**FIRST EMAIL**/Announcing the 2nd Annual Safety Animation Contest!

[Pat Fairbank]

Greetings Teams:

FIRST is pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Safety Animation Contest to encourage teams to work and behave in a safe manner during the 2006 FRC season. The theme of this year's award is “Care Enough to Act.”

By submitting for this award teams will not only have their consciousness raised on the importance of safety, it will also provide them the opportunity to use the 3ds Max software provided by Autodesk. Teams will gain valuable knowledge and skills in preparation of submitting for the Autodesk Visualization Award. Please note teams can use the 3ds Max software from this year or last year to create their animation.

The animations should be 15 to 30 seconds long and contain one (1) of the following behaviors:

* No running or horseplay
* Proper lifting and transportation of robots
* Always wearing safety glasses
* Housekeeping and work environment
* Safe tool usage practices
* Proper battery charging practices
* Robot energy storage and pinch points.

Submit by mailing your entry on a DVD to: FIRST Safety Animation, ATTN: Sue Robinson, FIRST, 200 Bedford St., Manchester, NH, 03101. You must include the following information with your submission:

* Team Number and Name
* Award Entry Title
* School Name and Address (City, State, Zip)
* Main Contact's Name, email address and phone number

Please note that your submission will become the property of FIRST and the right to use and display it belongs to FIRST.

The deadline for submission is Thursday, December 1, 2005. Please note that your DVD must be received at FIRST by that date. The winning animation will be highlighted during the FIRST Kickoff on January 7, 2006. We also intend to show this animation at the beginning of each regional, as we did last year. Please also take into consideration that a clear and precise audio portion of the animation is very important. As with every FIRST Award, only those submissions portraying Gracious Professionalism and good sportsmanship will be considered.

We look forward to receiving your entries.

Go Teams!