2017 Texas Robotics Invitational Jun 29th - July 1st

Competition Off-Season Events
1

2017 Texas Robotics Invitational
**
Application** - https://goo.gl/forms/87q9aHVmmBfMupC93
Volunteer Sign Up - https://goo.gl/Rvy7RB

TRI 2017 will be held June 29th - July 1st at Strake Jesuit College Prep and St. Agnes Academy.

June 29th - Field Setup and Team Load In (optional)
June 30th - Workshops, All-Girl Drive Team Tournament, Mentor Tournament, Practice Matches, & Celebration (Optional Day for all Teams)
July 1st - Full Competition (7 Qual matches per team) plus a full playoff bracket.

Application Deadline is May 12th. We will select teams if we have more than 36 applications. Teams will be notified on May 12th if we will be selecting teams, and invitations will go out no later than May 18th.

Registration for TRI will be $300 per team.

More Details about the special Tournaments and Celebration to come.

TRI Benefits - 12’x10’ Pits, Workshops, Free Photo Gallery from the event, Pit Projectors with Live Stream and Ranks, $1 concessions, 4 Team Alliances

www.Spectrum3847.org/TRI

2

What kind of workshops are you guys going to host?
I remember yall did the mentor workshop last year but idr if that was the same time as TRI or not/

would you guys be having a workshop about your sheet-metal fab process?

3

2582 is signed up and hoping for an invite. We have had a great time at TRI the past few years.

4

I’ve started a draft of the 2017 Rule Changes. Rule Changes will not be final until May 18th.

Here is the current version of the rule changes.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tQc87r4Djtqv0UqKnAsb_hKkSI4lRwJlbbKaKX0CaXw

We are still looking for more teams, volunteers, and presenters for TRI 2017.

5

I like the +5lbs weight allowance. I think it can help a lot of teams if they wanted to make their passive gear mech an active drop and will make matches more exciting

6

I like the intent here. But, I suspect you’re starting to see the issue with writing this rule. The only thing more frustrating than a rule you don’t agree with is a rule being called inconsistent. “How was that a tech foul against us when we did it but when they do it, we get called for drawing the foul instead?”

With the added complication, I suspect you’ll have a chat with whomever will be HR and they’ll pass things on to the other refs to try to remain consistent. But, I think it’d help to define some things a bit more clearly.

What does prevent mean? Are you looking at timing here? One extreme is “it’s only preventing if they never get a gear” and the other is the current rule. To be consistent, it’d help to have some explanation of where we want to see that line.

The second part is generally the time we saw C08 called this season. With intent being considered, teams generally get the benefit of the doubt. If it was clear they were pushing just to push, C08 should have been called. With the way the rule is rewritten, I’d be curious how to call this now. With it being stated it’s not a rule violation in this case, C08 really shouldn’t apply. By doing this, you’re no longer drawing a violation so there’s no reason to call C08. Without that clause, that action is a clear violation of C08.

I suspect the lack of repeated is meant for the cases where a bot is in the RZ, another comes and makes contact. In spinning to position to grab a gear, they’ve lost contact and made contact again. Under the current rule, we’re looking at 2 calls. With the rewrite, I suspect you’d want each of these extra bumps to be seen as a single call. Do you see this the same whether the offending bot is disabled or enabled? For disabled, this makes a good bit of sense. For an enabled bot, if they’re in the zone that entire time it’s effectively the same as a disabled bot although they clearly could have avoided the last bits of contact.

I like where the rule is going. One of the worst things I had to do as a ref was call tech foul after tech foul on a robot that disabled itself in auton and had no chance to get out of the RZ. I’m just hoping to help keep things consistent

7

Just a reminder the TRI application is still open.

8

After the application deadline we have had 35 teams apply. I’m leaving the application open if there is one more team that wishes to join us for TRI 2017.

Here is the full list of the 35 teams currently signed up.

118	Robonauts
441	Devil Dogs
456	Siege Robotics
457	Grease Monkey Robotics
624	CRyptonite
1477	Texas Torque
1912	Combustion
2582	PantherBots
2585	Impact
2587	DiscoBots
2723	Team Rocket
2881	Lady Cans
2950	Harmony Science Academy - Waco | Devastators
3005	RoboChargers
3103	Iron Plaid
3335	Cy-Borgs
3366	Roscoe Plowbots
3481	Bronc Botz
3679	rattlers
3735	VorTX
3847	Spectrum
3999	Shadetree Robotics
4335	Metallic Clouds
4639	Robospartans
5052	The RoboLobos
5070	GEARNOTICS
5414	Pearadox
5427	Steel Talons
5431	Titan Robotics
5806	Basement Lions
5829	Awtybots
5892	Energy HEROs
5986	Iron Fangs
6111	Gear Knights
6488	RoboRams

Volunteers
We are still looking for more volunteers for the event. Want to be our Workshop Coordinator, VIP Coordinator, or more sign up here.

Workshops/Presentations
We are also looking for more teams or mentors to give workshops/presentations at TRI. Do you want to teach teams how to scout, how to write a business plan, program, vision tracking, or anything else sign up here.

9

This was just sent to all the invited teams.

Thank you all for coming to TRI 2017, we look forward to another awesome event. If there is anything we can do to help make your team’s and your experience better please let us know.

  1. ASAP: Team Information and Special Tournaments Sign Up
  2. Payment
  3. Volunteers Needed
  4. Help with Setup and Clean Up
  5. Workshops and Presenters Needed
  6. Song Requests
  7. Cancellations
  8. Team List

1. Please Complete - Team Information and Special Tournaments Sign Up
TRI 2017 Team Pre-Event Information
Please fill out this brief forum to tell us about your team and also express interest in the special tournaments on Friday.

2. Payment
This year we can accept payment by credit card or check.
Credit Card
You will need to pay $9 to cover the credit card fees. Our school won’t let us cover those charges. The total for paying by Credit Card will be $309
Please use this link to pay by CC - https://www.saaconnect.org/texas-robotics-invitational-registration-form

Check
Make checks in the amount of $300 payable to

St. Agnes Academy
Memo Line: Engineering Team TRI

Mail Checks to
St. Agnes Academy
ATTN: Allen Gregory
9000 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX, 77036

Please have payment in no latter than June 9th. If that doesn’t work please contact me and we can make other arrangements.

3. Volunteers
Volunteer Sign Up Form - TRI Volunteer Signup 2017
We still need more volunteers for TRI 2017. Please forward this link to your teams and encourage people to volunteer.

4. Help with Setup and Clean Up
We need help with setup on Thursday and Clean up on Saturday night. If you team is able to help with either please fill out the volunteer sign up form and put in the comments that you will have team members there and what times you can be there.

**5. Workshops and Presenters **
If you would like teach a short workshop or hold a discussion or presentation please sign up below. We would love to get presentations on Scouting, fundraising, team organization, outreach, programming, etc. It doesn’t have to be specifically FRC related. Technology demonstrations, programming workshops, craft tutorials, panel discussions, anything is welcome.
Call for Presenters - Texas Robotics Invitational Call Presenters

6. Song Requests
Please submit any song request to this link below.
TRI Song Requests

7. Cancellations
If you need to withdraw from the tournament, please let me know ASAP.

8. Team List
Here is the list of teams currently registered.
118 Robonauts
441 Devil Dogs
456 Siege Robotics
457 Grease Monkey Robotics
624 CRyptonite
1296 Full Metal Jackets
1477 Texas Torque
1912 Combustion
2582 PantherBots
2585 Impact
2587 DiscoBots
2723 Team Rocket
2848 All Sparks
2881 Lady Cans
2882 Nutz and Boltz
2950 Harmony Science Academy - Waco | Devastators
3005 RoboChargers
3103 Iron Plaid
3335 Cy-Borgs
3366 Roscoe Plowbots
3679 rattlers
3735 VorTX
3847 Spectrum
3999 Shadetree Robotics
4192 Jaggernauts
4335 Metallic Clouds
4587 Jersey Voltage
4639 Robospartans
5052 The RoboLobos
5070 GEARNOTICS
5414 Pearadox
5427 Steel Talons
5431 Titan Robotics
5806 Basement Lions
5829 Awtybots
5892 Energy HEROs
5986 Iron Fangs
6111 Gear Knights
6377 Howdy Bots
6488 RoboRams

10

Looking forward to it.

To help any teams potentially hosting workshops, what kinds of things are of interest to attending teams?

I know for Pearadox, we’d probably be interested in things regarding:
Vision
motion profiling
CAD

and if there’s interest, we could probably cover some material regarding things such as:
business plan
imagery
grant writing
what we’ve done to try to gain support/traction within our district/community (knowing that these things may not be successful in other environments)

11

Mentor tournament? All-girls drive team tournament? Anyone wanna give me some info on those? Sounds like a lot of fun :smiley:

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Team Update - 6/16/17

1. Payments - Please pay if you haven’t
2. Girls and Mentors Drive Tournament Rules and Sign Up - TRI 2017 Team Pre-Event Information
3. Friday Night Celebrations - Free Food and Games - RSVP TRI Celebration Sign Up
4. TRI 2017 Rules - Updated
5. TRI Press Release & Social Media Toolkit - TRI 2017 - Social Media Kit - Google Docs
6. Concessions and Celebration Volunteer Shifts
7. Friday Workshops - Need more presenters
8. Charity/Recycle Drives - Bring Batteries, Children’s Books, School Supplies, Canned Food

1. Payments
We still need payments from about half the teams. If you have not sent in your checks or paid online please do so this week!
I’ll be contacting teams individually this weekend if we haven’t received your payment. Reply to me before that if you don’t want more emails/phone calls.
-Credit Card
You will need to pay $9 to cover the credit card fees. Our school won’t let us cover those charges. The total for paying by Credit Card will be $309
Please use this link to pay by CC - https://www.saaconnect.org/texas-robotics-invitational-registration-form

-Check
Make checks in the amount of $300 payable to

St. Agnes Academy
Memo Line: Engineering Team TRI

Mail Checks to
St. Agnes Academy
ATTN: Allen Gregory
9000 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX, 77036

2. Girls Drive Tournament and Mentors Drive Tournament Rules and Team Survey
Full Rules - TRI 2022 - Special Tournament - Google Docs
Sign up on the pre-event survey - TRI 2017 Team Pre-Event Information

We have 6 teams signed up for Girls Drive and 8 teams signed up for Mentor Drive.

These teams have filled out their survey, 3999 457 5427 5070 6377 4639 3679 4335 5414 3997 6488 624, Thank You. Everyone else please do so this week.

3. Friday Night Celebrations (free food and games) PLEASE RSVP - TRI Celebration Sign Up
The plan is to have two events on Friday night, both events are on our campus so your students won’t be that far away if you choose to go to the Mentor Dinner.

  1. A team social for all teams that are coming to TRI (Students and mentors can go to this).
  2. A Mentor/Volunteer Appreciation Dinner (Only Mentors and volunteers who have graduated high school can go to this)

TRI Team Celebration 6:30pm-9:30pm - St. Agnes Academy Cafeteria/Practice Basketball Gym/Courtyard - (For Students, Mentors, & Volunteers)
Food - We will have Cane’s Chicken, Pizza, Drinks, Snacks. Please feel free to bring food, dessert, and soft drinks to share with everyone else.
Games - Dodgeball, corn hole, video games, board games. Bring games to play with others.
Mentor\Volunteer Appreciation Dinner 6:30pm-8:00pm - Strake Jesuit Dinning Hall - (Only for Mentors and Volunteers who have graduated high school)
Food - BBQ Brisket and Chicken, Mac & Cheese, Twice baked potato casserole, Salad
Chance to talk to other mentors and volunteers without your students around. Get to know each other, etc.
Both events are free to teams, we will be accepting donations if you wish to help cover the costs of these events.
PLEASE RSVP - TRI Celebration Sign Up

4. TRI 2017 Rules (updated)
TRI 2017 Rules - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tQc87r4Djtqv0UqKnAsb_hKkSI4lRwJlbbKaKX0CaXw/pub

5. TRI Press Release & Social Media Toolkit
This toolkit will provide you with thought-starters to inspire your own unique content, ready-to-share content you could simply copy and paste. It includes links to the live stream, hashtags to use for the event and a template press-release you can send to local media.
TRI 2017 - Social Media Kit - Google Docs

6. Concessions and Celebration Volunteer Shifts
We need more volunteers to help us run the concession stand, the volunteer hospitality room, and to support the Team Celebration and Mentor/Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. These volunteer roles are much shorter so you can still perform Team roles and help with the event, some are event just 2 hour shifts. If you have parents, or teachers coming with you please forward this to them if they would be able to help with the event.
Sign Up For Shifts Here - TRI Concessions and Celebration Signup 2017

7. Friday Workshops
We have 3 scheduled workshops

  1. Inspectors view of the Inspection process.
  2. FIRST Opportunities After High School
  3. Fidget Spinner Engineering with Autodesk Fusion 360 - Presented by TX/RX Labs

We are still looking for more teams to give workshops on Friday. They would be about an hour each and can be on any topic. Some suggestions mechanical, electrical, scouting, outreach, safety, awards, etc
Sign up here - Texas Robotics Invitational Call Presenters
We will provide a classroom with a projector. We can also provide a computer lab with Solidworks if anyone is interested in doing another CAD class.

8. Charity/Recycle Drives
We are collecting items for donation and recycle again this year. Please plan to bring any or all of the below items to the event.
Needed: 1) Batteries (FRC, or any other) 2) Children’s Books 3)School Supplies 4) Canned food

9. TRI Local Food and Hotel Guide
TRI Local Resources

13

Videos for TRI are being posted to the @FRC_replay Twitter page](https://twitter.com/FRC_replay) as the matches happen, filed under the hashtag #TRIRobots.

14

Anyone else not looking forward to the 3 AM matches :smiley:

15

Well I think the event went pretty good.

16

I couldn’t watch it. Anyone who was there, was 118 using the same robot?

17

Texas Robot Invitational was a fun event. Thank you Allen for your passion for all things robotics and FIRST. Thank you to Strake Jesuit and St. Agnes for trusting FIRST kids with the use of your building. Thank you Specturm Parents for your gracious management of the event. Signage was plentiful, volunteers lounge looked beautiful and the food was terrific, pits were spacious and easy to manage. Thank you to Spectrum team kids, you are the epitome of gracious professionalism. The girls drive competition was a hoot. The mentors drive competition was fun…and every mentor team got a yellow card! The evening socials were fun and relaxing. It was nice to see the mix of team shirts playing all the games. Mentors had fun too! The concession folks had plenty of food and a nice variety of items, good job. The competition was well run, field turn around time was efficient and on target. Kudos to the field reset people. Matches were close and exciting. Thank you to the photographers for taking all the pictures. Trophies were new! In all this was a class A event. Thank you Allen and the Spectrum family.

18

They were training new drivers and using their practice robot.

19

Thanks Allen, there was a lot of heavy lifting for this event and ya’ll did great.

This was our first off season event ever as a program and it really made an impact upon us in a positive way. For our kids, it was nice to have an event that the stakes were lower. The mentor event was nice and our kids enjoyed the celebration event. I really enjoyed the four team playoff which gave more teams the chance to play in the afternoon and experience eliminations.

Look forward to next year.
Big shout out to 3005, 3999, and 2881…we had a fun afternoon playing with ya’ll.

20

I want to thank all the teams for coming this weekend. Spectrum enjoyed hosting you for another year of TRI.

Survey
Please help me by providing your feedback on the event. We want this event to be the best it can be for teams and we need to know what we are doing right and what we can do to improve it in the future.
https://goo.gl/R1rdTD

Match Videos are being uploaded here

Photos are being uploaded here (Over 2,000 pictures)


Please feel free to use any and all photos for media, yearbooks, publications, etc. Thank you to all the team photographers who helped us compile this amazing collection.

If your teams has any photos they would like to share please upload them here
https://spectrum3847.smugmug.com/upload/S8JCdp/TRI2017GuestsUpload

TRI 2018
TRI 2018 should be back and better than event. Preliminary dates are set for June 28, 29, 30th of 2018 so mark you calendars now.

Congratulations to all the teams this weekend,
Allen Gregory