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. 
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NEXT BLOG in about one week: Information about Leagues, League Meet Dates and Tournament Schedule.