Inaugural 2011 Texas Robot Round-up!

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by lynca

Anyword on who's coming so far ?
An event with the Texas Powerhouses should be fun ( 57, 118, 148, 418, 624, 1429, and 1477)

False modesty isn't becoming of you Andrew, I think all those teams will admit that if Disco isn't a powerhouse of Texas, they're fast becoming one.

At any rate, I'm hearing that 57 will likely attend, hopefully with an actually functioning minibot system.* Possibly with new drivers, since our two drivers this year are graduating. Which means the deployment system has a chance of surviving the event!**

To add to your questions, what's been lined out as far as volunteers? Are inspectors or other volunteers needed?

Also, are there any plans to add more value to this event for younger teams? I think a mini FIRST Conference with some seminars by those powerhouse teams could go a long way to spreading the success around in Texas.

*BTW, we owe you a minibot. Your original took an unfortunate leap off the tower when I attempted to save it from smoking its motors. But fear not, we've made a heck of a lot of improvements since then.

**Our first version of the deployment failed the Bryant test at Champs. We've gifted him the remains for his coat of arms and as a warning to any team foolhardy enough to put him behind the stick of a questionably robust robot.

[Pjohn1959]

This was sent out yesterday (should be to any interested teams) :

Hello Texas Teams!


I'm writing to invite you to participate in and provide you information about the Inaugural 2011 Texas Robot Round-up (FRC Off-Season Competition) - sponsored by FIRST in Texas and National Instruments, planned and organized by Alamo FIRST, the ausTIN CANs - team 2158, and Austin area teams and volunteers!

When:
July 29-30, 2011 (July 29th is an optional practice day. An agenda will be released soon)

Where:
Anderson High School, 8403 Mesa Drive, Austin, Texas (Home of FIRST Team 2158 - ausTIN CANs)

Cost:
$200 for early registration (must be received by May 15, 2011)
$250 for regular registration (must be received by June 15, 2011)

Capacity: 30 teams

Why:
This is an opportunity for FRC teams (Veteran & Rookie) to come together one more time to share experiences, learn from each other, build new friendships, practice and compete with their robots and have a fun time. This is also an opportunity to bring new team members or sponsors up to speed on what FIRST is really all about. The event will have an official FIRST field for Logo Motion, supported and staffed by AndyMark representatives.

Team Registration: https://spreadsheets0.google.com/spr...NQWmJOd2c6M Q

Volunteer Registration: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spre...FNZ2RBZnc6M Q

Please contact Patrick Felty (pfelty@USFIRST.org) or Jess Jankowitsch (jessjank@gmail.com) with any questions.




We hope to see you there!



Jess Jankowitsch
Assistant Regional Director & Volunteer Coordinator
Alamo Regional, FIRST Robotics Competition

jessjank@gmail.com

[James Tonthat]

I haven't talked to my team yet, but it looks like we'll be going.

I'd love to see a mentor match at around lunch Saturday.

A skills challenge would also be nice to see.

[SGS]

3103 is planning on coming! We hope to bring up some new members too, get them excited for the year!

[jessjank.]

Originally Posted by lynca

Anyword on who's coming so far ?
An event with the Texas Powerhouses should be fun ( 57, 118, 148, 418, 624, 1429, and 1477)

How many teams outside of Texas are interested in registering ?

We have 9 teams who have completed registration and word from between 15 to 20 teams who have expressed interest! Make sure you get your teams registered as soon as possible so that you don't miss your chance to take part in the 2011 Texas Robot Round-up!

Hopefully, we'll have some interested non-Texas teams too!

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

Yes, an official FIRST field for Logo Motion will be hauled down to Austin from Indiana by AndyMark personnel. Most likely, we will have two FTAs, Mark Koors and Jerry Budd, on site for the event. We are excited to be a part of this event, and more AndyMark personnel may also attend and help.

We're thrilled to have AndyMark's support! Thanks so very much, Andy!

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

To add to your questions, what's been lined out as far as volunteers? Are inspectors or other volunteers needed?

As the volunteer coordinator of the Alamo Regional, I've taken on the role of also coordinating volunteers for this event. If you go to the volunteer registration (see my original post above, or simply click here: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spre...FNZ2RBZnc6M Q) you will see a variety of volunteer positions we're looking to fill. This may change with time as we determine needs specific to the event.

We will be having inspectors, though the exact process has not been determined yet (it obviously will not be as stringent as a regional event). I'm certain those of you who have served as inspectors would be able to provide valuable input. We will also be looking to models utilized by other off-season events.

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

Also, are there any plans to add more value to this event for younger teams? I think a mini FIRST Conference with some seminars by those powerhouse teams could go a long way to spreading the success around in Texas.

This is in the works! We don't have an agenda firmly squared away yet, however, we are anticipating having seminars available and will let everyone know when we are prepared to take submissions for conference and workshop topics!

Originally Posted by Pjohn1959

This was sent out yesterday (should be to any interested teams) :

ALL teams are absolutely invited, hence the post here on CD first. We're still determining what other means of communication are best to spread word of the event to all teams (we're not authorized to send a mass email out to all 2000+ FRC teams). Assuming that most teams will come from Texas and we would like to ensure that all Texas teams have an opportunity to compete, we made sure to send this out to all TX teams yesterday (timed so that it would be received after Championships). We certainly hope that non-Texas teams are interested and will be able to join us!

Originally Posted by James Tonthat

I'd love to see a mentor match at around lunch Saturday.

A skills challenge would also be nice to see.

We're taking these in to consideration as we solidify the event agenda. Once an agenda is finalized, we'll be sure to make it available!


Thanks so very much for all the excitement and support of the event! We hope that many of you will join us with your teams and/or as volunteers. Please do not hesitate to ask more questions or provide additional suggestions and feedback!

[Kevin Sevcik]

Just an aside, but is there a reason we're not using RobotEvents for registration and all that? It's free, and I think it even handles the money for you.

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by James Tonthat

I haven't talked to my team yet, but it looks like we'll be going.

I'd love to see a mentor match at around lunch Saturday.

A skills challenge would also be nice to see.

It's not enough that I helped design and engineer the robot? You want me to learn how to drive an Octanum too? And/or figure out how to work our pivot/telescope arm to best advantage. Either way, manual dexterity really isn't my thing....

[Adrienne E.]

148 is now signed up!

We are excited to be coming down to Austin and seeing all our Texas friends this summer

[Bertman]

418 will be there

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Bertman

418 will be there

*jumping up and down, going nuts in Austin!*

Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

[JohnSchneider]

3310 will be there. I believe we're only sending freshman to this event...gotta get them all some experience before next year

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by animenerdjohn

3310 will be there. I believe we're only sending freshman to this event...gotta get them all some experience before next year

I don't know if I ascribe to this philosophy. Throwing people into the deep end without any support may teach them to swim, or atleast not drown, but it's probably also going to make them terrified of the water. I'd think it might be better to have some more experienced students there to hold their hands a bit. And then make sure the older students know they're supposed to be completely hands off the robot, etc.

[JohnSchneider]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

I don't know if I ascribe to this philosophy. Throwing people into the deep end without any support may teach them to swim, or atleast not drown, but it's probably also going to make them terrified of the water. I'd think it might be better to have some more experienced students there to hold their hands a bit. And then make sure the older students know they're supposed to be completely hands off the robot, etc.

Not incoming freshman, this years freshman. We also have some problem with our team being 75% seniors, and the date somewhat conflicts with college things.
Our mentors will be going to help them out, but our underclassmen are some truly talented individuals.