Saturday, December 9, 2023

High Country Live Stream

 


GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE TEAMS COMPETING AT THE HIGH COUNTRY QUALIFIER IN FLAGSTAFF! 


Dean's List - Interview Event

With holiday breaks coming up, it's time to start thinking about Dean's List submissions - the deadline to submit is January 15, less than 2 weeks after many schools return after break!

The FIRST Dean's List honors student leaders on each team who exemplify the values of FIRST, have made a positive impact on their team and in the community, and show technical expertise. Each team many nominate up to two 10th or 11th grade students. Nominees become Dean's List Semifinalists. A panel of judges will interview each nominee and select our Finalists to be considered at World Championship. Our AZ Finalists will be announced at the AZ Championship.

This year, all Dean's List interviews will take place remotely via the FTC Scoring system on February 6, 7 and 8, 2024 in the afternoon/evening. Dean's List nominations are due by January 15, 2024 9:59 PM AZ time to be considered. No late nominations will be accepted.  For more information on the Dean's List criteria and how to nominate your sophomore and junior leaders for the FIRST Dean's List, click here. 



Thursday, November 30, 2023

Dean's List Deadline Jan. 15, Tips from Head Refs, Turquoise Live Stream

Paper Airplanes after Thanksgiving be like...

Congratulations to the eight teams that qualified for the AZFTC Championship at the November 18 Qualifiers! Who will be next at the December 2 Turquoise Qualifier????? For full event results, visit the official FTC Event Results Page for a full list of match results, rankings, and award winners. 
  • 2844 Valley X Robotics
  • 10246 Midnight Cicadas
  • 11980 Team Viper
  • 14254 Trivium Knight Lights
  • 14835 Tie Dye Samurai
  • 18421 Unscheduled Disassembly
  • 21579 Testing is Optional
  • 23737 BroncoBotsMAX

Tips from our AZ Head Referees after 1st qualifiers
At our first two qualifiers in Show Low and Gilbert, these are the penalties that were seen the most. Please be sure to review the game manual, Q&A, and pay special attention to the human player rules. 
  1. Safety: Safety glasses, closed toe shoes, hair tied back and out of eyes, are all required in the pits and on the competition field. Running is never allowed in the competition area, pits, or stands - walk with purpose please!!
  2. GS5a: Controlling more than 2 pixels. 
  3. GS12h: Breaking the plane of the playing field perimeter while robot is in the wing. 
  4. GS12d: Don't reposition already placed pixel's in the wing. 
  5. GS5c: Moving pixel stacks off white tape. 
  6. Please make sure all pixels are removed from your robot prior to leaving the field after a match.

Dean's List - Interview Event

With holiday breaks coming up, it's time to start thinking about Dean's List submissions - the deadline to submit is January 15, less than 2 weeks after many schools return after break!

The FIRST Dean's List honors student leaders on each team who exemplify the values of FIRST, have made a positive impact on their team and in the community, and show technical expertise. Each team many nominate up to two 10th or 11th grade students. Nominees become Dean's List Semifinalists. A panel of judges will interview each nominee and select our Finalists to be considered at World Championship. Our AZ Finalists will be announced at the AZ Championship.

This year, all Dean's List interviews will take place remotely via the FTC Scoring system on February 6, 7 and 8, 2024 in the afternoon/evening. Dean's List nominations are due by January 15, 2024 9:59 PM AZ time to be considered. No late nominations will be accepted.  For more information on the Dean's List criteria and how to nominate your sophomore and junior leaders for the FIRST Dean's List, click here. 


GOOD LUCK TO THE TEAMS COMPETING AT THIS WEEKEND'S TURQUOISE QUALIFIER IN TEMPE!!! 

You can watch all the robot action on the live stream.

Friday, November 17, 2023

IT'S TIME TO TAKE CENTERSTAGE!!!!


IT'S TIME TO TAKE CENTERSTAGE!!!!

Good luck to the nearly 50 teams that are competing tomorrow at the Roadrunner and White Mountain Qualifiers! 

You can catch the action on the live stream links below. Please note, that the event results for this weekend will not be updated live on the official events page. Full results will be available early next week. 

ROADRUNNER (GILBERT) QUALIFIER LIVE STREAM




Amazon Future Engineers Scholarship - Applications due December 15 

Eligibility Requirements:

  • Be a high school senior in the U.S. who is currently enrolled in or who has completed a high school or college dual degree course where computer science, engineering, or robotics is the subject. Students who have not taken this course can opt-in to take an assessment offered by Amazon.
  • Be planning to attain a bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, robotics, or other computer science related field of study from an accredited 4-year college or from a 2-year college with the intent to transfer to a 4-year college.
  • Must be authorized to work in the US. Example: Employment Authorization Document holder, Permanent Resident, or US Citizen.
  • Have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.3 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent).
  • Must demonstrate financial need.

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Advancement to AZ Championship & Sample Qualifier Schedule + Checklist

 


ADVANCEMENT TO THE 2024 AZ FTC CHAMPIONSHIP

Arizona is proud to have almost 90 teams competing in FIRST Tech Challenge this season! We are planning for a large, 2-division Championship Tournament on February 16 & 17 at Brophy College Prep in Phoenix. 

At each qualifying tournament, a set number of teams will advance to the state championship based on merit at the competition. The advancement criteria is in Game Manual 1. The number of teams advancing will be one team for every five teams competing at the event (20%). For example, at a 24-team event, 5 teams will advance whereas at a 16-team event, 3 teams will advance. Advancement is based on competing teams, not registered teams. If a qualifier has teams that no-show, the advancement number will change accordingly. Please remember this as you prepare for your events...no-showing for a tournament is affects more than just your team. 

Teams that advance to the Championship will receive an email from Christine by Sunday morning following their tournament with instructions for registering for the Championship. Teams will have until 5 pm the Tuesday after the qualifier to accept their spot at the Championship, or the spot will be offered to the next eligible team. 


EXAMPLE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Times are subject to change depending on the number of teams competing and the flow of match play. Please be flexible and patient with our event volunteers. 

Friday, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm        

Venue opens to teams for early check in, inspection, pit set up and practice. We encourage as many teams as possible to take advantage of this opportunity. Getting all teams inspected in a timely manner will ensure that the event runs on time.

Saturday

7:00 am              Pits open, Team registration opens, Inspection continues

8:00 am              Student Drivers meeting on the field

                          Adult Coaches meeting in the pit with the Tournament Director

8:30 am              Judging sessions and practice matches begin

10:00 am            Opening Ceremonies

10:15 am            Qualification matches

12:30 pm            Lunch

1:00 pm              Qualification matches resume

2:30 pm              Alliance Selections

3:00 pm              Elimination matches

4:00 pm              Award ceremony

5:00 pm              Event ends


Don't forget:

  • Your team must have your season registration paid with FIRST AND have two coaches cleared through the youth protection screening by DECEMBER 1 or by your 1st tournament, which ever comes first.
  • The scoring system actually will not allow us to add your team unless this criteria is met! 
  • Your team name will be displayed at the competition during matches and awards as it's listed on your FIRST Dashboard. Make sure that you update it if there have been any changes prior to your event. We can't make changes once the event is in progress. 
  • Questions? Contact Patti or Susan. 

Portfolio vs Notebook - what's the difference? 

  • Notebook: The record of your entire season, kept electronically or as a hard copy in the pits. Judges may ask to see your notebook in judging or in follow-up interviews in the pits. 
  • Portfolio: A concise record of your team's accomplishments, not to exceed 15 pages. The portfolio will be uploaded to the FTC Scoring System by the Thursday prior to your tournament so judges can review your materials prior to your interview on tournament day. If your portfolio exceeds 15 pages, judges will STOP READING after page 15. 
  • Please read Game Manual Part 1 for details on what is required for your portfolio to be considered for judging. NEARLY ALL JUDGED AWARDS REQUIRE an engineering portfolio to be submitted in order for a team to be considered. 

Submitting Judging Materials

  • Control Award Form - fill this out, upload it to the scoring system, and print to give to judges during your interview. 
  • Teams will be added to the FTC Scoring system for their events. This is where you can upload your Portfolio and Control Award form. 
  • Please contact Patti with questions about the scoring system. 
  • PDF Tips - Getting your engineering portfolio sized to upload
    As your Engineering Portfolios get more elaborate and detailed throughout the season, you may run into a size issue. Keep in mind that the size limit for uploads through the scoring system is 15 Mb. If your team is receiving an error message about file size when you try to upload your judging materials, try these helpful tips from teams.

Who's playing at my event? 

  • You can see a list of teams registered for each event HERE. This is also listed on the right side of the Blog. 
  • Official event results can be viewed here on the official FTC page

Packing List

  • TEAM ROSTER showing all students have had a parent sign the online FIRST Consent form or paper consent forms for any students unable to do it online. CLICK HERE for instructions on the Youth Registration System or download the consent forms in ENGLISH - SPANISH
  • SAFETY GLASSES for all your students, mentors, and spectators. We will not be able to loan safety glasses safely due to continued sanitizing concerns. 
  • Closed-toed shoes and long hair tied back is required in the pits and on the field. 
  • Your robot!
    • Alliance markers for red and blue 
    • Team numbers attached to bot
    • Spare robot batteries and charger
    • Robot controllers
    • Programming computer, charger, and programs backed up on a flash drive
    • Box or small cart to move the robot from the pits to the field
    • Do a pre-event inspection for both software and hardware before arriving. Inspection sheets are in Game Manual Part 2 in the appendix and in the resources above. 
  • Engineering Portfolio and Notebook
  • Power supply and extension cord
  • Pit decorations or displays - please contact tournament director for information on size of pit
  • Team swag and spirit items
  • Scouting plan
  • Team spirit and Gracious Professionalism! 

Thursday, November 2, 2023

AZFTC Qualifiers Begin in 2 Weeks! LOTS of Resources to help your team get ready...


Resources to help your teams get ready:

Don't forget:

  • Your team must have your season registration paid with FIRST AND have two coaches cleared through the youth protection screening prior to competing. 
  • The scoring system actually will not allow us to add your team unless this criteria is met! 
  • Your team name will be displayed at the competition during matches and awards as it's listed on your FIRST Dashboard. Make sure that you update it if there have been any changes prior to your event. We can't make changes once the event is in progress. 
  • Questions? Contact Patti or Susan. 

Portfolio vs Notebook - what's the difference? 

  • Notebook: The record of your entire season, kept electronically or as a hard copy in the pits. Judges may ask to see your notebook in judging or in follow-up interviews in the pits. 
  • Portfolio: A concise record of your team's accomplishments, not to exceed 15 pages. The portfolio will be uploaded to the FTC Scoring System by the Thursday prior to your tournament so judges can review your materials prior to your interview on tournament day. If your portfolio exceeds 15 pages, judges will STOP READING after page 15. 
  • Please read Game Manual Part 1 for details on what is required for your portfolio to be considered for judging. NEARLY ALL JUDGED AWARDS REQUIRE an engineering portfolio to be submitted in order for a team to be considered. 

Submitting Judging Materials

  • Control Award Form - fill this out, upload it to the scoring system, and print to give to judges during your interview. 
  • Teams will be added to the FTC Scoring system for their events. This is where you can upload your Portfolio and Control Award form. 
  • Please contact Patti with questions about the scoring system. 
  • PDF Tips - Getting your engineering portfolio sized to upload
    As your Engineering Portfolios get more elaborate and detailed throughout the season, you may run into a size issue. Keep in mind that the size limit for uploads through the scoring system is 15 Mb. If your team is receiving an error message about file size when you try to upload your judging materials, try these helpful tips from teams.

Who's playing at my event? 

  • You can see a list of teams registered for each event HERE. This is also listed on the right side of the Blog. 
  • Official event results can be viewed here on the official FTC page

Packing List

  • TEAM ROSTER showing all students have had a parent sign the online FIRST Consent form or paper consent forms for any students unable to do it online. CLICK HERE for instructions on the Youth Registration System or download the consent forms in ENGLISH - SPANISH
  • SAFETY GLASSES for all your students, mentors, and spectators. We will not be able to loan safety glasses safely due to continued sanitizing concerns. 
  • Closed-toed shoes and long hair tied back is required in the pits and on the field. 
  • Your robot!
    • Alliance markers for red and blue 
    • Team numbers attached to bot
    • Spare robot batteries and charger
    • Robot controllers
    • Programming computer, charger, and programs backed up on a flash drive
    • Box or small cart to move the robot from the pits to the field
    • Do a pre-event inspection for both software and hardware before arriving. Inspection sheets are in Game Manual Part 2 in the appendix and in the resources above. 
  • Engineering Portfolio and Notebook
  • Power supply and extension cord
  • Pit decorations or displays - please contact tournament director for information on size of pit
  • Team swag and spirit items
  • Scouting plan
  • Team spirit and Gracious Professionalism! 
Health and Safety
While we are not requiring masks at events unless CDC or Arizona guidelines and rules change, there are several things you can do to help keep all participants and volunteers healthy: 
  • Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer early and often, especially when using high-contact items such as practice fields or game elements
  • Stay home when feeling unwell - there are plenty of colds and flus going around in addition to COVID (sharing is not caring!)
  • Mask up after having COVID - for at least 5 days after your 5-day quarantine
  • Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing
  • Screen the health of your students prior to leaving - if anyone on your team feels sick, ask them to stay home
  • Maintain health and safety standards at home with your team to help keep everyone healthy

Dean's List - Interview Event

The FIRST Dean's List honors student leaders on each team who exemplify the values of FIRST, have made a positive impact on their team and in the community, and show technical expertise. Each team many nominate up to two 10th or 11th grade students. Nominees become Dean's List Semifinalists. A panel of judges will interview each nominee and select our Finalists to be considered at World Championship. 

This year, all Dean's List interviews will take place remotely via the FTC Scoring system on February 6, 7 and 8, 2024 in the afternoon/evening. Dean's List nominations are due by January 15, 2024 to be considered. No late nominations will be accepted.  For more information on the Dean's List criteria and how to nominate your sophomore and junior leaders for the FIRST Dean's List, click here. 


You're invited to the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks Open House

You're invited! Discover what it’s like to be a manufacturing engineering student at Arizona State University. 

The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering invites you to the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks Open House on Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Polytechnic campus. 

Join us to:

  • Learn about admission and scholarships.
  • Discover career paths in manufacturing and robotics engineering.
  • Tour teaching and research labs.
  • Talk to our students and faculty.

School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks 

Open House - Saturday, Nov. 4

9 a.m.–1 p.m.

Polytechnic Student Union Cooley Ballroom 

Polytechnic campus

Lunch will be provided for registered guests.

 

Register: https://na.eventscloud.com/msn  

Friday, October 27, 2023

Tech Tips, CENTERSTAGE Videos, Scrimmages, ASU Open House

FTC TECH TIPS of the WEEK

If you missed any tech tips, they are all compiled here. There's a lot of great information on programming, competition prep, and robot design. 


Getting Started with CENTERSTAGE videos

AndyMark put out a series of videos for teams to help jumpstart their design process for the CENTERSTAGE season. Some of the information is specific to AndyMark's Robit kit, but can be applied to other kits. 


Scrimmage Opportunities in AZ

Several teams are offering scrimmage or work day opportunities to help you get ready to compete. 

  • Trunk or Treat
    • October 28, 5-7 PM
    • 3225 N Washington St. Chandler, AZ 85225
    • Contact Camila Trevino (camila.trevino@sisepuedefoundation.org)
  • 1st Look Scrimmage
    • November 4, 10 AM - 4 PM
    • EVIT East Campus - 6625 S Power Rd,  Mesa, AZ 85212
    • https://stemplusc.org/taking-flight-at-evit/
  • Trivium Scrimmage
    • November 4, 11 AM - 4 PM
    • Trivium Preparatory Academy - 2001 N Bullard Ave, Goodyear
    • RSVP HERE
  • Northern AZ Scrimmage & Help Session
    • November 6, 4 - 8 PM
    • Coconino High School Cafeteria, 2801 N. Izabel St. Flagstaff, AZ 86004
    • Contact Christine at csapio@firstpartners.org to RSVP by Nov. 5


You're invited to the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks Open House

You're invited! Discover what it’s like to be a manufacturing engineering student at Arizona State University. 

The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering invites you to the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks Open House on Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Polytechnic campus. 

Join us to:

  • Learn about admission and scholarships.
  • Discover career paths in manufacturing and robotics engineering.
  • Tour teaching and research labs.
  • Talk to our students and faculty.

School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks 

Open House - Saturday, Nov. 4

9 a.m.–1 p.m.

Polytechnic Student Union Cooley Ballroom 

Polytechnic campus

Lunch will be provided for registered guests.

 

Register: https://na.eventscloud.com/msn  

For more information, or if you have questions, please email FultonSchools@asu.edu.


3 Weeks until Qualifiers begin! 

Follow this checklist to be sure you are ready to take CENTERSTAGE

  • FIRST Registration
    • Your team CAN NOT compete without being registered and paid for the 2023/2024 season. 
    • Every team must also have two adult coaches registered and cleared through YPP prior to competing. 
    • Be sure to update your team information, including any changes to your team name before you compete. The scoring system pulls team and school information from the registration system and it cannot be changed once the tournament has started. 
  • Pay your qualifying tournament registration fees by November 17
    • This is paid to Coconino High School Robotics - NOT FIRST
    • Instructions are on the Invoice that was sent to each team
    • If you haven't received an invoice yet, please contact Christine ASAP
  • Register your youth team members with your team
  • Begin prepping your engineering portfolio and judging presentation
  • Read, reread, and read again both game manual 1 and 2!
  • Check out the Team Management Resources for information on getting ready for competition. 
  • Raise your Right Hand...and promise to bring your team to the competition even if you "aren't ready." We promise, they will learn more in that one day than they had the whole season leading up to the event!!! Volunteers and other teams are great resources to help you get your robot to the next level, even at the competition. 
  • Speaking of getting your robot ready....

Thursday, October 19, 2023

Qualifiers Start in 4 weeks....Tips from the Head Referees & Scrimmages!

One month until Qualifiers begin! 

Follow this checklist to be sure you are ready to take CENTERSTAGE

  • FIRST Registration
    • Your team CAN NOT compete without being registered and paid for the 2023/2024 season. 
    • Every team must also have two adult coaches registered and cleared through YPP prior to competing. 
    • Be sure to update your team information, including any changes to your team name before you compete. The scoring system pulls team and school information from the registration system and it cannot be changed once the tournament has started. 
  • Pay your qualifying tournament registration fees by November 17
    • This is paid to Coconino High School Robotics - NOT FIRST
    • Instructions are on the Invoice that was sent to each team
    • If you haven't received an invoice yet, please contact Christine ASAP
  • Register your youth team members with your team
  • Begin prepping your engineering portfolio and judging presentation
  • Read, reread, and read again both game manual 1 and 2!
  • Check out the Team Management Resources for information on getting ready for competition. 
  • Raise your Right Hand...and promise to bring your team to the competition even if you "aren't ready." We promise, they will learn more in that one day than they had the whole season leading up to the event!!! Volunteers and other teams are great resources to help you get your robot to the next level, even at the competition. 
  • Speaking of getting your robot ready....


Scrimmage Opportunities in AZ

Several teams are offering scrimmage or work day opportunities to help you get ready to compete. 

  • Trunk or Treat
    • October 28, 5-7 PM
    • 3225 N Washington St. Chandler, AZ 85225
    • Contact Camila Trevino (camila.trevino@sisepuedefoundation.org)
  • 1st Look Scrimmage
    • November 4, 10 AM - 4 PM
    • EVIT East Campus - 6625 S Power Rd,  Mesa, AZ 85212
    • https://stemplusc.org/taking-flight-at-evit/
  • Trivium Scrimmage
    • November 4, 11 AM - 4 PM
    • Trivium Preparatory Academy - 2001 N Bullard Ave, Goodyear
    • RSVP HERE
  • Northern AZ Scrimmage & Help Session
    • November 6, 4 - 8 PM
    • Coconino High School Cafeteria, 2801 N. Izabel St. Flagstaff, AZ 86004
    • Contact Christine at csapio@firstpartners.org to RSVP by Nov. 5


TIPS FROM HEAD REF RICH - VOLUME 1

Hi Teams,

We hope your pre-season planning and build is going well!  Here are a couple of tidbits of news that we want to share with you, so please take note and incorporate into your plans and game plan training.

Please download and note the new updates in the Game Manuals.  There are a couple of new rules / clarifications that could be important.

Remember that the surface in the Landing Zone may vary event to event.  This is one of those variations in the gameplay that teams can expect to deal with during the season!

In the same theme of variation in the competition areas, we may experience different “weather patterns” that may affect the Landing Zone operations, e.g. a gust of air caused by a door opening, a person passing in front of the landing zone quickly so as not to disturb sight lines of the audience, etc.

Please remember your GP throughout the tournament!  Especially with respect to the Drones.  If you rebuild your drone, put a different drone in play (except if all your drones are identical in design and makeup) or are told by a Head Referee that the Drone needs to be re-inspected, please be proactive and graciously get your drone re-inspected as soon as possible. 

Finally, this season we will be looking for all drive teams to actually press “Stop” on your drive controllers at the end of the match.  The wording in GM 2 “Parked” definition and rule <G20> do not state that you have to press the Stop button, but this is a safety practice due to the nature of the game this season with hanging robots and possible movement when removing the robots.  So, we will be reminding all teams to hit Stop at the end of the match.

We are looking forward to seeing you out there on the CENTERSTAGE and can’t wait to see what you accomplish!

Best wishes, be safe and follow the FTC Q&A and Game Manuals!

Ref Rich - azfirst.referee@earthlink.net


Remote Professional Development Sessions (Global)

FIRST® will be hosting several remote Professional Development sessions through February 2024 for FIRST® LEGO® League Discover, Explore, Challenge, and FIRST® Tech Challenge. These professional development opportunities are great for new coaches and teachers. More information can be found on our website and registration is through Eventbrite. If you have questions, email firsteducation@firstinspires.org.



Tech Tip of the Week

Have you ever asked, “How does that get connected?” when working with FIRST® Tech Challenge control system components? This Tech Tip of the Week highlights Stefen Acepcion of FIRST® Robotics Competition Team 3161 - he has graciously compiled several connection diagrams that demonstrate different ways that common components can be connected within the FIRST Tech Challenge control system.

Driver Station connection diagrams (both Driver Hub and Android Smartphone configurations) and Robot Controller connection diagrams (both Control Hub and Android Smartphone configurations) can be found on ftc-docs. Stefen has contributed additional diagrams this season, including a new Advanced REV Control Hub connection diagram and a new Advanced Smartphone connection diagram. These diagrams are chock-full of helpful tips, connection techniques, and information you otherwise can’t find in one place - check them out!