**FIRST EMAIL**/ Let the Lunacy Begin!

[Mark McLeod]

Greetings Teams:


When Neil Armstrong placed his left foot on the surface of the moon July 21, 1969, he took "one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind." This Thursday, February 26, history will be made again when the 18th FIRST Robotics Competition gets underway with the 2009 "LUNACY^TM " competition! We are so glad you are with us to compete and celebrate during this momentous season!

We know there will be questions that come up once the regionals start. The following will help you know how to reach us during the events and make sure your questions don't get "stuck in orbit!"

• Rules or Scoring Questions - Drivers and RoboCoaches must contact the Head Referee with these after a field reset has been signaled. And, once the Head Referee has made a decision, the decision is FINAL! FIRST will not overturn any Head Referee decisions. Full details on this can be found in Sections 7 and 9 (7.3.7 and 9.5.2) of the FRC Competition Manual, "The Game" and "The Tournament" respectively. We urge you all to read this so there is no confusion over this point.
• Other Questions (besides Rules or Scoring):Contact Pit Administration at the event. You may also contact Team Support* at FIRST Headquarters
• General Event and Season Feedback: FIRST will arrange to collect season feedback after the events via local Team Forums or through an alternate method. We will notify you well in advance so you can make your plans - stay tuned!
• Team Stories: We know there will also be remarkable stories that unfold at each regional. If you have a story to share with the FIRST community, please send it to marketing@usfirst.org. We will collect and share your stories throughout the year.
• Unresolved Issues:If you still have a question or concern that did not get resolved at your event, you may contact Team Support as indicated below. Please remember FRC staff will be traveling in support of the events, and if your question requires their input, you may not get an immediate reply. We will do our best to get you an answer as soon as possible!

*During the Event Season, Team Support will be available during regular business hours (8:30 am-5:00 pm EST) Monday-Wednesday, with extended hours to 8:00 pm EST Thursday and Friday, and Saturday from 12:00 pm-5:00 pm EST. Team Support can be reached at frcteams@usfirst.org or by calling 603-666-3906, ext. 0.



Finally, we ask you to remember that the events are heavily supported by volunteers, not just FIRST staff. They will be giving their time and effort toward making your event experience a success, and without them FIRST events could not happen. We thank you all in advance for your gracious behavior toward the volunteers. Please give each volunteer a warm "Hello!" and "Thank You!" - it will be appreciated by all!

We look forward to providing you with a quality experience and seeing you at the events!

Good luck to all. Let the Lunacy Begin!

Go Teams!

[Boydean]

So it has begun.

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by Mark McLeod

Rules or Scoring Questions - Drivers and RoboCoaches must contact the Head Referee with these after a field reset has been signaled. And, once the Head Referee has made a decision, the decision is FINAL!

RoboCoaches are Back!?!?!

[Mark McLeod]

You got your IR system for this year didn't you

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by Mark McLeod

Rules or Scoring Questions - Drivers and RoboCoaches must contact the Head Referee with these ...

Originally Posted by thefro526

RoboCoaches are Back!?!?!

We don't have Drivers this year either.

Seriously, this has the potential to become an issue. There were teams last year that never understood the difference between Coaches and RoboCoaches. This statement this year might delude some teams into believing that when they said RoboCoach they meant Coach, and that means that non-students can question calls. Not so.

[alectronic]

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol

We don't have Drivers this year either.

Seriously, this has the potential to become an issue. There were teams last year that never understood the difference between Coaches and RoboCoaches. This statement this year might delude some teams into believing that when they said RoboCoach they meant Coach, and that means that non-students can question calls. Not so.

Its not the first time they have used copy paste... I was looking through the FMS Users guide for this year and it refers to the trackballs and lap counters like 8 times. Honestly, I think with the number of rookies they really should take the extra 10 seconds to proof read. i mean seriously, if you send 1 email like this per year don't you think it should be run by a few people?? Well, I guess we can't blame FIRST. i mean, look at what else they have going on!

[Andrew Bates]

Originally Posted by Mark McLeod

..."LUNACYTM "...

Did they really trademark lunacy or is that just a typo?

[Greg Needel]

Originally Posted by corpralchee

Did they really trademark lunacy or is that just a typo?

according to the USPTO they did infact trademark Lunacy.

http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?r...entry=77644522

[Justin Montois]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

according to the USPTO they did infact trademark Lunacy.

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield...008:nvodh1.2.2

Your link isn't working.

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield...001:4sbnnq.2.2

[Bob Steele]

I think that the lunacy started a long time before today....
this will be a crazy game....

[Greg Needel]

Originally Posted by 340x4xLife

Your link isn't working.

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield...001:4sbnnq.2.2

try this. http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?r...entry=77644522


original post edited

[Justin Montois]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

try this. http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?r...entry=77644522


original post edited

lol, thanks

[alectronic]

Originally Posted by 340x4xLife

lol, thanks

i guess it was pretty clever to wait until AFTER the game was revealed to try to trademark the name... it would be their luck that someone would find it before the game was released...

[J Flex 188]

Originally Posted by Mark McLeod

Greetings Teams:


When Neil Armstrong placed his left foot on the surface of the moon July 21, 1969, he took "one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind." This Thursday, February 26, history will be made again when the 18th FIRST Robotics Competition gets underway with the 2009 "LUNACY^TM " competition! We are so glad you are with us to compete and celebrate during this momentous season!

My High School Reach for the Top Trivia knowledge tells me that this occurred on July 20th, 1969. At least I think I am pretty sure it did.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by J Flex 188

My High School Reach for the Top Trivia knowledge tells me that this occurred on July 20th, 1969. At least I think I am pretty sure it did.

I believe they landed on the 20th, and those words weren't spoken until the 21st.