2014 Texas Robot Roundup

[jessjank.]

2014 TEXAS ROBOT ROUNDUP (TRR) - OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT & REGISTRATION DETAILS

You're invited to compete at the 2014 Texas Robot Roundup!

Event Website: http://trr.txfirst.org/

What:
4th Annual Texas Robot Roundup FRC Off-Season Competition
Planned and organized by the ausTIN CANs – Team 2158, Austin area teams and volunteers, and Alamo FIRST!

When:
Friday, August 1st & Saturday, August 2nd, 2014

GENERAL SCHEDULE:
Friday Morning: Practice Matches (Optional)
Friday Afternoon: Qualification Matches
Saturday: Opening Ceremonies, Qualification Matches, Eliminations, & Award Ceremonies
(Full Schedule, including Special Tournaments & Events, Presentations/Workshops, TBA)

Where:
Austin Convention Center (http://www.austinconventioncenter.com) - Exhibit Hall 5, 500 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX

Cost:
Early Team Registration: $300 (Fee Due by June 1st, 2014)
Regular Team Registration: $350 (Fee Due by July 1st, 2014)
Pre-Rookies: Free!
2nd Robot Entries per Team: TBD

Registration:
TEAMS: Register Here (http://goo.gl/LdPFKq)!
VOLUNTEERS: Register Here (http://goo.gl/hojtys)!

Social Media:
Twitter: @TXRobotRoundup (https://twitter.com/TXRobotRoundup)

For More Information:
Email us at RobotRoundup@gmail.com

[AllenGregoryIV]

Spectrum is registered, it should be a great event as always.

[Mr.Frishman]

3999 is in too!

[JohnSchneider]

We're in.

[safiq10]

Count the Devastators in!

[Mr. Rip]

Texas Torque just registered. I'll let the Hawaiian Kids know. If they go to IRI they might drop by for TRR.

[waialua359]

Scott,
unfortunately, we are unable to go because it skips a week after IRI.
If it was actually the week after, we would have considered it.
I and our students cant miss the 1st week of school.

We notified Jess earlier today. There is always next year! Especially the Alamo Week 1!

[jessjank.]

We're really sad the Hawaiian Kids won't be coming to TRR this year and wish it would have worked out! Hopefully, y'all will be able to make it to 2015 TRR and/or Alamo!

Moving TRR later was done to coincide better with NIWeek. We certainly understand that this might create problems for some teams, but we hope that in the end the changes will help to make the event better overall. We're looking forward to seeing everyone in August!

As a quick update, 15 teams have already registered for TRR! We'll have a registered teams list posted to the website soon.

[Mrcope9]

For the 2nd year in a row, Team 3991 is incredibly depressed for not being able to go. The dates just don't work out with us. Our school year begins on August 7th this year, so the teachers must report the last week of July. Again, wish we could attend, we will hope for next year.

[ElvisMom]

Scott,
unfortunately, we are unable to go because it skips a week after IRI.
If it was actually the week after, we would have considered it.
I and our students cant miss the 1st week of school.

We notified Jess earlier today. There is always next year! Especially the Alamo Week 1!

We'd love to have you at Rock River Off-Season Competition http://r2oc.org/ in Rockford IL - Saturday July 26, 2014 immediately after IRI. In addition to our five host teams (81, 1625, 2039, 3352, 4655) last year 111, 1675, 2451, among others, also attended. Hoping to see our friends from 1732 and 2481 make the trip this year too.

[wireties]

1296 will be there again! Love the TRR event staff - great event!

[jessjank.]

We're up to 20 teams registered for TRR 2014!

624 - CRyptonite: Cinco Ranch High School, Katy, TX
1296 - Ful Metal Jackets: Rockwall High School, Rockwall, TX
1477 - Texas Torque: Conroe ISD, The Woodlands, TX
2158 - ausTIN CANs: Anderson High School, Austin, TX
2468 - Appreciate: Westlake High School, Austin, TX
2587 - DiscoBots: Houston ISD, Houston, TX
2721 - Blue Mite: Lasar High School, Lasara, TX
2881 - Lady Cans: Girl Scouts of Central Texas, Austin, TX
2950 - Devastators: Harmony Science Academy Waco, Waco, TX
3240 - Team Orion: John Jay Science & Engineering Academy, San Antonio, TX
3310 - Black Hawk Robotics: Rockwall Heath High School, Heath, TX
3366 - Roscoe Plowbots: Roscoe Collegiate High School, Roscoe, TX
3481 - Bronc Botz: San Antonio Competition Robotics Alliance, San Antonio, TX
3679 - Rattlers: San Marcos High School, San Marcos, TX
3847 - Spectrum: St. Agnes & Strake Jesuit, Houston, TX
3999 - Shadetree Robotics: Shadetree Robotics, Killeen, TX
4063 - TRikzR4kiDz: Del Rio High School, Del Rio, TX
4206 - Robo Vikes: Nolan Catholic High School, Fort Worth, TX
4610 - BearTecs: Bastrop High School, Bastrop, TX
9999 - Tigertrons: Smithville High School, Smithville, TX


You can check here for an updated list between announcements:
http://trr.txfirst.org/teamlist

[SonOfMrFrishman]

I've been monitoring the team list for TRR ever since the announcement was made. Looking forward to seeing who else can make it.

[jessjank.]

25 teams registered for TRR in just over one week! That's a record, although we opened registration a lot later this season. There are 15 official spots still open, plus two reserved spots to be used at the planning committee's discretion (i.e. for pre-rookies, late registering local teams, National Instruments team requests, etc.)

We have lots of great plans for TRR 2014. Stay tuned for announcements soon regarding both returning and new special TRR activities.

Updated Registered Teams List (5/8/2014)
118 - The Robonauts: Clear Creek ISD, League City, TX
148 - Robowranglers: Greenville High School, Greenville, TX
418 - LASA Robotics (Purple Haze): LASA High School, Austin, TX
624 - CRyptonite: Cinco Ranch High School, Katy, TX
1296 - Ful Metal Jackets: Rockwall High School, Rockwall, TX
1477 - Texas Torque: Conroe ISD, The Woodlands, TX
2158 - ausTIN CANs: Anderson High School, Austin, TX
2468 - Appreciate: Westlake High School, Austin, TX
2587 - DiscoBots: Houston ISD, Houston, TX
2721 - Blue Mite: Lasara High School, Lasara, TX
2848 - The All Sparks: Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas, TX
2881 - Lady Cans: Girl Scouts of Central Texas, Austin, TX
2950 - Devastators: Harmony Science Academy Waco, Waco, TX
3240 - Team Orion: John Jay Science & Engineering Academy, San Antonio, TX
3310 - Black Hawk Robotics: Rockwall Heath High School, Heath, TX
3366 - Roscoe Plowbots: Roscoe Collegiate High School, Roscoe, TX
3481 - Bronc Botz: San Antonio Competition Robotics Alliance, San Antonio, TX
3679 - Rattlers: San Marcos High School, San Marcos, TX
3735 - Klein Bots: Klein ISD, Klein, TX
3847 - Spectrum: St. Agnes & Strake Jesuit, Houston, TX
3999 - Shadetree Robotics: Shadetree Robotics, Killeen, TX
4063 - TRikzR4kiDz: Del Rio High School, Del Rio, TX
4206 - Robo Vikes: Nolan Catholic High School, Fort Worth, TX
4610 - BearTecs: Bastrop High School, Bastrop, TX
9999 - Tigertrons: Smithville High School, Smithville, TX

You can check here for an updated list between announcements:
http://trr.txfirst.org/teamlist

[jbsmithtx]

Team 4206 is really excited to be going! It's such a great event, and the competition is good!

[jessjank.]

TRR 2014 is now at 32 registered teams! We'll be sending out some event details and resources to teams soon.

The registration fee goes up to $350 after June 1st. We have just 8 spots available, plus an additional 2 on reserve. Head to trr.txfirst.org/2014 (http://trr.txfirst.org/2014) to register. We're also looking to add FTC and FLL to the event. Official announcements on that addition coming soon.

We're also looking for volunteers! Volunteering is a great way for graduating seniors and alumni to stay involved or get even more involved with FIRST. Register to volunteer here. (http://goo.gl/hojtys)

Updated Registered Teams List (5/28/2014)
118 - The Robonauts: Clear Creek ISD, League City, TX
148 - Robowranglers: Greenville High School, Greenville, TX
418 - LASA Robotics (Purple Haze): LASA High School, Austin, TX
457 - Grease Monkeys: South San Antonio High School, San Antonio, TX
624 - CRyptonite: Cinco Ranch High School, Katy, TX
1296 - Full Metal Jackets: Rockwall High School, Rockwall, TX
1477 - Texas Torque: Conroe ISD, The Woodlands, TX
2158 - ausTIN CANs: Anderson High School, Austin, TX
2468 - Appreciate: Westlake High School, Austin, TX
2583 - RoboWarriors: Westwood High School, Austin TX
2587 - DiscoBots: Houston ISD, Houston, TX
2721 - Blue Mite: Lasara High School, Lasara, TX
2789 - TEXsplosion: Manor New Tech High School, Manor, TX
2805 - The Wolf Pack: Waxahachie Global High School, Waxahachie, TX
2848 - The All Sparks: Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas, TX
2881 - Lady Cans: Girl Scouts of Central Texas, Austin, TX
2950 - Devastators: Harmony Science Academy Waco, Waco, TX
3240 - Team Orion: John Jay Science & Engineering Academy, San Antonio, TX
3310 - Black Hawk Robotics: Rockwall Heath High School, Heath, TX
3366 - Roscoe Plowbots: Roscoe Collegiate High School, Roscoe, TX
3481 - Bronc Botz: San Antonio Competition Robotics Alliance, San Antonio, TX
3679 - Rattlers: San Marcos High School, San Marcos, TX
3735 - Klein Bots: Klein ISD, Klein, TX
3847 - Spectrum: St. Agnes & Strake Jesuit, Houston, TX
3997 - Screaming Chickens: Explorer Post 42, San Antonio, TX
3999 - Shadetree Robotics: Shadetree Robotics, Killeen, TX
4063 - TRikzR4kiDz: Del Rio High School, Del Rio, TX
4206 - Robo Vikes: Nolan Catholic High School, Fort Worth, TX
4610 - BearTecs: Bastrop High School, Bastrop, TX
5052 - RoboLobos: Cedar Park High School, Cedar Park, TX
9999a - Tigertrons: Smithville High School, Smithville, TX
9999b - Pearland Robotics: Pearland, TX

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at robotroundup@gmail.com. We're really looking forward to seeing you all in Austin in August!

[wireties]

Ever decide on 2nd robot costs?

Thanks Jess!

[jessjank.]

Ever decide on 2nd robot costs?

Thanks Jess!

Hi Keith!

We haven't finalized those plans yet as we won't be opening up 2nd robot registration until July 1st when regular registration "closes" (and that's if we still have spots available). For your planning purposes, we would not go above the $350 regular registration fee.

Sorry I don't have an official answer, but I hope that helps!

[SonOfMrFrishman]

I'm excited to see that all of the teams I know are coming to TRR. Only one thing left to say now... LET'S RIDE!

[itsjustmrb]

Does anyone know if any hotels are offering discounts for TRR?

[jessjank.]

Does anyone know if any hotels are offering discounts for TRR?

I've been finalizing negotiations with several hotels at varying distances from the convention center. I had hoped to have that information ready for teams at the end of last week, but am still waiting on final details and links for those hotels. Hoping to have an email out to you all by the end of this week with that information and other event details. Thanks so much for your patience.

[jessjank.]

Just 4 spots left (plus 2 reserve spots) for TRR 2014! We have 36 registered teams. Claim one of the last few spots and join the roster here: trr.txfirst.org/2014

Updated Registered Teams List (6/9/2014)
118 - The Robonauts: Clear Creek ISD, League City, TX
148 - Robowranglers: Greenville High School, Greenville, TX
418 - LASA Robotics (Purple Haze): LASA High School, Austin, TX
457 - Grease Monkeys: South San Antonio High School, San Antonio, TX
624 - CRyptonite: Cinco Ranch High School, Katy, TX
1296 - Full Metal Jackets: Rockwall High School, Rockwall, TX
1477 - Texas Torque: Conroe ISD, The Woodlands, TX
2158 - ausTIN CANs: Anderson High School, Austin, TX
2468 - Appreciate: Westlake High School, Austin, TX
2583 - RoboWarriors: Westwood High School, Austin TX
2587 - DiscoBots: Houston ISD, Houston, TX
2721 - Blue Mite: Lasara High School, Lasara, TX
2789 - TEXsplosion: Manor New Tech High School, Manor, TX
2805 - The Wolf Pack: Waxahachie Global High School, Waxahachie, TX
2848 - The All Sparks: Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas, TX
2881 - Lady Cans: Girl Scouts of Central Texas, Austin, TX
2950 - Devastators: Harmony Science Academy Waco, Waco, TX
3005 - RoboChargers: Conrad High School, Dallas, TX
3103 - Iron Plaid: Duchesne Academy, Houston, TX
3240 - Team Orion: John Jay Science & Engineering Academy, San Antonio, TX
3310 - Black Hawk Robotics: Rockwall Heath High School, Heath, TX
3366 - Roscoe Plowbots: Roscoe Collegiate High School, Roscoe, TX
3481 - Bronc Botz: Brandeis High School, San Antonio, TX
3679 - Rattlers: San Marcos High School, San Marcos, TX
3735 - Klein Bots: Klein ISD, Klein, TX
3847 - Spectrum: St. Agnes & Strake Jesuit, Houston, TX
3997 - Screaming Chickens: Explorer Post 42, San Antonio, TX
3999 - Shadetree Robotics: Shadetree Robotics, Killeen, TX
4063 - TRikzR4kiDz: Del Rio High School, Del Rio, TX
4206 - Robo Vikes: Nolan Catholic High School, Fort Worth, TX
4335 - Metallic Clouds: Girl Scouts of Central Texas, Waco, TX
4587 - Jersey Voltage: Jersey Village High School, Houston, TX
4610 - BearTecs: Bastrop High School, Bastrop, TX
5052 - RoboLobos: Cedar Park High School, Cedar Park, TX
9999a - Tigertrons: Smithville High School, Smithville, TX
9999b - Pearland Robotics, Pearland, TX

[jessjank.]

Email sent out to Registered TRR Teams:

We're excited to host you all in Austin in less than two months for the 4th Texas Robot Roundup! We still have lots of work to do to prepare for what we hope to be another great event, but we have some important pieces of information to share with you.

Schedule:
We have a tentative schedule posted to the website. Please go to trr.txfirst.org/schedule to review the schedule. Some specific details are still subject to change. However, we request that all robots and drive teams arrive by 11am on Friday, August 1st. This way, we can get a finalized match list ready for teams before lunch for the start of mandatory qualification matches in the afternoon.

Hotels:
I've been working with hotels to try to get some block rates for teams. The process has been delayed for a variety of reasons, but I finally have some details for you. Please go to trr.txfirst.org/hotels for specifics. I'll be populating the page with additional reservation links as I get them early next week.

Registration & Fees:
We presently have just 3 open spots and 2 reserved spots left for TRR. If you know of a team that is interested in competing, please be sure to direct them to trr.txfirst.org. You can find an up-to-date team list at trr.txfirst.org/teamlist. Should spots still be available after July 1st, we'll make announcements about options for 2nd robots or other opportunities.
As a reminder, please send in your $350 registration fee by July 1st. FIRST in Texas may be able to provide funding to qualified teams. They will be in touch soon.

Workshops:
If your team or team representatives are interested in attending or running any workshops, trainings, panels, or meetings, please complete this survey: http://goo.gl/ct8GTk

FLL & FTC at TRR:
We're hoping to have an FLL demo and FTC scrimmage at TRR for the first time. The FTC scrimmage is dependent on securing several key volunteers to manage matches. If your team has experience running FTC events and is interested in assisting, please let me know. Additionally, if you have an FTC team who would be interested in competing, send me an email. We're looking to have 12 to 18 FTC teams. We're still finalizing a registration process and fee, which would be no more than $100 and may also qualify for FiT grants.

Other Details:
I quickly want to address a few common questions:

There will be no robot inspections at TRR, but teams are expected to abide by FIRST values and guidelines. An additional +5lbs robot weight is acceptable. If a robot is deemed by referees to be unsafe or to clearly violate a rule, the team will be asked to rectify the situation before continuing.
Elimination Alliances are 4 teams. The Alliance captain determines which teams play each match with no requirement on who plays. Draft order is 1-8, 8-1, 1-8.
Any other game rules changes will be announced soon. Changes are only made to benefit team and volunteer experience.
We will again have a canned food drive and "Austin Can!" recognition. Further info to come, but feel free to start collecting!
TRR Trading Post will be back! Teams will be able to fundraise by selling goods, but not food. We'll get you a signup form soon.
We're trying to figure out whether the schedule will allow for special tournaments like a Skills Challenge or Mentor Tournament. We'll let you know once we have a plan finalized.
Just to reiterate, we have no answers on 2nd robot entries yet. We're still trying to make sure as many individual teams as possible can compete before opening it up. Sorry to the interested teams.
NIWeek details will be coming very soon! See trr.txfrist.org/niweek.


As always, please let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing many of you at T.R.I. and RoboReboot over the next few weekends and at TRR later this summer!

[JohnSchneider]

Are you guys going to be adopting the IRI rules as per usual?

[jessjank.]

Are you guys going to be adopting the IRI rules as per usual?

We usually borrow some rules changes from IRI, but not necessarily all of them... especially considering IRI is the most competitive FRC event in the world. Our referees and key field crew members are still working to finalize any rules changes. As I stated above: "Any other game rules changes will be announced soon. Changes are only made to benefit team and volunteer experience."

Hope that helps for now.

[JohnSchneider]

We usually borrow some rules changes from IRI, but not necessarily all of them... especially considering IRI is the most competitive FRC event in the world. Our referees and key field crew members are still working to finalize any rules changes. As I stated above: "Any other game rules changes will be announced soon. Changes are only made to benefit team and volunteer experience."

Hope that helps for now.

Totally missed that bullet. Sorry!

[jessjank.]

Email just sent out to 2014 TRR teams:


Texas Robot Roundup is now just a month away! We're so excited to see everyone then! For now, we have some important pieces of information to share with you. Please read this entire email.

SCHEDULE:
All robots and drive teams MUST arrive by 11:00am on FRIDAY, August 1st. Mandatory qualification matches start promptly at 12:30pm on Friday. Optional practice matches take place Friday morning. Please review the following schedule. A few minor changes may be made to accommodate event needs, but this schedule should be mostly final.

Friday (8/1):

9:00am-11:00am: Practice Matches
11am-11:30am: FMS Schedule Generation and Drivers Meeting
11:30am-12:20pm: Skills Challenge and Lunch
12:20pm: Teams for first three matches report to queueing
12:25pm-12:30pm: Brief opening ceremony
12:30pm-6:30pm: Qualification Matches
7:00pm: Team Social Events (TBA)


Saturday (8/2):

8:00am-8:30am: Opening Ceremonies
8:30am-12pm: Qualification Matches
12:00pm-12:30pm: Alliance Selection
12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch
1:30pm-3:30pm: Quarterfinals
3:30pm-4pm: Awards Ceremony (may start early if Quarterfinals finish early)
4:00pm-5:15pm: Semifinals
5:15pm-6pm: Finals


RULES CHANGES:
Please see the attached document that outlines rules changes. Note: alliance selection procedures have been corrected from previously published incorrect information - my apologies if this causes any frustration. Should any additional changes be deemed necessary, we will notify you as soon as possible.

PAYMENT:
Any team that received funding this year from the Texas Workforce Commission through FIRST in Texas will have their registration covered in full. For Qualified teams: If you already paid and had your check cashed, you will be reimbursed by FIRST in Texas; If you sent in a check that has yet to be cashed, we will void your check unless you request otherwise. Registration fees for all other teams are due by July 11th. If your team needs help covering this fee please let me know! We want to make sure all interested teams can make it!

FTC SCRIMMAGE:
TRR is now hosting an FTC scrimmage on Saturday, August 2nd. If you have an associated FTC team who is interested in competing, you can register them at or direct them to trr.txfirst.org/ftc. The registration fee is $100, which will also be covered by FiT if they qualify (see above).

VOLUNTEERS:
Do you have any students, alumni, mentors, parents, or other supporters interested in volunteering at Texas Robot Roundup? We would love to have support from your team for both our FRC and FTC components of Texas Robot Roundup! A great opportunity for team members to volunteer is as Safety Glasses Attendants or Field Reset. Please direct all interested people to: http://goo.gl/hojtys

TRR TRADING POST:
Teams are invited to participate in our annual fundraising opportunity - the TRR Trading Post! Click the link to read more details and to apply: http://goo.gl/idNdiC

HOTELS:
Does your team still need to book hotels rooms? We have agreements with several local hotels. Please see trr.txfirst.org/hotels for more details.

NIWEEK:
Teams interested in sticking around and participating in NIWeek activities can find out more information here: trr.txfirst.org/niweek. More information will be added as it becomes available.

CANNED GOODS DRIVE:
As with each TRR, we'll be holding the Austin Can! canned goods drive to give back to our community. The team who turns in the most canned goods by noon on Saturday will be recognized with the "Austin Can!" Award certificate.

OTHER DETAILS:

We are still assisting several teams (2014 rookies, pre-rookies, and TRR veterans) with completing registration for TRR and should have ~42 teams total registered soon. As such, we do not believe will will be able to extend the opportunity for 2nd robots to compete. This might change later this month should teams drop out and spaces become available.
Each team will get approximately 10 matches qualification .
Skills Challenge details will be released soon!
At present, it looks like we will be unable to fit our usual Mentor Tournament into the schedule this year. We hope to figure out a way to accommodate this team favorite special event in the future.
Any workshops or meetings will be announced an upcoming email.
We are working on some exciting late afternoon/evening social events for teams. We'll let you know when we have these plans finalized!
Additional event details regarding awards, venue maps, meal options, etc. will be sent out to teams soon.


Please let me know if you have any questions or comments! Keep an eye out for additional emails over the next month. We'll continue to post updates to trr.txfirst.org. We're looking forward to hosting your teams in Austin at the beginning of August. See y'all then!

[KidDoc]

Looking forward to this as a mentor/booster/parent of Smithville Tigertrons (pre-rookie). We should get our team # next week. Myself and my son won't be there until Saturday morning due to Texas Lions Club diabetes camp for my son that ends Friday night.

Thanks for organizing it!

Neal Spears

[jessjank.]

Email just sent out to 2014 TRR teams:

The 2014 Texas Robot Roundup is just a few weeks away! The TRR Planning Committee and organizers have been working hard to make sure that your teams have a great experience. We have a variety of updates and important information to share with you. Please read this entire email.


LOCATION REMINDER:
TRR is at the Austin Convention Center this year, NOT Anderson High School! This move is allowing us to expand and create a bigger connection with NIWeek. We'll be sending out maps, load-in details, parking info, and within a week or so of the event.


SCHEDULE:
All robots and drive teams MUST arrive by 11:00am on FRIDAY, August 1st. Mandatory qualification matches start promptly at 12:30pm on Friday 8/1. Optional practice matches take place Friday morning. We are aiming to give teams 10 qualification matches. Please review the schedule at: trr.txfirst.org/schedule. A few minor changes may be made to accommodate event needs, but this schedule should be mostly final.

I am also working on an option for teams to load-in their robots on Thursday evening if desired. Please let me know if this is an option your team would be interested in.


RULES CHANGES AMENDMENT:
Please see the attached document that outlines rules changes. One small clarification has been made to ensure no confusion for teams:
ASSISTS are earned when an ALLIANCE ROBOT POSSESSES the ALLIANCE’S BALL in any ZONE (i.e. red, white, or blue ZONE) during a CYCLE. Each ROBOT on an ALLIANCE is eligible to earn one ASSIST per CYCLE.


SKILLS CHALLENGE:
Announcing the 2014 TRR Skills Challenge! This year, the Skills Challenge incorporates a little bit of the Mentor Tournament (that we unfortunately could not fit into our schedule). Please see the attached rules. The Skills Challenge will take place during lunch on Friday 8/1. Teams should reply to this email if interested in competing in the Skills Challenge or sign up when they arrive at TRR on Friday morning.


DO YOU HAVE AN FTC TEAM? REGISTER TO COMPETE AT TRR!
We're hosting an FTC Scrimmage on Saturday 8/2 at TRR! We'd love for your team to participate so that we can make sure to have 12 teams. The registration fee is $100 (also covered by FIRST in Texas if they're eligible!), but if you're tight on funds let us know and we can provide some heavily discounted options! Please go to trr.txfirst.org/ftc for more details and/or to register your team


TEAM SOCIAL EVENT - BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II:
The Paramount Theatre is providing 300 tickets for team members and mentors to go see a special screening of "Back to the Future II" on Friday, August 1st 9:15pm! We'll be giving out tickets on a first come, first serve basis. More details to come on the distribution process.


VIPs:
Do you have trouble getting those responsible for supporting either your team or STEM education initiatives in general to competition season events? All of us know that's the best way to get support buy-in. We encourage you to send a personal invitation to attend TRR to school or district administrators; local, state, or federal elected officials; sponsor representatives; or others you would like to introduce to FIRST. There will be a special VIP check-in desk and VIP tours led by student ambassadors, just like a competition-season event. Let us know who you invite so that we plan accordingly for hospitality, etc. We'll also send them an special invitation from the TRR Planning Committee. For each VIP you plan to invite (or simply want us to invite), please send:
Name
Title
Organization
Email address


TRR TRADING POST:
Teams are invited to participate in our annual fundraising opportunity: the TRR Trading Post! Teams are invited to sell goodies (no food/beverages/candy) at TRR. Click the link to read more details and to apply: http://goo.gl/idNdiC


CANNED GOODS DRIVE
TRR will once again be giving back to the local community with a canned goods drive benefiting the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. The team that donates the most canned goods by noon on Saturday will be recognized with the "Austin Can!" Award Certificate. Each attending team member is encouraged to bring at least one canned good with them to support this cause!


NIWEEK:
Teams interested in sticking around and participating in NIWeek activities can find out more information and learn how to register here: trr.txfirst.org/niweek.


VOLUNTEERS:
Do you have any students, alumni, mentors, parents, or other supporters interested in volunteering at Texas Robot Roundup? We would love to have support from your team for both our FRC and FTC components of Texas Robot Roundup! A great opportunity for team members to volunteer is as Safety Glasses Attendants or Field Reset. Please direct all interested people to: http://goo.gl/hojtys


MEETINGS & WORKSHOPS:
We're still working on a schedule, but the following meetings and workshops are presently planned for TRR. If you would like to see another meeting or workshop made available, please let us know.
National Instruments: roboRIO Introduction & Training
FIRST in Texas: Grants, Team Diversity
Texas RDs: District Model Meeting
Lady Cans: Chairman's Meetup


SAFETY GLASSES:
Each team is expected to bring enough safety glasses for their team. Because we are at a convention center this year, we must require that anyone in the pit (and of course on and around the playing field) wear safety glasses. We will have safety glasses monitors and safety glasses available for VIPs and volunteers, but will not be handing out any safety glasses to teams! Please make sure that safety glasses are a team packing priority!


As always, send us any questions you might have! We look forward to seeing you all soon!

[Kyler Hagler]

So with the VIP invitations, what email address do we send those to?

[jessjank.]

So with the VIP invitations, what email address do we send those to?

Since we just received your invites this probably isn't relevant to you now, but for others who might have a similar question:

Any invites, questions, or other responses to the posted email and other emails can be sent to RobotRoundup@gmail.com.

[jessjank.]

Email just sent out to 2014 TRR teams:

We have more important information for you! Please read over all these details so that you're prepared for the event.

Please see the attached Load-In and Parking Map for reference.

LOAD-IN:
There are two FRC team load-in times:
Thursday 7/31: 6pm to 8pm
Friday 8/1: 7am to 11am (please arrive no later than 11am; please anticipate bad Austin traffic)

Robots and any materials that need to be rolled should be loaded into the Austin Convention Center through the service dock (east side of the building) on Red River St. All other team attendees and carried items can be brought in through the main entrance on 4th Street.

Check-in: Teams should Check-In at Pit Administration inside Exhibit Hall 5 soon after they've loaded in. Volunteers, invited guests, media, etc. will check-in in the hallway outside Exhibit Hall 5 by the main entrance.


PARKING:
There are a variety of parking options around the convention center. The Convention Center Parking Garages are recommended for standard vehicles, while there are several potential options for street level parking for trailers and buses.

Convention Center Parking Garage: http://www.austinconventioncenter.com/directions/directions.htm
~$13 for 12 hours: 5th Street & Red River; recommended garage - closer to venue than 2nd Street Garage)

Public Parking:
~$8 until 7pm: 7th Street & Interstate 35 Frontage Road (street level); Public Parking under Interstate 35, 2 blocks east + 2 blocks north of the convention center

Parking Lots:
Prices Vary: two street level parking lots on Red River on the east side of the convention center


MEALS:
Unfortunately, outside food may not be brought into the venue. However, it can be delivered outside the venue. There are a number of great restaurants throughout downtown Austin (map coming soon), a park just north of the convention center, and also some options we're providing for you:

Which Wich:
We have a special deal with Which Wich for $6 box sandwich meals (see attached order form). Prepaid orders will be delivered to Brush Square park (across 4th street) at 11:15am on Friday and at 12:15pm on Saturday. Otherwise, orders can be picked up at their location just 5 blocks east at 3rd Street & Lavaca Street. Please see the order form for more information, including ordering deadlines.

Concessions:
Available in the Exhibit Hall on Friday and Saturday from 11:30am to 6:30pm.


MOVIE SOCIAL EVENT RSVP: http://goo.gl/sJclpp
The Paramount Theatre is providing 300 tickets for team members and mentors to go see a special screening of "Back to the Future II" on Friday, August 1st 9:15pm! If your team wants to attend this event, please complete the following form: http://goo.gl/sJclpp. Tickets are first come, first serve. You will receive your team's requested tickets when you checkin on Friday morning. Should you end up having extras, please return them to Pit Admin so that we can extend invitations to teams on the wait list.


WE'RE IN NEED OF A FEW MORE FTC TEAMS!
Do you have an associated FTC team? We're hosting an FTC Scrimmage on Saturday 8/2 at TRR! We'd love for your team to participate so that we can make sure to have 12 teams - we need a few more teams! The registration fee is $100 (also covered by FIRST in Texas if they're eligible!), but if you're not eligible we can see what we can do to help! Please go to trr.txfirst.org/ftc for more details and/or to register your team!


REMINDERS:

Pack enough Safety Glasses for your team!!
Check back in to trr.txfirst.org for the schedule, team list, and more!
Bring canned goods to be eligible for the "Austin Can!" Award!
Review the rules ammendments and skills challenge!
Register to volunteer here: http://goo.gl/hojtys!
Let us know if you've invited any VIPs!



As always, send us any questions you might have! I'll send out another email next week before the event with some important pre-competition details and helpful resources.

We look forward to seeing you all next week!!

[jessjank.]

TRR starts up on Friday morning! If you can't make it to the event, we invite you to watch it online. The webcast is brought to you by of Roll24Productions.

WEBCAST LINK: http://youtu.be/NTjh7S_HEh8

Check out more event details, including the schedule, team list, and more, at trr.txfirst.org!

We look forward to seeing everyone at TRR 2014!

[BBray_T1296]

Here is some time-lapses I took on Saturday from my GoPro
Field time-lapse (http://youtu.be/4PyXBgGOZ1U) taken from roughly 8:30 to 10:30

Pit area time-lapse (http://youtu.be/HZ_tVlZcduI) taken from roughly 10:30 to 11:30

Both were shot at 2 second intervals, replayed at 30fps (1 second = 1 minute)



*Non-WiFi-enabled of course!

[lynca]

Congrats to all the teams and volunteers who participated at TRR this past weekend !

Thank you Jess, TRR Planning Committee, National Instruments and Team 2158 for putting together an awesome event !

All youtube videos of matches are posted on Roll24Productions Videos (https://www.youtube.com/user/roll24productions/videos).

[JohnSchneider]

Congrats to all the teams and volunteers who participated at TRR this past weekend !

Thank you Jess, TRR Planning Committee, National Instruments and Team 2158 for putting together an awesome event !

All youtube videos of matches are posted on Roll24Productions Videos (https://www.youtube.com/user/roll24productions/videos).


And they had a pretty good MC! ;)

[wireties]

Congrats to all the teams and volunteers who participated at TRR this past weekend !

Thank you Jess, TRR Planning Committee, National Instruments and Team 2158 for putting together an awesome event !

All youtube videos of matches are posted on Roll24Productions Videos (https://www.youtube.com/user/roll24productions/videos).

Ditto! And a great job on the mike!

[ahartnet]

Thanks to all the volunteers and teams that made TRR happen this past weekend. Like past years, it was a great event, ran smoothly, and I know our pre-rookie team gained some great experience. I really liked that some of the volunteers still showed up in their green safety judge or blue judge shirts specifically to help both 9999 and 9997 be able to identify them and their role at events next year! Also, by having the teams peer nominate other teams for the award - I was able to get some of our students on the pearland team think about what it takes to stand out for awards.

Of course, many thanks to 118, 624, and 2789 for having us as your backup bot!

Looking forward to seeing some of you again at The Remix

[AllenGregoryIV]

Thanks everyone for making TRR awesome. It was a fantastic event with some great matches and it's always nice to have so many friends in one place.

We can't wait till next year.

[waialua359]

We can't wait till next year.

Hopefully it'll work out for us next year. Looks like we missed out!

[safiq10]

On behalf of the Devastators I just want to thank everyone who was apart of hosting and organizing the event. The event so so smooth and amazing it beyond verbal description. I want to thank the AusTIN Can for hosting the even and NI for sponsoring it. The new area was so spacious and I loved it! Also a big thanks for hosting the Chairman presenters meetup!
It was so much fun to meet up with other teams and discuss how we can improve our chairman presentation. (Lady Cans you guys have a golden Idea for next years theme) Also big thanks to the Discobots, Broncbots, and Robolobos for being the best 6th alliance! I hope we can pick you guys again and have a different outcome next time.


Overall this event was just superb I personally can't wait till next years!

[lynca]

I'm trying to remember the alliance selection process to upload the data to TBA ... is this correct ?

Alliances 1st 2nd 3rd
1 624 118 2789 9997
2 4063 148 3997 4610
3 1477 4587 3735 5287
4 3310 2848 457 4335
5 2468 1817 3999 2583
6 2950 3841 2587 5052
7 1296 3005 2158 2805
8 3103 418 3847 2881

[jee7s]

That looks correct. Danny Diaz took down the "official" list of backup teams.

But, while TBA has the red and blue scores correct for SF2, the alliances are backwards. So, if you wonder why the "winning alliance" didn't advance, it's only a data glitch.

[AllenGregoryIV]

That looks correct. Danny Diaz took down the "official" list of backup teams.

But, while TBA has the red and blue scores correct for SF2, the alliances are backwards. So, if you wonder why the "winning alliance" didn't advance, it's only a data glitch.

That would probably be my fault. Sorry about that, I was updating it during work today.

[JohnSchneider]

It looks like some qual matches are backwards too (specifically 4 and 8 for us). No big deal. We really appreciate you taking time to upload these and the videos!

[AllenGregoryIV]

It looks like some qual matches are backwards too (specifically 4 and 8 for us). No big deal. We really appreciate you taking time to upload these and the videos!

Yeah we are still working on the system. This is only the 2nd event we have done this way. I'm hoping to figure out a better system soon.

[Michael Blake]

I'm trying to remember the alliance selection process to upload the data to TBA ... is this correct ?

Alliances 1st 2nd 3rd
1 624 118 2789 9997
2 4063 148 3997 4610
3 1477 4587 3735 5287
4 3310 2848 457 4335
5 2468 1817 3999 2583
6 2950 3841 2587 5052
7 1296 3005 2158 2805
8 3103 418 3847 2881

Andrew...

CORRECT: 6 2950 3481 2587 5052

Thanks!

--Michael

[2789_B_Garcia]

On behalf of Team 2789, thank you to everyone that helped make this the biggest and best TRR yet! Everything ran so smoothly from queuing, to the field, to the pits and throughout the venue! A big special thanks goes out to Jess, Danny, Jeff and the rest of the planning committee, as well as to all the volunteers that have been a part of this event for years and come together like a TRR family to make this the great event that it is.

I would also like to give a very special thank you to our alliance partners, Teams 624 and 118. We have learned so much from both of your organizations over the years, and it was truly an honor to work with both of your teams through eliminations. We're also glad that our other alliance partners from the Pearland pre-rookies got the chance to take the field during elims, and we hope you have a great rookie season!

Looking forward to seeing some of y'all again at Remix!

[lynca]

CORRECT: 6 2950 3481 2587 5052

My mistake, everything is corrected with TRR 2014 Pick List now on TBA (http://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2014txrr).

Most of the Robot Roundup videos are up.
http://www.thebluealliance.com/team/624/2014

[wireties]

We all owe a special thanks to the people who go to the trouble of posting all the match videos! I find myself passing the links to parents, principals and potential mentors several times a week. I know the awesome folks from Spectrum 3847 worked at both TRR and RoboReboot.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[karanesu]

Team 4610, the BearTecs, would like to thank team 4063 (TRikzR4kiDz), team 148 (Robowranglers), and team 3997 (the Screaming Chickens) for choosing us to be on their alliance in the Elimination Matches of TRR! We had fun playing as the backup bot and we are very grateful to have worked with you!! :)