Calm before the Storm

[Rich Kressly]

1. As stated, the three cities that made major presentations for the FRC Championship are Atlanta, Indy, and Detroit. Decision to be finalized in August.

2. FRC game development is well underway. Despite what many may believe, this isn't all done at the last minute. Your input in the CD threads is taken into consideration as well as the feedback given at the official team forums. If you participated, thank you. The kickoff will remain in January as always and the calendar for registration, etc. will be similar to last year.

3. The FIRST Vex Challenge (FVC) pilot season will include six regional competitions. Two of these will run in conjunction with FLL competitions, two with FRC regionals, and two will stand alone. There will again be an FVC tournament at the Championship as well. Since this is still a pilot, FIRST and Radio Shack want to explore all of the possibilities. Five of the six sites have been finalized and an announcement will come from FIRST as soon as the sixth site is nailed down. The FVC pilot now has it's own management team at FIRST and things are in great hands.

4. FVC game development is 95% complete. Registration is set to begin in September, with kickoff in October. Look for something that is accessible and affordable as both FIRST and Radio Shack are interested in bringing as many "newbies" in as possible. However, it is anticipated that current programs will also be involved and will field some of the teams.

5. FLL registration has been open and will remain so through September. The Ocean Oddyssey challenge (along with the JFLL pilot that is continuing to phase II) will be released on September 12.

6. Dave still likes Krispy Kremes (right Amanda?), JVN now lives in Texas and builds cool stuff for a living, Andy B. is still cooler than any of us will admit, Brandon continues to do way too much for this site and we all appreciate it, and FIRST is sure to involve a record number of students in its programs again in 2006.

All is well. Have fun this year. As I've said in the past, there is no guarantee you'll ever get to do this again, so enjoy it!