**FIRST EMAIL**/2nd Event Registration Now Open/Airline & Car Rental Discount Program

[Mark McLeod]

**FIRST EMAIL**/2nd Event Registration Now Open/Airline & Car Rental Discount Programs Available/Wait List Process
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Greetings Teams:

2nd Event Registration Open: Teams will be able to register for their 2nd Competition event in TIMS today (10/28): https://my.usfirst.org/frc/tims/site.lasso. Veteran teams who DID compete at the 2010 Championship can also register for Championship on this date.

Reminder (from Bill’s Blog): If you plan to register for a Regional event in Texas, you should know there are a large number of Texas grants this season requiring Texas teams compete at Texas events. In order to accommodate this requirement, Texas Regional events will be closed at second registration (i.e., all teams that register will be put on a wait list). We will move teams from the wait lists into the events once we determine there are spots available. Priority will go to Texas teams with no other events. If we find there is significant interest, Dallas may go to a second event regional.

2011 Hotel Pilot Program for 10 Regional Events: If you’re going to the Alamo, Autodesk Oregon, Boston, Florida, NE Utilities FIRST Connecticut, Peachtree, Seattle Cascade, Seattle Olympic, Smoky Mountain, Utah or Washington, DC Regionals, you’ll want to check out the new FIRST Regional hotel page here: http://www.firstchampionshiphousing.com/Regionals.aspx.

Airline and Car Rental Discount Programs for FRC Teams: For information about these discount programs, please visit: http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/....aspx?id=18428.

Electronic Consent and Release Forms for Mentors Coming Soon: The Electronic Consent and Release Form for Mentors in TIMS is under construction. We are targeting to launch this new functionality in early November and will keep you posted!

Wait List Process
· If the event you select is full, your team will be added to the wait list;
· FIRST reserves places for late registering rookie teams for every regional event. Once registration closes on December 2, 2010, if there are any reserved slots left, wait listed teams will then be moved in;
· A team can only sign up for the maximum number of regionals for a particular registration period (e.g., two (2) regionals per team). This includes being on a wait list;
· For each event weekend a team can only sign up or join the wait list for one event (i.e., a team cannot be registered/wait listed for two events occurring on the same weekend
· Teams may drop from any second event wait list via the "Drop Event" button in TIMS;
· FIRST does not issue the wait list. Teams attending any given regional can change at the last moment as their finances are determined, therefore the number of places available can also change. It is also unknown how many late registering rookies there will be. We do not want teams making definite plans based on their place on a wait list when information may be changing.

Tip! If you find yourself on a wait list please bear in mind that teams drop out of events for various reasons and many times a wait listed team is able to get into the event of their choice!

Don’t Forget to Register to Attend a Local Kickoff in TIMS: “Kit and Kickoff Preferences” is where you indicate how your team wants to pickup/receive the Kit of Parts (KoP) and where/if your team plans to attend Kickoff. Please note the following before you making your selections:

1. Picking up your KoP at a Kickoff will save your team shipping costs;
2. If your team chooses not to attend any Kickoff, the KoP will be shipped to your Shipping Contact and your team will be responsible for the shipping costs.* Teams that choose to have their KoP shipped can expect to receive it sometime during the week after Kickoff. International teams should be aware your delivery will depend on customs clearance;
3. Your team may attend more than one Kickoff. For example, you can send members to the Kickoff in Manchester, NH, at the same time that other members of your team attend a Local Kickoff in your area. However, you must indicate only one kickoff for kit pickup.
4. We strongly encourage Rookie Teams to send two (2) adult team leaders to the Manchester, NH Kickoff Workshops! Workshop topics and descriptions are coming soon!

*Surrogate Kit Pickup Option:
If your team is unable to pick up its KoP at a Kickoff, and you do not wish to incur shipping charges to have it mailed, an alternate team may pick up your KoP at a Kickoff. You must provide FIRST with an authorization letter, signed by the main contact, on school or sponsor letterhead in order for us to release the kit. You can find a template for this letter here: http://tinyurl.com/34lv9do.

Fax the letter to Team Support at 603-666-3907, or scan and email the letter to frcteams@usfirst.org no later than 5:00 PM EDT on January 3, 2011, or send a hard copy to FIRST, Attn: Team Support, 200 Bedford Street, Manchester, NH 03101. The letter must include the following:
1.) Your Team Number and the Local Kickoff pick-up location;
2.) The name and team number of the representative picking up the KoP;
3.) Provide a copy of the Surrogate Kit Pickup letter to the team representative picking up the KoP for your team. This representative must bring the letter to the appropriate Kickoff.

Go Teams!