*FIRST EMAIL**/2010 FRC Event Registration Opens in Two Weeks!

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by rtfgnow

So when is this "shortly"?

I'm guessing it would be before next Tuesday's FIRST Senior Mentor "Choosing a Competition" conference call discussion. One of the agenda bullets is "[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']Now that you have a team established, where can you compete?". [/font]It would be rather exceedingly comical if they did not release the information before then.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Travis Hoffman

I'm guessing it would be before next Tuesday's FIRST Senior Mentor "Choosing a Competition" conference call discussion. One of the agenda bullets is "[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']Now that you have a team established, where can you compete?". [/font]It would be rather exceedingly comical if they did not release the information before then.

Travis, sometimes you are just wicked.

What is just a wee spooky is that you can find/locate the schedules of the different venues and see if FIRST Robotics Competition is penciled in but we don't have any formal confirmation on that. Is this 'normal' and we are all just chomping at the bit to make travel arrangements and nail down the costs?

[Vikesrock]

From what I understand there are still a few regionals where FIRST has not secured venue contracts. They are waiting on those contracts before releasing the schedule.

They don't want to confirm any of the event dates until they are ready to release all of them at once.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Vikesrock

From what I understand there are still a few regionals where FIRST has not secured venue contracts. They are waiting on those contracts before releasing the schedule.

They don't want to confirm any of the event dates until they are ready to release all of them at once.

Well, this makes sense.

I also agree, Travis, that the planning and logistics involved are not trivial and the more lead time, the better. Hopefully, it will all work out so that the conference call with our awesome FIRST Senior Mentors is as productive and well-timed as possible. Sometimes they are put between a rock and a hard place and this has potential of being a good example of that.

[Foster]

What is just a wee spooky is that you can find/locate the schedules of the different venues and see if FIRST Robotics Competition is penciled in but we don't have any formal confirmation on that. Is this 'normal' and we are all just chomping at the bit to make travel arrangements and nail down the costs?

Really? Unleash 30,000 of the smartest students in the world on a problem and you are surprised they got results? Just think what they could do if you set them out on World Hunger or a car to get 100MPG.

I'm more surprised that all the venues are not booked by now. Most places have events booked out 18-24 months in advance. Maybe it's all the extra logistics needed for the water game plumbing.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Foster

Really? Unleash 30,000 of the smartest students in the world on a problem and you are surprised they got results? Just think what they could do if you set them out on World Hunger or a car to get 100MPG.

I'm more surprised that all the venues are not booked by now. Most places have events booked out 18-24 months in advance. Maybe it's all the extra logistics needed for the water game plumbing.

I think I was just commenting on the fact that a little research reveals a little information but that nothing is formalized with FIRST yet and asking if that part of it was normal, Foster.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by Foster

Really? Unleash 30,000 of the smartest students in the world on a problem and you are surprised they got results? Just think what they could do if you set them out on World Hunger or a car to get 100MPG.

Or even decode the game clue(s).

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by Foster

Really? Unleash 30,000 of the smartest students in the world on a problem and you are surprised they got results? Just think what they could do if you set them out on World Hunger or a car to get 100MPG.

I'm more surprised that all the venues are not booked by now. Most places have events booked out 18-24 months in advance. Maybe it's all the extra logistics needed for the water game plumbing.

Actually, based on my experience on a regional Committee the hold up is either 1) Lawyers nattering about this or that minor point. or 2) the venue delaying things, possibly hoping for a better booking. FIRST puts on more events than most Rock and Roll concert producers, in an incredibly short period of time. (44 "shows" in 5 weeks spread out over the whole country, how many performers do that many shows in a year?) The might have a lot of failings but they do seem to have venue management pretty well down. At least when the venue co-operates.

[KathieK]

http://frcdirector.blogspot.com/2009...-tomorrow.html Bill has announced that the listing will be posted on 9/24 by noon EST.

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

Travis, sometimes you are just wicked.

What is just a wee spooky is that you can find/locate the schedules of the different venues and see if FIRST Robotics Competition is penciled in but we don't have any formal confirmation on that. Is this 'normal' and we are all just chomping at the bit to make travel arrangements and nail down the costs?

Only sometimes?

Check past threads from earlier seasons. People anticipating the release of the event list is very "normal" behavior, and many teams would prefer the list to be released sooner rather than later because, yes, they like to be proactive, and they do have a lot of factors to weigh before deciding which events they will attend and in what order they will sign up for them. Some teams might like to narrow their pick list to a few possibilities and let students meet to vote on them. Other teams might want to gather a large group of adult team leaders together to deliberate on the matter. It isn't trivial to schedule these types of meetings, especially for larger teams, so the more time FIRST gives us between the release of the event schedule and the initial registration day, the better.

[RoboMom]

Originally Posted by Travis Hoffman

I'm guessing it would be before next Tuesday's FIRST Senior Mentor "Choosing a Competition" conference call discussion. One of the agenda bullets is "[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']Now that you have a team established, where can you compete?". [/font]It would be rather exceedingly comical if they did not release the information before then.

[NOTE: I am no longer a Senior Mentor and I have not seen the email blast sent out about the call, but was told my name was on it.]

Comical indeed.

I have been asked to pitch in on this call.

When I inquired about the timing of the release of the schedule I was advised the schedule will likely not be released before the call.

However, a rep from FRC Home Office should also be on the call to help answer questions needing "official" answers.

I guess the targeted audience is new mentors/new teams and general issues to think about, rather than any specifics.
I agree the timing of all this is not ideal.

[Mark McLeod]

Originally Posted by RoboMom

[NOTE: I am no longer a Senior Mentor and I have not seen the email blast sent out about the call, but was told my name was on it.]

Sorry I was late in posting the FIRST email blast.
It refers to you as:
"Senior Volunteer Jenny Beatty"

[RoboMom]

Originally Posted by Mark McLeod

It refers to you as: "Senior Volunteer Jenny Beatty"

Hmmm.... Do I get to pick one of the below?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Senior: Latin senior (“‘older’”), comparative form of senex (“‘old’”); see senate.

Senior can refer to:
* A person of old age
* Senior (education): a student in the last (usually fourth) year of high school or at a college or university.
* A student in the twelfth grade, in high school. Year 11 and 12 in Australia are called seniors. Likewise, Year 12 and Year 13 in New Zealand are also referred to as seniors.
* A suffix (name) for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent

[Jon236]

Originally Posted by RoboMom

Hmmm.... Do I get to pick one of the below?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Senior: Latin senior (“‘older’”), comparative form of senex (“‘old’”); see senate.

Senior can refer to:
* A person of old age
* Senior (education): a student in the last (usually fourth) year of high school or at a college or university.
* A student in the twelfth grade, in high school. Year 11 and 12 in Australia are called seniors. Likewise, Year 12 and Year 13 in New Zealand are also referred to as seniors.
* A suffix (name) for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent

From the Hebrew, you do get a better selection:

Old
veteran
adult

'Veteran' works well.....

[JaneYoung]

Wow! Jenny created a new title: Senior Volunteer Jenny Beatty.

I want to be a Senior Volunteer Jenny Beatty!

Oh, oops, no - scratch that, I'm putting my hand down - that's too much work. Rock on, Jenny.