[NE FIRST] District Championship

[dag0620]

I know we're only half way through district events, but it will be here before you know it!

2016 New England District Championship
April 13th-16th, 2016
XL Center
Hartford, Connecticut

Like the past two years, we're expecting some amazing action that features the best of the best in New England. The planning committee has been working hard to put on an amazing event that will celebrate our championship teams and all they have accomplished as they work to advance to St. Louis.

Released details on the event so far are here: http://www.nefirst.org/portfolio/new...-championship/

More details will be added to that web page as we get closer to the event.

Any questions, feel free to post here or contact Stacey Gray: sgray@firstinspires.org

We look forward to seeing you in Hartford!

[gafftron]

Hi David,

I notice that in the welcome packet it says:

We’re excited to have 64 teams from New England join us at the XL Center in Hartford, CT April 13-16, 2016 to compete
in “FIRST Stronghold.”

However in the FIRST admin manual we're only listed as having 60 teams competing:

7.4.3 District Championship
Team capacity at District Championships for the 2016 season will be as follows:
Chesapeake District Championship...................................... 58
Indiana State Championship...................................... ........... 32
Michigan State Championship...................................... .......102
Mid-Atlantic Robotics District Championship ........................ 55
North Carolina FIRST Robotics State Championship............. 32
New England District Championship...................................60
Pacific Northwest District Championship .............................. 64
Peachtree District State Championship................................. 45

I was just wondering if you could clarify on which number is correct.

Thanks!

[dag0620]

Hi Brian,

64 is the correct number and what we're planning for. We've been working with HQ to resolve this discrepancy. The available slots on the FIRST website just recently got updated to 64. We expect a manual change to be following shortly.

[Nathan Streeter]

Based on an estimate of mine for the New England Ranking points after Pine Tree and 64 team capacity, it looks like the cutoff for qualification to the New England DCMP will be probably be 59-61 points. Typically not all teams attend DCMP that qualify (for a variety of reasons), so teams below the official cutoff will be invited one-by-one...

As such, I'd suggest that teams with at least 56 points should start discussing what they'd do if they qualify for DCMP, particularly if you'd need to travel. Obviously, the further down the list from the potential 59-61pt cutoff, the less likely you are to be invited (at the last minute!). Last year it looks like there may have been as few as 3 teams that declined invitation to the DCMP... so if you're below 59 points, don't get your hopes up too high.

Obviously, please keep in mind that these are just based off a projection of potential Pine Tree point totals... entirely unofficial!!!

[swootton]

Nathan,
We are at the 59 point spot and have been looking at the 59-61 point bottom line as well. My projections put us at 64 or 65 before declines. Talk about right on the bubble.
Steve

[Chi Meson]

Originally Posted by swootton

Nathan,
We are at the 59 point spot and have been looking at the 59-61 point bottom line as well. My projections put us at 64 or 65 before declines. Talk about right on the bubble.
Steve

We hope you make it. You guys are much more powerful than your rank implies.

[KathieK]

There will be a NEMO (Non-Engineering Mentor Organization) meeting on Friday, April 15, 2016 from 9:30am to 10:30am in the Mentor Lounge at the NE District Championship in Hartford. Last year there was much discussion between mentors about Championships so I imagine this year will be the same... if you think you're headed to St. Louis after Hartford, you might want to send a mentor to this meeting!

[KathieK]

Mentors - Do you wish your school administrators, sponsors, local politicians understood what FIRST is all about? Do you know of other schools that are not yet part of FIRST? Invite them to the NE District Championship in Hartford! We will be giving guided tours on Friday and Saturday, have a special Invited Guest seating area for them to watch, and if possible, will give them an up-close and personal viewing of a match field-side. Just invite them to RSVP here: http://survey.constantcontact.com/su...gvrp/questions

[KathieK]

Did you know? If your team has a tow trailer for robots, tools, etc., you can request trailer parking inside the venue for free! Tow vehicles are not allowed to remain inside the building after dropping off the trailers. Drop off is Wed night and pickup is Saturday at the end of the event. Team leaders should complete this form to reserve your spot: http://survey.constantcontact.com/su...8xdc/questions

[Chi Meson]

Final Rankings and Qualifications.

Are any of these teams declining their invitations?
http://frc-districtrankings.firstinspires.org/2016/NE

[KathieK]

Originally Posted by KathieK

you can request trailer parking inside the venue for free!

You will not have access to your trailer during the event. This is for storage purposes only.

[KathieK]

The Team Welcome Packet will be posted soon to the NE FIRST website http://www.nefirst.org/portfolio/new...-championship/ Lots of important information for teams so be sure to read through all of it and share it with your teams.

Of note: A scavenger hunt! Tiara/Silly Hat Friday! Team Social! Alumni Social! Venue rules! Maps!

Coming soon!

[Chi Meson]

Originally Posted by KathieK

You will not have access to your trailer during the event. This is for storage purposes only.

Is this a change? In the welcome packet (paragraph 5) it says:
"Teams will have access to the trailers during the event but cannot use them as a work space. "

[Ken Streeter]

Originally Posted by KathieK

Did you know? If your team has a tow trailer for robots, tools, etc., you can request trailer parking inside the venue for free!

First off, I want to mention that it is AWESOME that the NECMP planners have arranged for secured trailer parking. Given the frequency of trailer theft from FRC events, it's fantastic that the event planning committee has arranged for safe trailer parking!

Originally Posted by KathieK

You will not have access to your trailer during the event. This is for storage purposes only.

Just FYI, if the above is now the case, then the "Welcome Packet" on the NEFIRST site should probably be updated accordingly. As of this time (the 3/30/16 revision of the welcome packet), section 5 on "Trailer Parking" contains a sentence reading, "Teams will have access to the trailers during the event but cannot use them as a work space."

Normally, we stow some stuff in our trailer during the event to free up pit space (such as the robot bag, a hand truck & mover's dolly that is useful to bring stuff in to the pits, but not needed during the event) and sometimes want to keep items there that aren't typically needed, but might be helpful to us or other teams for major robot repairs (some large sheets of lexan, long lengths of aluminum angle, etc.). Knowing if we can keep these items in the trailer or if we should instead put them in the bed of the tow vehicle would be helpful. Given what we had read in the Welcome Packet, we had been planning to stow this stuff in the trailer.

[KathieK]

Originally Posted by Chi Meson

Is this a change? In the welcome packet (paragraph 5) it says:
"Teams will have access to the trailers during the event but cannot use them as a work space. "

Yes, this is a change per the venue.