry bags 
• Just Tiles 

REGISTER YOUR TEAM FOR THE FTC 2019-2020 SEASON! 

ORTOP Team Support Award (financial assistance) Information Page 
Round #2 applications are due by August 30th  ....but I'll leave the link open through Labor Day :-)

OUTREACH OPPORTUNITY - We are looking for one FTC Team to volunteer for the ORTOP booth at Portland mini-Maker Faire on Saturday Afternoon on September 7th. 
Click Here to Sign Up 

VISTA Opportunity - ORTOP is approved for two  FIRST VISTA positions (Volunteer in Service to America). This is a full-time position and requires someone to serve in the ORTOP office in Beaverton. Should be a FIRST alum or FIRST Volunteer, cannot be attending school or hold another job.  Contact Cathy Swider for more information. 

FIRST FAIR AND WORKSHOPS

FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon will be offering workshops for rookie and veteran teams this fall.   We have a new location and format for our workshops. This season FTC Oregon will be at FIRST Fair, a collaborative workshop experience with FIRST Robotics Competition teams and volunteers. Some tracks will be FTC only, some both programs, and some for volunteers, team parents and community supporters. 

• FIRST Fair - Saturday, October 19th at Gladstone High School 
•  Registration will be per class /per person via Sign-up Genius and will be available shortly after FTC Kickoff 
• Full schedule of workshops will be released after Kickoff
• Tensor Flow Workshop in JAVA instructed by Dr. Edward Epp, IEEE, Robotics and Automation Chair  and co-founder of FTC Oregon 
• at Portland State University 
• October 5th - Morning Session  (12 team members)
• October 5th - Afternoon Session (12 team members) 
• limited to 12 team members per workshop 
• If your team is well versed in Tensor Flow using Java, please allow others to have the slots. This is an introductory class. 
• We are limiting the opportunity to: 
• veteran team members only
• one team member per team 
• pre-requisite: Attendees must have the skill to create a Java program that drives their robot forward until a light sensor detects a line.  (note: create = write, not copy/paste) 
• Registration will be per class/per person via Sign-up Genius and will be available shortly after FTC Kickoff 
• What about a Tensor Flow using BLOCKS workshop? Stay tuned for more details. 

Pre-Season FTC Update!

FIRST Tech Challenge OREGON Community!

Update on Cathy's schedule:   As some of you may have heard Cathy Swider (me, who writes this blog and is the FTC Oregon Affiliate Partner)  has been out of the office on medical leave since mid-July due to a car accident (and vacation prior to that).  I have just returned to the office today (Aug 12). I'm not quite back to full time yet but I'm working on the most important items to keep things moving for this season. I am behind on some critical tasks.  Your support and help to make sure we kickoff this season successfully is greatly appreciated. I'm thanking you in advance for your help.  Thank you all for being so patient waiting for me to return emails/phone calls.  If I haven't returned one, please send it again.


FIRST Tech Challenge Oregon KICKOFF EVENTS for SKYSTONE!


GLOBAL FTC KICK OFF Saturday, September 7th! 

• Doors open by 8:45 am. GAME REVEAL at 9:00 AM PST 
• We have seven OREGON sites for SKYSTONE kickoff events this year.
• Bend, Hood River, Springfield, Beaverton, Medford, Canby, Tillamook!  
• Check out the sites and schedule!  
• Watch for event information to be updated with additional site activities. 

 NATIONAL REGISTRATION FOR FIRST Tech Challenge 
As of today (Aug 12) we have 32 FTC Teams registered for Oregon.  That's about 176 teams short of what I expect to register for this season.
Time to kick it in gear and get ready for a great SKYSTONE season powered by Star Wars: Force for Change. It starts with getting your national registration started. You can start to update your information for this season prior to paying. It allows me to see that you are in process for this season.
LINK TO COST AND NATIONAL REGISTRATION page .

FIRST Tech Challenge GAME MANUAL ONE 

• It was published in July 2019. There ARE CHANGES you need to know about. 
• This is the page with ALL current updates for SKYSTONE .
• NOTE: There is nothing in Game Manual One about Judging or Awards. It will be updated on September 7th. 

Here is a table of contents for Game Manual One.
SKYSTONE Game Manual Part 1 - updated 7/10/19

• ​Section 1 & 2 - Intro and Gracious Professionalism
• Section 3 - Tournament Definitions
• Section 4 - Tournament Day Outline
• Section 5 - Tournament Types
• Section 6 - Eligibility and Advancement
• Section 7 - The Robot
• Section 8 - Robot Inspection
• Section 9 - Award Criteria
• Section 10 - Dean's List Award

You might want to find the answers to these questions.

• Will red/blue alliance flags be provided to teams this season or will teams need to make their own to spec? 
• Has the scoring system changed that changes how teams are ranked?  
• Have some behaviors been specifically called out as egregious acts subject to red cards and DQ? 
• Will a careful read of the Robot Inspection Section of Game Manual One lead to game clues? 

ORTOP Team Support Awards Application

ORTOP is accepting ROUND TWO applications for ORTOP Team Support Awards. Please read the ORTOP Team Support Information page for details, application worksheets and the online application link. Round Two apps will be accepted until August 30th. 
 
Round One Applications are now in the review process. 
_______________________________________________________________________
NEXT BLOG in about one week: Information about Leagues, League Meet Dates and Tournament Schedule. 

SuperQuest slots available for Newport, Beaverton / Judge Feedback

Wishing everyone a Happy Fourth of July!  Let us know if your team is in a parade!

On the email list/ Off the email list for 2019-2020?????  - click here All changes submitted on/by June 30 have been processed. 

SuperQuest Sessions Many slots open for NEWPORT - July 9 - 11 - REGISTRATION LINK 
Some slots remain for Beaverton July 21 - Aug 2  - REGISTRATION LINK

****YIKES!!! We have not yet met the minimum number of participants for the July 9 - 11 SuperQuest session in Newport. If this is the best session for you to attend please sign up immediately.  Open to teachers and non-teachers. *****

Please let others know about this opportunity. $50 refundable deposit. Show up and get refunded.
Terry Alexander ( Hillsboro HS Technology Teacher) is the instructor.

Outline of the three day session:
DAY 1 
Morning – Introductions and hands-on training bots, Basic navigation using onBot Java and Blocks
Afternoon - FTC Overview, starting a program, or advancing a program, more hands-on with robots, beyond Tetrix - custom parts, sources, COTS.
DAY 2 
Morning – Drive systems, Communication between robot controller and robot, troubleshooting, obstacle course
Afternoon – Robot manipulators, Judging and Engineering notebook, obstacle course, CAD and 3D Printing
DAY 3 
Morning – FTC in classroom settings, clubs, outreach, under-represented students, team visit and demonstration
Afternoon – Time reserved for topics identified by the group, advanced programming topics - Vuforia

ORTOP Team Financial Support Awards
Sine Die! With the final bang of the Oregon State Legislature gavel in Salem, we are confident that ORTOP will be receiving the Oregon Department of Education: FIRST Robotics grant funding. This means to receive funds from ODE for FIRST Tech Challenge, you need to apply THROUGH ORTOP, not ODE.  ORTOP Team Support Award funding also includes funds from corporate sponsors and foundations.  Read all about it here. 

Judge Feedback at tournaments 
If you've been around awhile, you remember receiving written feedback from the Judges at tournaments. That practice was halted about 5 years ago by FIRST. ORTOP continued to fight for the right to give our teams feedback.  Happy News!  It's coming back.... we hope. FIRST has issued Request for Proposals. ORTOP plans to submit one written by our Judge Advisors and Cathy Swider, Affiliate Partner.  We are welcoming your input to our ORTOP proposal. If you have something to say about what would be constructive feedback for your team to receive, please email Cathy Swider. 

Here is the post national FIRST Tech Challenge issued today.