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:
- Register (if you haven’t already!) Like, right now. EZ. The form takes 10 seconds.
- Shoot and submit your short team video (see below!) by Sep 5
- 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.