[Rick]

Three important items for the Rhode Island District Event teams as we head into New England District competition week one.

Machine Shop: Due to facility power constraints, teams will not be able to use power-hungry tools such as drill presses and band saws in their pits. To give machining capability to teams, we have planned a team-sourced machine shop that will be operated by event staff. However, with less than four weeks to go, only one team has said they can bring tools. If we do not receive responses from teams to fill the machine shop, we risk not having one at all. Please visit http://www.nefirst.org/portfolio/ri-event/ to see what tools are needed.

Volunteers: To properly staff a district event, nearly 100 volunteers are needed. Currently, our event is short approximately 25 volunteers. Remember the team volunteer requirement for New England. Your volunteer does not need to be a team member. It could be a parent, sibling, or even someone who wants to learn about FRC! Visit https://my.usfirst.org/vims/ to register.

Playing Field Carpet: After each event, the playing field carpet gets retired and a team may request to take home one or both of the carpet rolls – free! The rolls are 15 feet wide by 75 feet long and would be the great to have for a practice field at your workshop. If any team (even those not attending the event) would like to take the carpet, please contact us on our website http://www.nefirst.org/portfolio/ri-event/.