Category: FTC

Welcome to the new weekly newsletter, Sep 16, 2020 – New Season Edition!

Wow!  Doesn’t Ultimate Goal look awesome? Thanks to everyone who joined in and especially those who helped put the kickoff together — we had 521 unique viewers on the Twitch broadcast and lots of full Zoom rooms! 

• If you missed the kickoff video, you can find it here.
• Results of the season survey that went out last week can be found in this slide deck.
• If you’d like a link to the recordings of the sessions, please email tsmith@firstpartners.org with the subject “workshop videos” and we’ll send you a link to the Google Drive folder where they are saved.
• If you’d like to play back the Oklahoma webcast, you can find it here but it will probably be deleted by Saturday, so watch quickly!
• The game manuals and field information can be found here.

Giveaway winners:  please email tsmith@firstpartners.org with your team number to arrange how to get your prize! Thanks to AndyMark, GoBilda, and REV for all the great robot parts and swag!

Call for workshop presenters for October 10 Oklahoma FTC Training Day

We are planning a day full of hands-on activities to help your team members get off to a good start. If you (a team, a mentor, a volunteer) would like to propose a topic, or if there are topics your team would like to learn about in more detail, please fill out this form by Tuesday, September 22!

Oklahoma Event Registration Update

We’ve gathered feedback from teams and guidance from FIRST and are hoping to have a more detailed plan for the season by approximately October 3. Stay tuned!

Things you should be working on this week

• read the rules!  (Game Manual Part 1 and 2 for Remote Events)
• read them again!
• work on strategy: start simple – what are some potentially easy ways to score points?
• maybe start building a drive base so programmers have something to work with
• work on ideas for how to manipulate wobble goals and donuts
• Check out the various “robot in 30 hours”/”robot in 3 days” releases for some inspiration if you are stuck

National Registration

We have 52 teams registered so far, but I know we’ve got several more planning to play who haven’t finished up on the FIRST dashboard, yet. If you haven’t paid the national registration fee, please do so soon if you are able.  If you are not able but intend to field a team at some point this year, please let me know that as well. I know of at least a couple of teams who are planning to register late due to circumstances beyond their control, and that’s fine. We expect lots of special circumstances this year, and will do whatever we can to help you out.

Update your Control and Expansion Hubs!  REV Hardware Client

During the REV session at kickoff, Mack Kaurich mentioned that the #1 thing you can do to improve the stability of your robot is to make sure you are up to date on all of your firmware. Be sure to check out the following links!

Video of the Client in action: https://youtu.be/SCrNRHfupak

REV Hardware Client User’s Manual: https://docs.revrobotics.com/rev-hardware-client/

Download the Client here: https://www.revrobotics.com/content/…etup-1.0.0.exe

Mailing list information

Coaches or mentors will be added to this distribution list automatically, but anyone can join – volunteers, competitors, parents, administrators, sponsors, students, etc. are all welcome! They can subscribe by sending an email to: 

ok-ftc-newsletter+subscribe@googlegroups.com

(sign in with a Google account may be needed). If you cannot get that work for some reason, then please email tsmith@firstpartners.org with the subject “newsletter subscription” and you will be added manually. Please check your spam/junk email folder to make sure it’s not ending up in the wrong location. 

Welcome to the new weekly newsletter, Sep 3, 2020 – Kickoff Countdown Edition!

This edition is loaded with everything you need to know about the kickoff event! Here is a quick summary of what each team needs to do in the next few days:

1. Register (if you haven’t already!) Like, right now. EZ. The form takes 10 seconds.
2. Shoot and submit your short team video (see below!) by Sep 5
3. Show up and have a great time on Sep 12!
   • There will be cool things to learn!
   • There will be giveaways!
   • There will be special guests!

Sign up early to make sure you get your team on the Prize Wheel!

Kickoff EXCLUSIVE: The rules won’t be released on the FIRST web site until 1pm CDT, but if you tune in to the Oklahoma kickoff, we’ve been given permission to release them at 11:30am to teams attending the kickoff!

Which teams are signed up so far?

We hope that every team in the state can attend! So far, these teams have responded:

4155	M.I.T (Muskogee’s Innovative Team)	10368	The Level Up’s	14906	Leviathan Robotics
4250	LIGHTSABERS	10641	Atomic Gears	14992	Crossings Beta
5044	AxoBots	11344	Merritt Robotics	16426	Absolute Zero
5395	Team Clutch	11354	The Midnight Ostrich Runners	16505	Quantum
5553	RoboComets	11485	Wildcats	16569	Juice Box
6042	Commandobots	11572	Mouse Spit	16640	Mechanical Crusaders
6973	Radical Robotics	12535	Revolutionary Robots	16641	Rocket Ronin
6974	Monsters of Mechanics	12766	Wildcats	17025	Iron Talons (Freedom)
7506	system overload	13798	Turpinators	17034	Gears of Liberty
8825	CADfish	14177	Staticats	17035	Knightmares
8866	cybernetics	14671	inside joke	17721	Tishomingo
10355	Project Peacock	14761	Hearts of Steel	18410	Lego Queens – Girl Scout Troop 2612
				?????	4(!) McAlester rookie teams!

Kickoff Team Videos and Pics

We would like each team registered for kickoff to produce a short “shout out” video (10 seconds or less) of their team saying their team number, team name, where they located, and then very enthusiastically saying “YAY” or their team cheer.   When filming, make sure the camera is sitting somewhere very steady so we do not have “earthquake” videos.  You can also record a short Zoom video clip if you are meeting virtually.

We will also need a photo of your team, possibly holding a sign or banner that says your team’s number, name and location.  We are asking for the photos in case we have technical difficulties with the videos.  

VERY IMPORTANT INFO:

Both files (video and photo) should be saved as Team Number Team Name 2020 “##### Team Name 2020”
Videos and photos need to be submitted to the link that follows by SEPTEMBER 5!!

Thanks to the teams who have already sent in your videos.  Don’t miss out! 

Kickoff – What’s Planned?

The schedule (approx.) is:

8am – General Session and Breakouts, including:

• Programming
• Mechanical / Electrical
• Computer Aided Design
• Judging
• Vendor sessions – what’s new this year?
• Coaching during a pandemic
• Prize drawings!

11am – Ultimate Goal challenge release

• game video
• exclusive rules release at 11:30am
• field walk-through with the head ref
• rules discussion
• brainstorming breakouts
• grand prize drawing(s)

Season Pricing Announcement & Competition Information

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we will be running all of our events prior to the end of 2020 as remote events. If it is possible for teams to compete in person sometime after the new year, then we will do so! However, our season expenses to run FTC will be lower this year, and we are reducing the pricing of the Oklahoma entry fee from $250 to $150 per team. This includes the state championship entry fee, whether it is remote or in-person.

Expected Costs for this year are:

• $275 per team for the FIRST registration fee (paid by coaches on your firstinspires.org dashboard)
• $150 per team for the Oklahoma entry fee (to be invoiced in October)
• Optional but encouraged: $260 (plus shipping) for a half game field from AndyMark. We will also help match teams to another team who has a field, and will have a couple of loaner fields available for you to use for competition if needed.

It’s our intention to be very flexible with scheduling this year, as we know that every team probably has a different situation for when/if they can meet in person.  Teams will have multiple opportunities to compete with their robot and iterate on their design. Early competitions will be in the style of a league meet (no judging at these events – only robot play).  We will have events with judging later in the season, although judging sessions will likely be done via Zoom this season.  We will release a document containing the specific details of how all this will work in a few weeks after we receive some additional guidance from FIRST. 

FTC Guidance for COVID Interruptions

FIRST Tech Challenge has just published a playbook for FTC teams about how to meet safety this year. It includes guidance and ideas for online meetings and safe handling of robot materials. There are some good ideas in this guide, so you should check it out here.  

Game Manual Part 1

It’s been out for a little while, but now is probably a good time to review the Game Manual Part 1 for Remote Events.  It covers basic robot construction rules as well as information about events. Part 2 will be released on Sep. 12 and has the game details!

Congratulations to our new FIRST Senior Mentor!

We are excited to announce that Ingrid Law, aka Head Referee of Oklahoma FTC (Purple Hair Extraordinaire), is the new FIRST Senior Mentor for Oklahoma! FIRST Senior Mentors are a group of highly skilled and talented technical and non-technical individuals, who focus on recruiting, supporting and expanding FIRST programs. Congratulations to Ingrid!

Rookie Team Invites

Are you aware of any new teams that are starting up this season?  Please forward their contact information to Luke Kerr (Luke.Kerr@chickasaw.net) so that we can reach out, welcome them and make sure that they are included in future communications. And be sure to invite them to the Oklahoma FTC kickoff!

Social Media and Online Help for Teams!

We are ramping up our social media game this year to help teams connect with each other and the community at large. We are just now getting started, but you can find us here:

Instagram: @OklahomaFTC

Twitter: @OklahomaFTC

Facebook: facebook.com/OklahomaFTC

New website: COMING SOON!

Online help and discussion (unofficial but very helpful):

Oklahoma FTC Discord (invitation link): https://discord.gg/pRhM9N6 

Facebook discussion group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/oklahomaftc/

Season Plans

• FIRST National Registration – current –  coaches, please log in to your Dashboard to pay the fee or mark your Intent to Return
• Game Release Kickoff and Workshops – Sep 12
• OK FTC Training Camp – Oct 10
• Event registration – October
• Events – Nov – Feb/Mar

Mailing list information

Coaches or mentors will be added to this distribution list automatically, but anyone can join – volunteers, competitors, parents, administrators, sponsors, students, etc. are all welcome! They can subscribe by sending an email to: 

ok-ftc-newsletter+subscribe@googlegroups.com

(sign in with a Google account may be needed). If you cannot get that work for some reason, then please email tsmith@firstpartners.org with the subject “newsletter subscription” and you will be added manually. Please check your spam/junk email folder to make sure it’s not ending up in the wrong location. 

Welcome to the new weekly newsletter, 2nd edition!

Coaches or mentors will be added to this distribution list automatically, but anyone can join – volunteers, competitors, parents, administrators, sponsors, students, etc. are all welcome! They can subscribe by sending an email to: 

ok-ftc-newsletter+subscribe@googlegroups.com

(sign in with a Google account may be needed). If you cannot get that work for some reason, then please email tsmith@firstpartners.org with the subject “newsletter subscription” and you will be added manually. Please check your spam/junk email folder to make sure it’s not ending up in the wrong location. 

Kickoff is coming – Sep 12!  Exciting news!

It’s just a couple of weeks away! Coaches, be sure to RSVP for the online kickoff event today, if you haven’t already! 

Sign up your team here (if you haven’t, yet): https://forms.gle/1Kg3D2amXaSJHzWZ7

Kickoff EXCLUSIVE: The rules won’t be released on the FIRST web site until 1pm CDT, but if you tune in to the Oklahoma kickoff, we’ve been given permission to release them at 11:30am to teams attending the kickoff!

Please see last week’s newsletter for information about how to upload your team’s kickoff introduction video!

Monthly coach/volunteer hangout: Meet the new OK FTC leadership team – Aug 28

Coaches and volunteers – be sure to drop in to this come and go meeting to chat with the Oklahoma FTC Organizing Committee about anything you’d like to talk about! 

Where: on your computer, phone, or tablet

When: Aug 28, 4-6pm

Link:

See you then!

Rookie Team Invites

Are you aware of any new teams that are starting up this season?  Please forward their contact information to Luke Kerr (Luke.Kerr@chickasaw.net) so that we can reach out, welcome them and make sure that they are included in future communications. And be sure to invite them to the Oklahoma FTC kickoff!

Social Media and Online Help for Teams!

We are ramping up our social media game this year to help teams connect with each other and the community at large. We are just now getting started, but you can find us here:

Instagram: @OklahomaFTC

Twitter: @OklahomaFTC

Facebook: facebook.com/OklahomaFTC

New website: COMING SOON!

Online help and discussion (unofficial but very helpful):

Oklahoma FTC Discord (invitation link): https://discord.gg/pRhM9N6 

Facebook discussion group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/oklahomaftc/

Volunteers needed:

We always need a lot of volunteers, but this week we are looking specifically for:

Public Relations volunteer(s) – if you know someone who is a professional in TV / newspapers / web media who can help us Make FTC Loud in Oklahoma, please have them contact tsmith@firstpartners.org.  We have a pretty cool competition with awesome competitors and their amazing robots that are definitely newsworthy! We just need some help from some skilled professionals who can help make the right connections, assist with press releases, and the like.

Social Media volunteers – so you’ve built your social media brand to thousands of followers, all waiting impatiently for your next snap or instagram post? Help us run our social media! We’d like to put together a social media committee to make sure our events are covered and that our news gets out in a variety of different platforms. Please contact tsmith@firstpartners.org if you are interested.

Season Plans

• FIRST National Registration – current –  coaches, please log in to your Dashboard to pay the fee or mark your Intent to Return
• Game Release Kickoff and Workshops – Sep 12
• OK FTC Training Camp – Oct 10 – tentative
• Event registration – October
• Events – Nov – Feb/Mar

We are planning on the early competitions to be all remote (see how in the FTC Game Manual Part 1 for Remote Events) and will reevaluate as the season moves forward. However, the good news is that we will have a season!

Welcome to the new weekly newsletter!

Coaches or mentors will be added to this distribution list automatically, but anyone can join – volunteers, competitors, parents, administrators, sponsors, etc. are all welcome! They can subscribe by sending an email to: 

ok-ftc-newsletter+subscribe@googlegroups.com

So please forward this to your team any anyone else who may be interested! That distribution list will become active next week, as Google only allows us to manually add 100 addresses per day (but you can go ahead and send an email to the address to sign up if you didn’t get auto-subscribed, yet).

Ultimate Goal Season Kickoff and Workshops – Sep 12, 2020!

We are bursting with excitement about the new season! This year, our season kickoff will be online (Zoom and/or Twitch). We’re planning a lot of fun giveaways and information that we hope will help you throughout the season. The tentative schedule looks like this:

• 8am – Early Bird sessions – CAD; programming; New to FIRST
• 9am – General session
• 9:45am – Breakout sessions – mechanical, CAD, programming, judging, vendors
• 11am – Challenge Release Video, field walkthrough
• Noon – Rules Q&A 
• 1pm – brainstorming sessions

Kickoff Team Videos and Pics

We would like each team registered for kickoff to produce a short shout out video (10 seconds or less) of their team saying their team number, team name, where they are from and then very enthusiastically saying YAY or their team cheer.   When filming, make sure the camera is sitting somewhere very steady so we do not have “earthquake” videos.  You can also record a short Zoom video clip if you are meeting virtually.

We will also need a photo of your team, possibly holding a sign or banner that says your teams number, name and location.  We are asking for the photos in case we have technical difficulties with the videos.  

VERY IMPORTANT INFO:

Both files (video and photo) should be saved as Team Number Team Name 2020 “##### Team Name 2020”
Videos and photos need to be submitted to the link that follows by SEPTEMBER 5!!

FIRST Tech Challenge Rookie Grants

FIRST Tech Challenge is again offering need-based grants to rookie teams for the 2020-2021 season. Teams that apply and qualify will be awarded a $500 grant, with $275 allocated to cover registration and $225 applied towards product from the team’s storefront. For more information check out the FIRST Tech Challenge Grants webpage. Rookie teams –  be sure to apply today!

Monthly coach/volunteer hangout: Meet the new OK FTC leadership team – Aug 28

Coaches and volunteers – be sure to drop in to this come and go meeting to chat with the Oklahoma FTC Organizing Committee about anything you’d like to talk about! 

Where: on your computer, phone, or tablet

When: Aug 28, 4-6pm

Link: https://calix.zoom.us/j/9186936828?pwd=Y2tONkdxYVJWLzVyR0twUmxIMEZSdz09

See you then!

Season Plans

• FIRST National Registration – current –  coaches, please log in to your Dashboard to pay the fee or mark your Intent to Return
• Game Release Kickoff and Workshops – Sep 12
• OK FTC Training Camp – Oct 10 – tentative
• Event registration – October
• Events – Nov – Feb/Mar

We are planning on the early competitions to be all remote and will reevaluate as the season moves forward. However, the good news is that we will have a season!

Next week, we will send out another survey to coaches to find out if you are able to meet in person and your school/organizations current plans as it might impact FTC. We’ll be having some community discussions on the best ways to facilitate building a robot remotely and to help keep teams moving forward. The international FTC organization is putting together a guidance manual to assist as well.

Free Stuff and Grants

1. Four winners will be announced at the FIRST Tech Challenge virtual kickoff on September 12. They will receive a 2020-2021 ULTIMATE GOAL^SM partial game set and scoring elements. Teams will be notified of the sweepstakes through social media and email campaigns, but we would love the help of our partners to really make this loud! Find the sweepstakes information here!
2. REV Robotics is giving away $25,000 of team sponsorships – you can enter at https://www.revrobotics.com/team-sponsorship/ by September 16!
3. AndyMark’s Robot Relief fund is taking donations and giving away gift certificates to teams at https://www.andymark.com/pages/robot-relief — an Oklahoma team has already won one of these (congrats to 11354 Midnight Ostrich Runners)
4. Coaches, if you applied for a DODSTEM grant, please check your FIRST dashboard, as those have been rolling out as approved this week.

Fun stuff

Our very own Oklahoma FTC emcee Kyler Smith will be on the FIRST Updates Now Twitch.tv show tonight from 7:00pm-8:00pm CDT on the  FTC Recap!   He is talking about the open source drivetrain website basebot.co. Tune in for the latest headlines, a discussion about drivetrains and open source design in FTC and FTC Trivia is at $80!  http://twitch.tv/FirstUpdatesNow