FTC Link

FIRST Chesapeake's Monthly FTC News

Stay informed and connected!

Welcome to the August FTC Link Newsletter!

Check out this month's highlights and reminders!

This month's newsletter at a glance:

• Registration & Qualifier Selection Process
• Volunteer Expectations for upcoming season
• Final Season Schedule
• Competition Manual is available!
• Kickoff Event RSVP
• Virtual Volunteer Training in August- RSVP required
• Volunteer Recognition Events on August 17th- RSVP required
• Local Outreach
• Rookie Coach Chats
• Stay Connected!

Qualifier Selection Process

Thank you for the community feedback that you all shared after last season's qualifier selection process. In an effort to ensure all types of teams have what is needed to make plans for the upcoming season, the Qualifier Selection Process will be the following:

Prior to Selection (beginning 9/12):

Both FIRST ($295) and FIRST Chesapeake ($450) registrations must be paid and secured prior to selecting your Qualifiers.

***If your school needs an invoice, please ensure that you let Shelly and Phyllis know so that one can be issued.

Final Rosters available for all events by October 1, 2024.

FINAL Schedule for 2024-2025

Into the Deep

This is the final schedule for next season.

This schedule is subject to change.

Kickoff Events

Kickoff is fast approaching! Mark your calendars for September 7, 2024 at noon EST.

RSVP below:

• Southwest VA at Christiansburg Recreation Center RSVP

Volunteer Training Available!

• Norfolk VA at Norfolk Academy RSVP

• Richmond VA at Maggie Walker Governor's School RSVP

• McHenry MD at Garret College RSVP

• Haymarket VA at Battlefield High School RSVP

• Belcamp MD at Discovery Center

RSVP for Kickoff; RSVP for Strategy Session in the PM

• Washington DC at DC International School RSVP

• Laurel, MD at Capitol Tech RSVP

Judge Training Available!

Game Manual

aka Competition Manual is now available!

Reminders:

There is only one manual now! It will be updated after Kickoff with game related rules and information.

There are some differences that are worth noting so make sure you read the manual and have your kids read it, too!

Interesting Changes- Thank you, Ethan from Team 4924!

• More tournament rules regarding:
• Robot carts in section: 5.6 (parking, use, and construction
• Hanging banners: E113
• Etiquette during ceremonies: 5.7
• Dimensions and rules regarding Operator Console: R12.9
• Robot extension limits (one of the biggest changes!): 12.1 R104
• After the match starts, the robot cannot be bigger than 20" x 42" (no height limit)
• Consumer Off The Shelf (COTS) mechanisms specifically designed to complete a game task are not allowed: 12.3 R306
• The exception is drivetrains
• New items are allowed to be bought as COTS with more than 1 degree of freedom: 12.3 R307
• Ratchet mechanisms
• Single degree of freedom grippers
• Team numbers and alliance color are shown on new Alliance Signs and are to be made with specific dimensions: 12.4
• Limelight is now permitted as a vision system: 12.7 R703
• During robot setup, you may transmit single-frame images: 12.7 R706



Some things that were not mentioned in this release that are normally in Game Manual 1:

• No mention of advancement
• No mention of tournament structure or match ranking
• No mention of judged awards
• No mention of team-supplied game elements (last season teams made up to 2)
• The glossary alludes to the possibility of Human Players in the definition of Drive Team and Operator Console



Looking for Resources?

Chesapeake has begun curating materials that you might find helpful in one handy spot.

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.

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

We Need Your Network!

Alright teams, it is time to set expectations for your students and their families! As you kick off the new season, make sure you let your families know that volunteering at events is expected.

All Teams are asked to supply at least ONE volunteer for an event during the season. We have roughly 260+ teams and if each team has 5 -7 parents volunteer just one time at an event, this would open our volunteer pool up by as many as 1300 volunteers!!

Roles for parents/families would include:

Robot Inspectors

Pit Admin

Volunteer Check In

Queuers

Field Re-setters

So, make sure your team and their families understand this important expectation. Without the support of our community, we cannot hold quality events.

TWO MORE WAYS you can help....

1. Make sure that your former team members who are now Alumni come back to volunteer as well.
2. Use our Team Toolkit (coming soon!) to have local outreach events to recruit volunteers for events near you. Team members are our best marketers! Use this tool kit to help recruit when you are doing outreach in your community.

Apply to our Events to Volunteer

Our events are loaded and folks can begin applying to positions via their FIRST Inspires Dashboard. Please apply for specific events and specific positions you want to volunteer for.

Volunteer Recognition Events

August 17th

12pm-4pm

Come out and enjoy some food and drinks and have a little fun!

We couldn't bring events to our District without the help of all of our awesome volunteers!

Thank you!

Don’t forget to RSVP to attend!

South Location- Charlottesville, VA

North Location- Silver Spring, MD

New to FTC?

New Coach Chat Sessions will begin in September! We are excited to have you be a part of our community and want you to have a great experience.

RSVP your interest here.



Located in MD?

Let Shelly know as there is a special opportunity in your area.

Pre-Order Game Element Sets

Don't forget that Andymark is now accepting pre-orders for game element sets. Don't wait until after Kickoff to place your order!

Volunteer Roles Available

FIRST Chesapeake has some terrific leadership roles available!

NEEDED:

FTC District Lead Robot Inspector



Event Leads for Scorekeepers and Inspectors

RECRUITING:

NEW Position! Equipment Manager



Sub District Volunteer Coordinators Last call!!

August Virtual FTC Volunteer Training

August 6. Judge

August 6. Volunteer Coordinator

August 13. Event Manager

August 13. Inspector

August 20. Scorekeeper

August 20. FTA

August 27. Referees

Use this link to choose the virtual training you or someone in your network would like to attend and RSVP using the link. Please RSVP by August 2. Zoom links will be sent based on RSVPs. Thanks!

Not on Slack...It is time to fix that!

Join our Slack Community for better communication among teams! This is a great way to connect with other teams, mentors, and FIRST Chesapeake Staff.

Stay Connected!

• Slack Channel
• Team Blasts from FIRST
• FTC Link Monthly Newsletter (Around the 1st of each month)
• Chesapeake Connect Volunteer Newsletter (Around the 8th of each month)
• Office Hours
• Email
• Website

Need to talk? Have a question?

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

NEW! Virtual Suggestion Box!

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

Share it here!

Thanks,

Shelly Stoddard

sstoddard@firstchesapeake.org