[NE FIRST] District Championship

[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

[Steve Kaneb]

Originally Posted by Chi Meson

Final Rankings and Qualifications.

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

190 will be declining their invitation, and will not be bringing their robot to the 2016 nedcmp. We will be there for engineering inspiration, and we'll come hang out on Saturday.

[MooreteP]

Originally Posted by Steve Kaneb

190 will be declining their invitation, and will not be bringing their robot to the 2016 nedcmp. We will be there for engineering inspiration, and we'll come hang out on Saturday.

I can understand your position. Finalists today in New Jersey. 190 must be exhausted.
As a legacy team, your ticket is punched for the CMP. As usual, your team and Robot deserve to go.
Good luck with the EI at the NEDCMP.
You will be opening up a spot for another team, and that is a good thing.

[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. "

[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.

[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 Ken Streeter

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."

The latest (full) version of the welcome packet has now been posted to the NE FIRST website. Unfortunately the restriction had to be put into place after meeting with the venue staff for our final walk-through. Still, for some teams who empty their trailers, it may be better to park your trailers indoors for the event rather than try and find downtown outdoor parking each day that will accommodate a tow vehicle AND a trailer.

[Ken Streeter]

Originally Posted by KathieK

The latest (full) version of the welcome packet has now been posted to the NE FIRST website.

Thanks for updating the Welcome Packet.

We'll plan to keep our extra needed stuff somewhere other than in the trailer!

[KathieK]

UPDATE FOR WEDNESDAY CONCESSIONS ONLY:
Heads up to teams - on Wednesday (Day 0) the XL Center concessions will NOT be open so teams can bring in any food or beverages they would like on Wednesday evening.

REMEMBER: This is ONLY for Wednesday evening! The rest of the weekend NO outside food will be allowed.

There are also plenty of places to eat nearby so take a look and make reservations/plans/etc! See you soon!

[Underdog_19]

Previous versions of the packet stated that 5 team members were allowed during load in. Is this now changed to any number of team members?

[KathieK]

Originally Posted by Underdog_19

Previous versions of the packet stated that 5 team members were allowed during load in. Is this now changed to any number of team members?

Yes, teams can bring more than 5 people to load-in and pit setup. An update with changes to the Welcome Packet will be posted to the NE FIRST website today!