FTC Link

FIRST Chesapeake's FTC News

Stay informed and connected!

Welcome to the ❄️ December FTC Link Newsletter!

Check out this month's highlights and reminders!

This month's newsletter at a glance:

• Learnings from Week 1 events
• Animations and Avatars
• FIRST Team Webinars
• Dean's List FTC Open
• Event Host Interest Form 25-26 FTC Season
• 2025 Dr. Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarship
• Women in STEM Scholarship Application Open
• Outreach Opportunity

Learnings from Week 1

Thank you to our DC and Charlottesville Event Hosts for kicking off this awesome season with 3 amazing events! In order to help future events go smoothly, we have some tips to help you be prepared for your next competition.

Rules:

• Section 12.4- Team Numbers- The rules have changed for how team numbers should be created, mounted, and even specific coloration.
• All coaches and team members MUST wear safety glasses in the pit and competition area. (Rule E101)

"Universal Violation Note: A violation of any Event Rules (E) will result in a verbal warning. Egregious or subsequent violations will be addressed by the Head REFEREE, the lead ROBOT INSPECTOR (LRI) and/or Event Director and may result in disqualification for the team from MATCHES and awards."

What to share with your teams and families:

• Event page information is located here. You must log into your Chesapeake account to view the information.
• Streaming of the events will be located here.
• Use this link for match schedules and rankings during events.

Team Check In:

• You cannot compete without ALL Consent and Release forms completed for all coaches and team members. Please reference the Competition Manual for more details. ***You must bring a PAPER copy of your team roster with green checkmarks next to each name indicating that your team has the Consent and Release forms available. You WILL NOT be allowed to compete without presenting this at Team Check In.
• Team Check in at events this season is no later than 9am. Match schedules will be created without your team if you have not checked in by 9am.
• Planning to submit a portfolio? You must submit that by 7:40am. Be aware of the difference in timing. No exceptions will be made.
• All teams will receive a bag of driver buttons for the their drive teams at events when they check in. These must be turned in prior to you leaving for the events after you. Please don't forget!

What to do ahead of your event:

• Sample packing lists: this one as an example.
• Use the Inspection Checklist to ensure your team is ready and passes inspection quickly. REMEMBER- you must have a robot and field inspection on the day of your event. (Robot=hardware/ Field=Software/ Measurements will occur in both.)

Judging:

• Here is a helpful video to prepare your team!
• If you missed the session on Judging Exposed and Explained, please plan to watch this recording prior to your event.

Awards:

• Please consider staying for awards even if your team was not selected for playoffs. Your team may win an award and trophy but without you there to get it!

New this year, FIRST®  Tech Challenge teams will be able to upload team avatars, which will be used to represent teams in official FIRST® displays at events. Avatars first appeared in FIRST with their addition to the FIRST® Robotics Competition in 2017, and thanks to a huge effort by some very passionate volunteers, we are now excited to also have them in FIRST Tech Challenge!  

FIRST Team Webinars

Our Team Webinars are happening, and a whole ocean of exciting knowledge is waiting for your teams to discover! Be sure to check out the schedule and encourage your teams to sign up for any webinars that could help them on their journey through this season.

If they've missed any of our previous adventures, don’t worry! They can find all the recorded webinars here and catch up on what they've missed:

Dr. Bart Kamen Scholarship

The Dr. Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarship Fund provides funding to undergraduate students pursuing biomedical engineering or pre-medical degrees. The Fund supports the vision of FIRST to transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders. By selecting students who have excelled in a FIRST program, the Fund seeks to honor the legacy of Dr. Bart Kamen by providing renewable monetary grants to undergraduate students who have, through their participation in FIRST programs, demonstrated the potential to develop Dr. Kamen’s brilliance at, and extraordinary passion for, improving the lives of patients.

Looking for Resources?

Chesapeake has compiled materials to help your team succeed this season.

Materials include:

• Competition Packing List
• Grant Template
• Important Links Fundraising Tips

This is a public drive that you can access, download materials from, and/or make a copy and create your own assets. Materials are added weekly, so check back often!

Do you have some resources you would like added? Let Shelly know!

FIRST Inspires Resources

• ftc.game - Links to the game and season info page

• https://ftc-resources.firstinspires.org/file/ftc/game/manual - Link to latest version of the Competition Manual

• https://ftc-resources.firstinspires.org/file/ftc/game/tu-combined-Link to the relevant team update

• ftc.events - links to ftc-events.firstinspires.org which contains season results



• Starter Bot Guides from various vendors

Coach Chats with Veteran Coach

Seelig Sinton

Looking to connect with other coaches, get questions answered, collaborate? Join Seelig each month between now and end of January to do just that. This is a great opportunity for coaches to connect and learn from each other. Topics will vary from month to month- Sundays at 8pm.

• October 20: Join
• November 17: Join
• December 15: Join
• January 12: Join

FTC Dean's List

Dean's List Nominations are available!

All nominations must be completed no later than December 15, 2024. No late submissions will be considered. Please use this link to learn more about the process and the directions for making a submission. Submissions will be made through your FIRST Dashboard.

Do you have a parent interested in doing online interviews of Dean's List Semi-finalists? If so, please email their contact information and interest to Lizzie.

Outreach Opportunities

FIRST Chesapeake is looking for a few teams to help with some amazing outreach this season.

1. Championship Demonstration

As our FLL students age out of the FLL program, we want them to know what FTC is all about! We would love a few teams to attend:

• VA FLL Championship on December 8, 2024
• MD FLL Championship on February 22, 2025
• FRC Championship on April 4-6, 2025

Teams selected will demonstrate what an FTC robot can do and illustrate for students the excitement our program brings as a continuation of what they started in FLL.

2.Geared Up Celebration at VSU on May 10th in Petersburg, VA

We have 16 new teams this season that are part of our Geared Up Mentor Program. These teams will celebrate all that they have learned this year at a mock competition with opportunities to meet veteran teams and learn from their experience.

If your team is interested in either of these opportunities, please email Shelly and share the following:

1. Which opportunity(ies) your team is interested in
2. Your team number and location
3. Answer the question "What makes your team a good ambassador for FTC?"

Event Host Interest Form 2025-2026

Interested in hosting an event for the 25-26 season?

If you are a returning host, please make sure that you submit a form. If you don't submit a request, you will not be considered.

Use the link below to share your interest with Chesapeake as we begin planning for next year.

Benefits:

• Less travel for your team
• Preference when choosing qualifiers
• Behind the scenes look at competition
• Outreach opportunities for your team
• Ensures that we have enough events for all teams to have 2 qualifiers

Women in STEM Scholarships

Applications open until 12/15/24.

Stay Connected!

Office Hours

Sign up and stop by for my office hours on Wednesdays between 4-6pm and Fridays from 11am-1pm.

Slack

Virtual Suggestion Box

Do you have an idea or suggestion that might help us improve?

Thanks,

Shelly Stoddard

sstoddard@firstchesapeake.org

Thank you to our generous sponsors!