Chesapeake Regional Newsletter to the teams
Update #1-January 23, 2008
Welcome to all the 62 teams!
Chesapeake Regional Lingo
• USNA: United States Naval Academy
• Halsey Field House: on the USNA, where the event is held; also home of The Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center
• Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium: Shuttle pick-up and drop-off on “Blue Side” parking, near the Blue Angel is off Taylor Ave. Not on the Academy grounds, but rather about 2 miles from the USNA.
• Annapolis: Home of the nation’s oldest statehouse in continuous legislative use, historic 18th century seaport “city” with winding streets, cobblestone roads, limited parking, surrounded by water. City Dock, with restaurants is a 10 minute walk from Halsey.
www.visitannapolis.org has an excellent visitor guide booklet you can request. Annapolis is 30-45 minutes from Baltimore and Washington DC. The closest airport is BWI. Some teams combined the trip with a visit to their representatives and to see the sights in Washington DC last year
• Gate 1: Entry closest to the Halsey. Not to be confused with Gate 8, about a mile away. Team vehicles will use Gate 8. The USNA is a big place.
Chesapeake Regional website:
•
www.chesapeakefirst.org
•
www.usna.edu/FIRST/ where to find bus and tool truck paperwork and access info
• FIRST Regional info:
http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc...nts.aspx?id=43
Access to the Academy Grounds:
http://www.usna.edu/FIRST/access
My team will be arriving by bus (school or charter):
1. Need to fill out a pass and submit no later than March 2. Vehicles without pre-approved passes will not be granted access to the USNA, no exceptions made. A separate form is needed for each bus.
http://www.usna.edu/FIRST/access
2. You should get a response once your form is submitted.
3. Bus will enter Gate 8 and drop off at Halsey. Exit at Gate 1. Follow the signage.
4. Driver can then drive to Stadium to park, take shuttle bus back to the Halsey for the day, return to the Stadium to pick up bus, and then return to Halsey through Gate 8 at the assigned time to pick up the students. Please do not have all the students ride the shuttle bus to return to the Stadium, as it will create the delays.
5. Make sure each person has a photo ID. School-issued student picture ID’s are accepted. Those without picture government issued or picture school ID cannot enter the USNA unless accompanied by an adult with a government issued picture ID.
6. There is some construction around the Stadium and around Halsey. Please be warned to allow extra time.
My team will be arriving by van (rental or institutional):
1. Need to fill out a pass and submit no later than March 2. Vehicles without pre-approved passes will not be granted access to the USNA, no exceptions made. A separate form is available for each van.
http://www.usna.edu/FIRST/access
2. You should get a response once your form is submitted
3. Van will enter Gate 8 and drop off at Halsey. Exit Gate 1. Follow the signage.
4. Driver can then drive to Stadium to park, take shuttle bus back to the Halsey for the day, return to the Stadium by shuttle to pick up van, and then return to Halsey through Gate 8 at the assigned time to pick up the students. Please do not have all the students ride the shuttle bus to return to the Stadium, as it will create the delays.
5. Make sure each person has a photo ID. School-issued student picture ID’s are accepted. Those without picture government issued or picture school ID cannot enter the USNA unless accompanied by an adult with a government issued picture ID.
6. There is construction around the Stadium and around Halsey. Please be warned to allow extra time.
My team will be arriving by private car:
1. No private cars will be allowed access onto the USNA grounds.
2. An exception is made for private cars with handicapped tags, or DOD stickers, but be prepared to show documentation.
3. Team members can be dropped by Gate 1, go through Security and walk to Halsey next door. They can arrange to be picked up outside of Gate 1.
4. Make sure each person has a photo ID. School-issued student picture ID’s are accepted. Those without picture government issued or picture school ID cannot enter the USNA unless accompanied by an adult with a government issued picture ID.
Tool Vehicle-My team is coming by bus/van/car and we have extra tools that do not fit in our bus/van.
1. Can assign one personal truck or van to be the team “Tool vehicle”.
2. Need to fill out a pass and submit no later than March 2. Vehicles without pre-approved passes will not be granted access to the USNA, no exceptions made. A separate form is available for “Tool Vehicles”
http://www.usna.edu/FIRST/access
3. You should get a response once your form is submitted
4. The driver must be the same as registered on the form.
5. Tool vehicles will only be allowed on the USNA on
• Thursday March 13, am,
• Sat. March 15 pm.
6. Tool Vehicle will enter Gate 8 and drop off at Halsey.
7. The vehicle may only drop off; no parking allowed and this vehicle may be pulled aside for extra inspection at the gate, so allow plenty of time.
8. After drop off, the tool vehicle can return to the Stadium to park, and take the shuttle back to Halsey.
9. Make sure each person has a photo ID. Student picture ID’s are accepted. Those without picture government issued or picture school ID cannot enter the USNA unless accompanied by an adult with a picture ID.
10. There is no Tool vehicle shuttle this year, supplied by the event.
My team is staying nearby and walking.
1. Read information about Tool vehicle.
2. Enter and exit through Gate 1, go through Security to Halsey.
3. Make sure each person has a photo ID. School-issued student picture ID’s are accepted. Those without picture government issued or picture school ID cannot enter the USNA unless accompanied by an adult with a government issued picture ID.
Parking:
• Parking is off-site at the Stadium. There will be no parking on the USNA grounds.
• Halsey is near Gate 1. A shuttle bus will be running between the Stadium and Halsey. Parking will be free to everyone involved in FIRST.
• For information about parking in Annapolis:
http://www.visitannapolis.org/
Shipping:
• Teams doing back-to-back Regionals with the Chesapeake should contact Shepard Exposition Services ASAP to price out extra expedited shipping. Your crate will need to be in drayage for the Chesapeake on Monday, March 10. See Section 4.9.7.
http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc...nt.aspx?id=452
•
http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc...t.aspx?id=3570 will be posting site specific info
Hotels:
• The Annapolis Conference and Visitors Bureau can serve as a clearinghouse to assist the teams seeking hotels. 1-888-302-2852 for Joyce Baki (ext 106)
jbaki@visitannapolis.org or Andrew Heidt (ext 107)
aheidt@visitannapolis.org Joyce and Andrew assisted many teams last year. Annapolis has been chosen by National Geographic Adventure magazine as one of the country's top ten waterfront towns!
http://www.visitannapolis.org/
Food:
• Yes the rumor is true. You can bring your own food into Halsey. No food allowed in the stands! As long as teams continue to clean up, the Chesapeake Regional can continue to offer this perk.
• I am awaiting information if there will be a pre-order option. Many places to eat within 10 minutes walking to City Dock outside Gate 1. On USNA grounds is the Drydock Restaurant.
Schedule:
• [not yet posted but will be similar to previous years] NEMO resources page has some great papers, including "Competition Tips-What to Expect"
http://www.firstnemo.org/resources.htm
Team Social:
• There is no team social scheduled for the Chesapeake Regional but the planning committee is still investigating. I will alert all teams if this changes.
Volunteering:
• Still recruiting lots of volunteers to help out at the event.
https://my.usfirst.org/vims/logon.lasso?page=logon
• We still need a “Lead Team Queuer” This is a key position.
• Be sure to designate “Chesapeake.”
Student Volunteers:
• We welcome the participation of student singers for opening ceremonies, and student ambassadors for tours. Send me the names of students interested, along with your team number.
jbeatty@usfirst.org
USNA Admission talks/Tours of the USNA
• Information about the USNA and admissions will be available.
• Tours of the Academy are available.
http://www.usna.edu/visit.htm