Bean Bag Bash - Milwaukee Mentor Vex Challenge
 

Get ready...

Get set...

GO!! The first ever Milwaukee Vex Mentor Challenge - Bean Bag Bash - is now available for download at: http://www.msoe.edu/st_orgs/mfso/mentorchallenge/
Registration is also now open! Please register your team early.

The competition will be held on Saturday, September 29th, 2007. An official announcement regarding time and location of the event will be released this week, but it is tentatively scheduled to run from approximately 9:30-4:00, followed by the release of the 2007 Milwaukee Vex League game, at Bradley Tech High School in downtown Milwaukee.

Mentors, please take the time to pass on this information to other mentors, teachers, parents, or other individuals that are considering starting FRC, FTC, or MVL teams. This competition is meant to be a training ground for the adults, who can then help the students through the MVL training ground. If your team is not participating in this event, perhaps you can lend a Vex kit to one of these future teams. Invite your sponsors to form or join your team for this event so they can get a first-hand account of what this program involves. This event is open to everyone, not just Milwaukee teams, but all of Wisconsin and the World (if you're willing to travel, we're willing to have you).

Also, we need volunteers for the tournament, so please pass on the word to the students of your team! All volunteer requests should be directed to mentor.vex.qa@gmail.com with name, team number, email, phone number, t-shirt size, and position requested. We need referees, queuers, pit personnel, and any other position you would normally find at an FTC or FRC event.

Keep an eye on the website and your inbox for more details. Good luck, and we hope to see you on September 29th!

--

Milwaukee Vex League Planning Committee

Re: Bean Bag Bash - Milwaukee Mentor Vex Challenge
 

Update #1

Hello everyone!

We have some news for you.

If you have been trying to access the challenge or registration today at http://www.msoe.edu/st_orgs/mfso/mentorchallenge/ you are no doubt aware that we are having website issues. Our site host changed the location of our website without alerting us, and when it looked like a solution was found, the entire site disappeared. The situation is currently being worked on, but it is out of our control. As soon as the problem has been resolved, we will let you know.

Until then, please send all registration inquiries to milwaukeevex@gmail.com. We will take care of you that way for the time being and then get you settled with proper registration once the website is back up and running.

Keep sending your questions to mentor.vex.qa@gmail.com. Attached is the first batch of answers, which will be available on the website as well as soon as we can post it. Instructions for creating a bean bag are also coming this weekend.

A few of quick updates regarding the competition on the 29th:

-Whether or not your team has mentors competing, please come and check out the competition and bring a small display about your team. When we release more details about the tournament, we'll give you details about what kind of space you'll have, but try to limit it to a table's worth. Use this display to inform attendees about what your team has done and where you are headed. What kind of innovations have you made? What kind of community activities have you participated in? What are the strengths of your team? This kind of information will give potential mentors a broader sense of what FIRST is all about and will help to encourage them to join.

-Have you ever wondered if the creators of Vex can build a decent robot? Not only should you check out what they've done at http://www.vexlabs.com/vex-robot-photos.shtml , but you should come to the 2007 Milwaukee Vex Mentor Challenge. That's right, Innovation FIRST (IFI), the creators of Vex, have entered the fray and will be participating in this competition !

-Prizes! Need more incentive? The teams that make up the winning alliance of the 2007 Milwaukee Vex Mentor Challenge will receive a brand new Vexplorer kit, courtesy of IFI, for their team's use this fall and beyond. Check out http://www.revell.com/VEXplorer.275.0.html for more information.

Good luck teams, and keep looking for more information soon!

-Milwaukee Vex League

Q/A:

Q1. What is the “Home zone”? Is it the “End zone”, the “Starting zone” or something else?

A1. The "Home Zone" is the same as the "End Zone" which is the area behind the walls on your side of the field.


Q2. What is the “Goal box”? (Is it the same thing as the “Starting zone”?)

A2. The "Goal box" is the same as the "Starting Zone" but any removal of beanbags from the field results in a 10 point penalty.


Q3. Can you give us a ball source and/or specification (4” or 5”, type?), so that we may come up with a ball for tryout/practice?

A3. It is a 5 inch diameter ball. We actually obtained these balls at Summerfest as a giveaway. They are red and made of lightweight, hard plastic, but are not so hard that you couldn't (permanently) deform them by crushing them with your hand or stepping on them. I wouldn't expect that they would weigh more than a few ounces. It really does feel like you're holding a feather. I will have a more specific figure by the weekend.


Q4. Is de-scoring of bean bags or balls allowed?

A4. De-scoring of the ball is allowed, but not of the beanbags, or a 10 point penalty will result. There is no restriction on how many beanbags you may have in your possession at one time.


Q5. Can opponents’ bean bags or ball be removed from the field?

A5. Removing things from the field purposefully will result in a 10 point penalty, however clear accidents will be overlooked, but please remember that doing this is not in the spirit of gracious professionalism.


Q6. Can you provide more details about the scoring tiers (i.e. number of chains, attachment points, doughnut material and finish, etc.)? Do the radii given refer to the outermost edge of each doughnut?

A6. There are 8 chain locations spaced evenly around the tower. each connection point is half an inch in from the closest border. in other words, the inner rim of the bottom tier is connected to the outer rim of the second tier. The connections were made by drilling holes through the material and feeding through a loop of braided cable through which the chain is hooked. The only difference is that the connections made on the outer edge of the second tier are done with multiple passes of string covered by electrical tape (to create a better playing surface for ya'll) the radii refer to the outer edge of the higher tier AND the inner edge of the lower, so 6.5 is the outer edge of the second tier and the inner edge of the bottom one. The bottom tier is made of 1/4in thick blood red acrylic with a matte finish (NOTE: any matte finish will do, as blood red is rather expensive) the second is made of 1/4in thick black expanded PVC foam, and the rest of the structure is acrylic.


Q7. If a human player unintentionally hits a robot with a bean bag, will he/she be removed?

A7. No, but again, purposefully doing so would not be in the spirit of gracious professionalism.


Q8. What can the human player do with the robot during the match? The rules state the human player can repair the robot - can they pick it up? What makes it "broken?"

A8. What we intended with this rule is to give you a buffer, in case you forgot to attach your wires after a modification or something minor of that nature. (We hate when that happens to us). This doesn't mean you can bring in a large toolkit and do a full rebuild during a match, just the tools from the VEX kit. The most we might expect in actual physical fixing would be tightening or replacing a key screw, otherwise, we shouldn't see much of this. It should also be expected that this be done directly in front of the boundaries or nearby. Picking it up is fine, just don't move away from the field. Pick it up, fix what's wrong, and set it down again.

Re: Bean Bag Bash - Milwaukee Mentor Vex Challenge
 

Hello again, everyone!

The time has finally arrived. This Saturday, September 29th, 2007, is the Milwaukee Vex Mentor Challenge! Come cheer on your mentors as they battle one another. The event will be held at:

Bradley Tech High School

700 S 4th St, Milwaukee, WI 53204

For Directions: http://oldwww2.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/t...ons/index.html

Parking is available on all surrounding streets for free on Saturday

The following teams are confirmed for this event (the number at the left is your number for the competition - please identify your robots!):

01 More Robotics 1714 Thomas More High School

02 -- -- Harley Davidson

03 Hilltoppers 1732 Marquette University High School

04 CooneyTech Robotics 269 Oconomowoc High School

06 Ultimate Protection Squad 1675 Rufus King High School

07 CooneyTech Robotics (TheRents) 269 Oconomowoc High School

08 Robowranglers 148 Innovation FIRST

If you are planning on competing, please register immediately so we can plan accordingly. We will NOT be able to accept walk-in competitors for official competition.

The Schedule for the day will be as follows:

9:00 Doors Open
9:45 -10:15 Practice
10:30 Opening Ceremonies
10:45 Qualifying Matches Begin
1:00 Alliance Picking
1:30 Milwaukee Vex League Kickoff
2:00 Elimination Matches Begin
3:30 Awards
4:00 Event End

Those who have been to a robotics event know that this schedule is tentative and we will stick as close to it as possible. We very easily could be done before 4:00

The Kickoff event will be held at 1:30 no matter what. We will be unveiling the new game for the Milwaukee Vex League and will have the playing field available for teams to look at and interact with. Even if you don't have a mentor team competing, come see the kickoff event and stay for the finals! At that time, we will also be revealing the League schedule as well as information about the Milwaukee Vex Challenge in December. To get your minds going though, here is a small hint:

Multiple Milwaukee Madness may make moving more manageable.
You can't put all of your eggs in one basket.
Good balance is key, but sometimes you must tip the scales in your favor.

We hope to see you on Saturday! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at milwaukeevex@gmail.com.
Milwaukee Vex League Committee