**FIRST EMAIL**/November Scholarship Update/Beta Virtual Technical Advisor System

[Mark McLeod]

Greetings Teams:

November Scholarship Update: Over $14 Million in 2011 FIRST Scholarship Opportunities are now posted on the FIRST Website. Some have application deadlines in early December. For more information about 2011 FIRST Scholarships, please visit: http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/....aspx?id=18473

Beta Virtual Technical Advisor System Launched: FRC has launched the Beta version of a Virtual Technical Advisor (VTA) system https://my.usfirst.org/FIRSTPortal/L...ual_login.aspx where teams may request help and adults with technical skills can offer assistance. The system will match teams with technical advisors who are then encouraged to communicate through whatever means best suits them (Skype, email, live chat, etc.). The VTA does not replace the need for traditional team Mentors and teams should keep in mind that completed robots must comply with the rules set forth in the 2011 FIRST Robotics Competition Game manual and FRC Team Updates. For the 2011 pilot year, the goal is to connect adults already familiar with FRC to active FRC teams. Over time, the VTA will be expanded to include all adults regardless of their prior history with FIRST.

Next Senior Mentor Call 11/18 @ 7 PM ET: The next FIRST Senior Mentor call will take place on November 18th @ 7 PM ET. The call topic is Control System/Driver’s Station & Beta Test Observations, hosted by Senior Mentor Mike Siegel (NY), and FRC Electrical Engineer Matt Pilotte (FIRST HQ). For call-in information and an outline of the call, please visit: http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/....aspx?id=10124

Award Submissions Open Today: Submissions for the Chairman’s, Woodie Flowers, and Website Awards opened today at 12 noon ET. The FIRST Dean’s List Award submission system, originally scheduled to open tomorrow, will be delayed until the award criteria for 2011 is finalized. For more important dates and links, please review last week’s email blast: http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/....aspx?id=18465

Have you registered for your Local Kickoff in TIMS yet?
"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.

Double-check your Partner Organization Information in TIMS: This is a friendly reminder to make sure you have listed the correct name for all of your team sponsors/partners in TIMS (for example: JCPenney…no spaces, two e’s, capitalize JCP only!). You may edit/view this information in TIMS within the "Partner Organizations" section of your Team Profile on the Team Summary page: https://my.usfirst.org/frc/tims/site.lasso. We list team sponsors/partners in the FIRST Annual report, so it is important that this information is accurate. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Go Teams!