IT'S...TIME...TO...RUCKUS!!!!!

Hey Arizona & New Mexico...IT'S TIME TO RUCKUS!!!

Competition season is finally here!!!! We can't wait to see what all you amazing teams have come up with for the Rover Ruckus game! Good luck to the teams competing at our first qualifier this weekend at White Mountain. 

After each event, we'll post the results here on the blog, and add to a running list under Quick Links to the right. We'll also include a list of the teams that are advancing to the Arizona & New Mexico Championship in February. GO TEAMS!

REMINDERS:

• Payment for all events is due next Friday, November 16! Please be sure to send in your payments. If your school will need more time than that to cut a check, please submit a copy of your purchase order to ftc.arizona@gmail.com by the deadline. 
• The nomination deadline for Dean's List for December tournaments is midnight eastern time on Thursday, November 15. Nominations must be in by this time for teams wishing to nominate students at the Glendale, Tucson, and Phoenix tournaments. Information on the Dean's List submission process can be found under Quick Links, Team Resources, and the Kickoff Presentations to the right.
• Update your team information in your dashboard. The new scoring system can pull information directly from the FIRST database, so double check and be sure your team name, school information, and sponsor information are correct with FIRST. 

Competition Packing List

• TEAM ROSTERS! FIRST forms must be signed electronically for each team member and adult mentor. You must print this roster to be turned in at registration at every event to participate! If you have students on your team who have not completed the online form, you must bring a paper consent form to the event. See information on registering youth below.
• SAFETY GLASSES for every team member, mentor, parent.
• ENGINEERING NOTEBOOK - remember, most of the judged awards require a notebook for your team to be considered. 
• Robot, spare parts, battery chargers, phone chargers, spare batteries. Be sure to label everything with your team number!
• Power strip and extension cord. Each team will be provided with one table and two chairs in the pit area.
• Robot Programs backed up on a flash drive
• Laptop for programming and password for the computer
• Judging presentation materials, handouts, costumes, etc. No computers or projectors will be provided in project rooms! 
• Money for lunch or lunch plans: tournament directors will communicate with you directly about options at their event. 
• Team spirit, pit display and give away items: have fun and flaunt your team spirit, but make sure your pit will fit in the size constraints for the event you're attending.  
• Be sure to check the latest rules updates and Q&A on the FTC website often. Our referees will be scoring according to the latest rulings by the game design committee. 
• Family and friends! All FIRST Robotics events are free and open to the public.

Judging Information

Each team will have 10 minutes to present to a panel of 2-3 judges prior to the start of qualification matches about your robot, team, and community activities. Per the current season FIRST Tech Challenge game and volunteer manuals, the following rules will be in place for all Arizona and New Mexico qualifiers and the Championship: 

• FIRST Tech Challenge teams are comprised of up to 15 pre-college students. The whole team is encouraged to attend the judging session with the robot. 
• Teams are encouraged to prepare what they will say in the judging session so that they don't forget any information that the judges may like to know.
• Each team will be allowed ONE adult mentor as a silent observer in the judging room during the presentation. 
• Adult mentors may not say anything, answer questions, or take any video recordings during the presentation.
• Adults may take notes in the judging session to be used for coaching the team for future events. 
• Adults who speak during the judging presentation may put their teams in jeopardy for awards, as this can be interpreted as the students not doing the work. 
• Teams may choose to send in a mentor or not. The judging panel will not keep track of which teams send mentors in or not, unless that mentor speaks during the judging session. 
• Judges will not provide students or mentors with written or verbal feedback or rubrics from the judging session. Instead, all teams are encouraged to fill out the Team Self-Reflection which will be provided to each team at registration at each event. 
• The judge advisor will ask other volunteers for feedback on team Gracious Professionalism, both positive and negative. Teams that display poor GP during the competition may put their chances of earning an award in jeopardy. The volunteers will consider ALL members of your team, including adults. 
• The judges' decisions for award winners is final. 
• Please read Game Manuel Part 1 for more information on advancement, and see the earlier blog posts for information on the number of teams advancing from each event. 

Youth Team Member Registration - A Message from FIRST

Coaches and mentors serve a critical, guiding role on FIRST® teams. We thank you for giving your time, resources, and energy to making the team experience an amazing one for your youth team members.

We can help you keep your parents and your team members “in the know” and make sure they don’t miss out on any of the news and valuable information coming from FIRST.

Help improve our communication to FIRST youth team members and their parents by registering your team members in our system and guiding parents to complete the registration.

Why is this so important?

By registering your youth team members, you:

• Allow us to keep in touch with students about scholarships, internships and career opportunities

• Help us contact parents in case of emergencies

• Make it easier to create a team roster needed for events

• Provide FIRST with demographic data to help improve and grow our programs*

• Provide your team members with the ability to apply for some team awards

*FIRST uses youth information to understand who our programs are serving – ensuring that they are accessible to all. We also utilize aggregate information to meet sponsor requirements, such as the total number of team members and the percentage of boys and girls. Private information is not shared.

Get started today and learn more about registering youth team members:   https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/youth-team-member-consent-and-release-form_