**FIRST EMAIL**/Important Information for CMP Teams/Please Read

[Mark McLeod]

Greetings Championship (CMP) Teams:

We are very excited to see you all in Atlanta next week-- only five more days to go! We have some last minute updates/reminders for you to keep in mind, so please read on! Also, if you are a newly added CMP team, we strongly suggest you catch up on the emails we sent to CMP teams on 3/17, 3/24, 3/31, and 4/7 here: http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/...starchive.aspx

Remember your safety glasses! Don’t forget to bring enough safety glasses for your entire team to CMP. It is important you not only have your safety glasses with you upon arrival, but that you also remember to put them on before entering the Pit Area. Being prepared with your safety glasses on will allow for a better flow of traffic during load in on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Thanks for your help!

**If you are taking advantage of the Wednesday night load in period (6-9 PM), we encourage you to visit the Pit Administration table during this time to register your team. Registration will be by Division. We have recently posted Division assignments here: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...nt.aspx?id=432

IMPORTANT: We are anticipating over 300 teams loading in Wednesday night, and will have staff and volunteers on hand to manage the load in traffic. In fairness to all teams, no vehicle will be allowed to idle for longer than five (5) minutes in front of the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC). We ask each team to have more than one adult driver with them who can move the vehicle out of the way as soon as the team members and robot materials are out of the vehicle. We thank you in advance for your consideration.

Consent and Release Forms – Mentors and student team members that attended regional or district competition events do not need to bring duplicate Rosters or hard-copy Consent and Release Forms to the CMP Event. However, if a student or mentor did NOT attend one of these events and is coming with your team to Atlanta, they must complete a form either electronically or hard copy (mentors must submit hard copy forms). Go to http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...t.aspx?id=8128 for further information on accessing and completing the form.

Attention Bag & Tag Teams: Teams may uncrate, but cannot unbag their robots until they have obtained approval from a Bag and Tag Inspector.

Mobility Considerations
The GWCC is a large venue and consequently involves considerable walking. There are a limited number of push wheel chairs available on a first come first serve basis, however, if you would like to reserve and rent an electric scooter please contact: Bruce Locke @ 678-584-9082 or 770-309-3699.

If you want to check on availability once you are at the event, contact the GWCC Information Desk at 404-223-4600.


**Bill Miller, Director of Robotics will be hosting FRC Live! in the FRC pits on Thursday and Friday.** Join him for:

• Thursday 10:30AM The History of Breakaway & What’s Next for the GDC - Come hear the stories behind this year’s game and share your hopes for 2011.
• Thursday 3:30PM Upcoming Technologies: What’s on the Horizon? Bill will discuss the kit of parts, the 5 year plan and ask what you’d like to see included in the future.
• Friday 10:30AM The Robot Ship Show - Why does Robot Shipping have to be such a challenge? Come discuss how the FedEx donation affects you.

Upload your team photos/videos from Atlanta to CNN’s ireport.com
Here is an opportunity to upload your FIRST CMP photos or to snap a picture or video and send it directly from your phone to CNN iReport at ireport@cnn.com!

Some examples of potential photos or videos that you (teams/mentors/coaches) can send to iReport include:

o Action shots from teams interacting with their robots, crowd shots with excited fans, and students celebrating

o Photos or videos from pit sessions-teams working on/modifying work on their robots, team leads interacting with robot and students

o Photos or videos from competition rounds

o Photos or videos from Opening or Closing ceremonies

iReport is a great way to get the word out about the FIRST -- Thanks!

About CNN iReport:
iReport invites you to take part in the news with CNN. The stories here are not edited fact-checked or screened before they post. CNN's producers will check out some of the most compelling, important and urgent iReports and, once they're cleared for CNN, make them a part of CNN's news coverage. (Look for the red "CNN iReport" stamp to see which stories have been vetted for CNN.) You must be at least 13 years old to participate.

Go 2010 CMP Teams!