**FIRST EMAIL**/IMPORTANT FRC Kickoff & Season Information

[Mark McLeod]

Greetings Teams:


As you know, Kickoff for the 2010 FRC Season is this Saturday, January 9th! We have lots of important Kickoff and Season Information to share with you, so please read carefully and be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed of our 2010 FRC Season News and Email Blasts Page for the most up-to-the-minute information this season! http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/...starchive.aspx


IMPORTANT – Team Main or Alternate Contacts of teams attending a Kickoff must print out their Team Roster from TIMS and bring it with them (along with any hard copy Consent and Release Forms.). Click here for instructions: http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/....aspx?id=16135.


Encrypted Sections of the 2010 FRC Manual


The encrypted sections (sections 6-10) of the FRC 2010 Manual are available for download. Please find the FRC Competition Manual page here: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...nt.aspx?id=452. To download, right-click on the .pdf file and select "Save Link/Target As…". The password for accessing these documents will be available at the end of the Kickoff broadcast on Saturday.

Prior to Saturday, make sure that your computer has the proper software by following the instructions for the 2010 Decryption Test found here: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr....aspx?id=11570.


Replacement Parts Request Procedure


After receiving and checking all items in your Kit of Parts (KOP), should you determine you are missing a part(s), or need a replacement part(s) you must use the FIRST "Replacement Parts Request" system to order replacements. For important deadlines and details, click here: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr....aspx?id=16130.


FRC Manual Q & A System


FIRST recognizes that teams may have questions about game rules, robot construction, event logistics, and more. FIRST will offer a Question & Answer System (Q&A), on FIRST Forums. For details about this system, click here: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr....aspx?id=16131.


FRC Team Support Available on Kickoff Day, 1/9/10


Team Support will be available the day of Kickoff from 9AM-Noon Eastern. For assistance, please call 1-800-871-8326 x 0.


On-Site (Manchester, NH) Workshops


For those of you who registered to attend the on-site Kickoff Workshops taking place in Manchester, NH, you can find a detailed schedule here: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr....aspx?id=16134.


Many of this year’s on-site FRC Workshops are being webcast live and recorded for future viewing. To register to watch the live webcast of a workshop, click here: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr....aspx?id=16133.


NASA: FRC Kickoff Broadcast


For those of you who will not be attending a Kickoff this weekend, NASA will broadcast the event live on their site. Here is the link that you will need to view the broadcast: http://robotics.nasa.gov/


Payments for Additional Regional Events & Championship: Deadline


Payments for Additional Regional Events and the Championship are due Friday 1/15/2010 – please confirm with FIRST Finance that you have the funding for the events that you are registered for if they are not paid at this time. If you do not have the funding, please email financetemp@usfirst.org as to your status. We do have a waitlist of teams wanting to go to the Championship, so if you do not have the funding to attend please let us know so that we can give another team the opportunity.


Go Teams!