Important Information to have a Successful Qualifier!

Good luck to the teams competing at this weekend's Saguaro Blossom Qualifier! Thank you to FTC 12901 Cobra Commanders for hosting! 

(Read on to the bottom for the link to the live stream!)

FIRST Core Values - On and Off the Field

It's been a while since we were all in person together and not running our own robots in our own build space. Many teams have new members that have never been to an in-person tournament. This is an incredible opportunity to instill the values of FIRST into new and returning members alike. It's up to all of us to make AZFTC a welcoming and fun place for everyone. Here's some things you and your teams can do (and shouldn't do!) at events to meet each Core Value: 

• Discovery: We explore new skills and ideas.
• DO: Ask other teams about their robot, outreach, team structure
• DON'T: Tell another team that their robot is no good
• Innovation: We use creativity and persistence to solve problems.
• DO: Ask other teams for help, and lend help to teams in need
• DON'T: Give up when something goes wrong, have a bad attitude when your robot isn't working well
• Impact:  We apply what we learn to improve our world.
• DO: Take what you learn in FIRST to make your school, community, and team better
• DON'T: Think that these core values are only for robotics - use them everywhere and see how your relationships with teachers, friends, and family improve!
• Inclusion: We respect each other and embrace our differences.
• DO: Welcome everyone!!! All races, colors, religions, genders have a safe place to belong in FIRST! Be kind. 
• DON'T: Sell any team or anyone short just because they are different than you are. 
• Teamwork: We are stronger when we work together.
• DO: Collaborate with your alliance partners to create the best strategy that highlights the strength both robots. 
• DON'T: Ask another team to perform less than their best. 
• Fun: We enjoy and celebrate what we do!
• DO: DANCE! CHEER! CELBRATE!
• DON'T: Think this is all about winning. Whether you finish first or last, celebrate what your team has learned, and leave with a smile and your head held high. 

Game Play Update from Head Ref Rich 

As we prepare for the upcoming tournaments, we would like to clarify some aspects of game play regarding Shipping Hub movement.  This is a hot topic on the referee forums and there are several Q&A postings (most recent is #104).  At Cactus Wren Tournament we were calling it tight, I readily admit that some movement may have been called too tight, but overall I believe the Referee Crew was consistent and called per Head Referee direction.  

Here is a quick bit of background to keep in mind as you approach the Hubs and interacting that sets the stage for the GS3 rule.  This year the game appears to be designed around control of the robot.  Think of a warehouse operation.  Do you want drivers who are very fast at getting items, and moving them around to places for shipping and handling, with the risk that quick action can result in stuff getting damaged? Think about a fully loaded forklift hitting a semitruck while loading...could be a disaster! Or do you want drivers that have good control, are efficient and deliver items without doing damage?  

In games past, aggressive driving and bumping things around has at times been allowed, frowned upon, given some leeway as long as damage is not occurring…. This year, we see the game field has obstacles and constraints that require focus on design elements, movement and control. With the rules for the Shipping Hub, we really need to make sure robot control is worked on.  This is highlighted in several places most recently Q&A #104 "Pro Tip: The Team meeting schedule should include ample time for Driver Practice and Autonomous operation testing. Poor driving skills or autonomous robot maneuvering mistakes do not excuse the Robot from being Penalized.”

So we encourage teams to strive to this level of control.  Gentle contact with the Hubs so as to not translate the hub is the goal.  Here are some very general guidelines:

1. A minor bump or two resulting in very small movement is acceptable (while it hard to state a precise measure here, think less that an inch or two (yes that is tight).  
2. If there is constant bumping every time a freight is delivered, causing a series of translations across the floor, teams can expect a penalty. 
3. Lack of control due to inexperience driver or having to apply a lot of power to the drive train to get over the barrier resulting in smacking the Hub resulting gin movement will be penalized.  The movement piece is difficult to address as the scenarios are dynamic, but think or 2-3 inches of movement may be penalized. 
4. Rushing to make a delivery that requires sudden stops as the robot approaches the Hub, may result in an impact that moves the hub.  This opens a team for penalty.
5. Inability to have the robot move precisely over the field opens a team to penalty.

A couple of other points to remember in this game with hub movement:

• Alliance Hubs:  there is not much room between the two hubs and interference with the other Alliance hub its a penalty.  Hence, if your hub is moved toward the center of the field, that can have an impact on the opposing alliance access to their hub.  (Again, think tight warehouses with several robots retrieving and moving items around a confined space.)
• Shared Hub:  Any movement toward a warehouse significantly changes the dynamic of an alliance scoring in the Hub.  There is a very tight area between the Barrier and the Hub.  Several Robots scoring consistently only had an inch or two between the Barrier and the Shared Hub.  The Hub is 18” in diameter, the placement is on the center line of the two center tiles with the Barrier extending over the center tiles as well.  Two tiles measure 48 inches, hence only 30” or 15” on each side remain.  It is tight for an 18” robot base.  Any translation to one side makes scoring more difficult from the warehouse.

Hopefully this puts some perspective on Hub operations and GS3 penalties.  We will always strive for constancy across the calls, and our Head Referees are happy to discuss the Movement as not to interfere with Matches…

Best wishes for successful season ahead and please reach out if you have any questions or concerns!

Ref Rich

Azfirst.referee@earthlink.net

Competition Software Update from Head FTA Zach

Make sure your team is ready to compete by performing a field inspection at-home! First, power on your robot and connect your driver station. On the driver station app, tap the three dots in the upper-right hand corner of your phone and select self-inspect. Make sure that all of the fields are green and you are running at least version 7.0 of the FTC Driver Station app and FTC Robot Controller app. If anything is out-of-date, you can follow these links for updating the device:

REV Control Hub & Driver Hub Firmware	REV Robotics Docs
REV Control Hub Operating System	REV Robotics Docs
REV Control Hub Robot Controller App	REV Robotics Docs
REV Driver Hub Operating System & Driver Station App	REV Robotics Docs
FTC Apps on Android Phones	GitHub Link

Note that the apps are no longer available from the Google Play Store. Instead, teams should use the REV Robotics Hardware Client to install the latest app updates for the Android phones. Alternatively, teams who program their robot using Android Studio should download the latest version of the SDK from GitHub and copy their "TeamCode" folder to the new version before deploying. If you have any questions, please reach out to Zach, our Arizona Lead FTA. He will also be at Saguaro Blossom to assist teams. 

Updates to Judging Materials and Process

FIRST^® Tech Challenge is working to make our judging process easier to understand, more equitable, and more consistent across regions. We’ve identified and defined key terms that are often used in judging so all teams and judges will be using the same definitions for actions such as starting a team, hosting an event, or advocating for FIRST^®. You can find the complete list of Award Definitions for Judging on our Team Management Resources webpage, under the Preparing for Competition section. We’ve also written a blog post to explain the update and provide a little more background information for this change.

December Team Webinars

Join us for our December team webinars this week! Tonight, December 9, we have Team Gameplay Discussion/Training at 9:05-10 p.m. Eastern Time. Here’s the link to join!

 

Next Wednesday, December 15, at 8 p.m. – 9 p.m. Eastern Time we have our Dean’s List Team/Coach Discussion and

Training. Here’s the link to join!

Arizona 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 on February 1-3, 2022 in the afternoon/evening. Dean's List nominations are due by January 15, 2022 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. 

NOMINATE AN OUTSTANDING FIRST EDUCATOR

Don't forget to nominate those amazing teachers who are also members of the FIRST Community by December 17! To nominate a teacher for the FIRST Educators Recognition Program click here. 

Good luck to all the teams competing at Saguaro Blossom this weekend! CLICK HERE FOR THE LIVE STREAM!