[NE FIRST] 2014 New England Championship!

[Nathan Streeter]

Originally Posted by Chi Meson

Similar question, but modified:
Our bus is just dropping us off. Could we use the bus parking allocation for our truck/trailer?

Similar question, but again modified:

We have no bus... but we do plan to have a fifteen passenger van and a pickup/trailer. Could either one of these use our bus parking allocation?

Post #: Team Daisy!

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by Nathan Streeter

Similar question, but again modified:

We have no bus... but we do plan to have a fifteen passenger van and a pickup/trailer. Could either one of these use our bus parking allocation?

Another similar question, but also modified:

We have no bus, but the 0.7 mile walk from my apartment to the arena can be a rough one. Can we use our bus allocation to be super lazy? :-P


Just kiddinggggg. Looking forward to the NECMP in our hometown!

-Brando

[Dantvman27]

Cannot wait for this event. Wish this sort of thing existed when I was a student. Competition is going to be top notch and I'm looking forward to watching 3467 compete with everyone on the field, as well as off the field. .Nothing gets me more amped up for something than knowing we are competing against the best of the best. So proud of everything my students have accomplished this year so far. Good luck to all teams, let's make this magical!

[Kims Robot]

To all that have asked about trailers, I have contacted the venue to find out our options and will be in touch shortly (sorry we didn't think of it earlier!).

[Kims Robot]

Originally Posted by Banderoonies

Is there any overnight parking for team cargo trailers after unloading?

So BU looked into this for us and this is what they came up with. Unfortunately they could not find anything free (this lot is $24/night), but its something:

Based on several inquiries, we have made arrangements for this. If a team wishes to leave their vehicle overnight, we have made this available in the lot at 808 Commonwealth Ave. Lot F. Please see following link for reference. http://www.agganisarena.com/directions/parking.html

Originally Posted by Chi Meson

Similar question, but modified:
Our bus is just dropping us off. Could we use the bus parking allocation for our truck/trailer?

Unfortunately no. This lot will be for busses and large trucks only. You can use the onsite C2 Lot behind the parking garage if your vehicle/trailer will fit in two spaces, but you will be charged for two spaces ($30/day) or you can use the offiste lot mentioned above.

[Kims Robot]

This email was just sent to main & alternate team contacts:

New England Teams,
This is it! Today the New England Rankings are solidified and FIRST will be sending out official invitiations to the Main Team Contacts.

We have some big announcements for the New England Championship.

New Agenda!
FIRST has posted a new agenda for our event.
The two biggest changes were made to give teams more time and make the event safer and less hectic. The first is Load In Wednesday night has been extended in time (now from 5-9pm) and teams will be able to set up their pits, unbag and get their robot inspected if they wish. Teams are still restricted to 5 members per team, but we hope this additional time will make it easier for everyone to start qualifications on Thursday.
The second is that we have moved Opening Ceremonies on Friday and Saturday to 9:00am.

New Welcome Packet
Based on the agenda update, and some updates for some parking questions we have received, we have posted a new welcome packet. Make sure you have Version 2.0!

Don't forget to check out the NE FIRST Rankings Announcement and Live Commentary following the Pine Tree Awards!!

We look forward to seeing you next week!

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

This email was just sent to main & alternate team contacts:

Thanks for posting this I am really excited to see the change to Wednesday night! Glad to see the stress of Thursday morning will be spread out giving more time for the inspection process.

[engunneer]

The live webcast for DCMP selection has started - http://new.livestream.com/nefirst/events/2896457

The content starts in <30 minutes! (7:15PM EDT)

[Jay O'Donnell]

For my fellow scouts, here is a list of all 54 teams attending NE Champs and the 6 backup teams in numerical order. Time for scouting!
58
61
69
78
125
131
133
138
166
172
175
176
177
178
190
195
228
230
236
237
246
319
558
663
716
811
999
1058
1073
1100
1517
1519
1699
1735
1991
2064
2067
2084
2168
2648
2877
3323
3461
3467
3525
3930
4048
4055
4473
4555
4564
4761
4908
4909
4925
4958
5000
5112
5122
5129

[Abrakadabra]

The Welcome Packet has the following in a blue box on Page 13:

Caution:
Teams cannot register on April 10th without a completed form for
each team member attending the event, including adults traveling
with the team. Persons under 18 years of age must have a parent
or legal guardian’s signature. Please contact your regional director
if you need to acquire consent forms.

Is this something different than the standard roster that we usually just print from TIMS? What is meant by these "Consent Forms"? Why do we have to have a form for each person, and why would we need to contact our Regional Director to get them? Are they not available elsewhere? (like on-line?)

If this is the same thing as the TIMS roster, then why not just say so?

(Sorry, but I've been burned by trivialities at Registration far too many times at past events, so I like to make sure I'm prepared.)

[Kims Robot]

Originally Posted by Abrakadabra

The Welcome Packet has the following in a blue box on Page 13:

If this is the same thing as the TIMS roster, then why not just say so?

(Sorry, but I've been burned by trivialities at Registration far too many times at past events, so I like to make sure I'm prepared.)

My apologies if it is slightly confusing, this wording is left over from the Boston Regional Welcome packet which is what I used to start this document. However, it is still accurate that consent and release forms must be submitted for all team members, it is just that most teams are now doing them electronically. C&R forms are still part of the FIRST manual, please see section 4.7.1 (below). If there are team members that do not submit electronically, they must submit at every event including the NE CMP.

4.7.1 Consent and Release Forms
We highly encourage all FRC team members to submit their Consent and Release forms electronically.

FRC Team Mentors registered in TIMS will submit in TIMS: https://my.usfirst.org/frc/tims/site.lasso. Student team members will submit via the FIRST Student Team Information Member System (STIMS) at: https://my.usfirst.org/stims/site.lasso. Having your team members and mentors submit their Consent and Release forms electronically will make things much easier for you—no excess paperwork to collect and keep track of!

Please note if a team member decides to submit their Consent and Release form electronically, it will cover the team member’s attendance for the entire season – from Kickoff through Championship. However, if a team member chooses to turn in a “hardcopy” of the form (i.e., printed out from the website and signed) he/she will have to provide it at the Kickoff event (if attending) and at every competition. Details on the Consent and Release form process are available here: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...d-consent-form.

Bold Emphasis mine.

But we are more than happy to answer any questions so that teams can make it to & through the event smoothly

[Chi Meson]

Oh if things weren't only that not unconfusing!

I found out at Rhode Island that they want a printed roster at each event anyway, even if you turned in the C&R info at a previous District event.

And wouldn't you know, that printed roster is the same thing that you would turn in for supplying the "C&R" documentation at the initial event.

What I will be doing:
Print out the roster of the team from TIMS, include any hardcopy forms for whoever has not completed the online consent/waiver. In other words, the same thing. The worst that can happen is there will be no problem during sign in. I can live with that.

[Brandon Zalinsky]

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

The two biggest changes were made to give teams more time and make the event safer and less hectic. The first is Load In Wednesday night has been extended in time (now from 5-9pm) and teams will be able to set up their pits, unbag and get their robot inspected if they wish

Can we work on the robot Wednesday night?

[Kims Robot]

Originally Posted by Brandon Zalinsky

Can we work on the robot Wednesday night?

With 5 Team members ONLY, teams will be allowed to Unbag (with inspector signoff), and do what they need to do to get the robot inspected. We will not have the full venue setup (no Machine Shop or Practice Field until Thursday morning), but if teams need to do work to their robots to pass inspection it will be allowed.

The goal for Wednesday night is to get as many teams loaded in, and have pits setup safely so that we can roll on Thursday morning, and allow teams to finish inspection in time for Qualification matches.

[Kims Robot]

Latest Email Blast Update:

New England Teams,
Only a few more days to the Big Event!!

Schedule
We have another small change to our schedule to announce:
Start of Loadin is moved to 5:30pm on Wednesday!!
We apologize for any inconvenience, but we realized that we were going to conflict with the time of staff leaving the venue and want to make it a good experience for both teams and BU staff. (Note: the welcome packet has not been updated yet, but the FIRST Schedule takes precedence).

Invites
Official Invites from FIRST went out this morning to main TIMS contacts, and they are working down the list of teams as they receive declines. If your team is not planning on attending, please let FIRST know ASAP.

Hotels
If your team is still trying to figure out lodging, please contact Steele Meetings directly. Phone: 561-292-3314 email: MSMILGIS-at-steelemeetings.com

Reminders

• If you need to use the Loading Dock Wednesday night, please contact Steve Cremer scremer-at-usfirst.org to schedule your load in.
• Remember to follow the standard Bag & Tag Procedures!! If you have ANY questions at all, please check the FIRST manual and contact FIRST directly.
• Don't forget to reserve your tickets for the Museum of Science Team Social!!
• We still have room at the Educators Event for your adminstrators!
• Alumni and Seniors can register for the FREE Alumni Luncheon on Friday by signing up for NE FIRST Alumni Network.
• Remember to bring your donations for the Charity Drive!!
• VIP Scouting Space is tight, but if you are interested, register your team here.
• There will be NO WiFi access provided at the Arena, and teams are not allowed to set up their own WiFi hotspots.
• EI and RAS winners coming for just an interview without their robots will get a table on the upper concourse. All teams that qualify with their robot can use their pit to display materials.

Can't wait to see so many of you later this week at the New England Championship!