Finally excited to share some progress with the FRC community about the Regal Eagles’ Week 0 (week -1) event. All of the description information is in the following Google Form Link, but if you don’t feel like clicking to read it, it reads as follows:
FIRST on Long Island has always been an extremely strong presence with various on and off season events including SBPLI Regional(s) and the HHH Offseason Invitational. However, Team 2869, The Regal Eagles, have recognized a lack of early, and varied offseason events on Long Island-specifically week 0 events. The closest event teams have access to is in Connecticut, almost 2.5 hours one way. To remedy this, we are working with LIU Post to host the first unofficial Week 0 Event on Long Island on February 10th, 2018.
The field will be made of wood, but nonetheless full and sturdy. We are looking to have an official carpet from a nearby venue. Load in will be the morning of from 7:30 - 8:30 am. There will be a full staff of volunteers, bleacher space for fans, concessions run by the school for lunch, and creative awards.
We recognize this may be earlier in the build season than some teams expected (almost, a week negative one). As many Long Islanders know, openings for large, accommodating facilities are hard to come by, so I’d like to thank LIU Post for being cooperative throughout this proceeding. After some research, we found most teams at least have a drive chassis by this time of year, and are beginning to work/refine on “above chassis” mechanisms. This event will serve as an opportunity to have a full-field for practice and calibration, and then see how your robot interacts in different defense/offense scenarios.
The absolute worst situation teams will be in, is that they only have a drive base to work with. If this is the case, seeing other teams at such an event provides inspiration for different above-chassis mechanism, with enough time for fabrication. Furthermore, this is an opportunity for teams to strengthen their core values of gracious professionalism and coopertition by helping other teams get their chassis moving. Since this is a low-stress environment, teams are not pressured to compete, and will be very free and open to helping others out.
While the final schedule is being confirmed, the general day will go as follows: teams will have 5 minute blocks in the morning to calibrate their robots and test out different field elements and mechanisms. During the time they are not on the field for their block they will have the chance to improve on their robots in the pit area, and will have access to volunteers and mentors. In the afternoon there will be a structured set of practice matches during which teams will actually get to start to feel a little competitive environment.
The price is the only variable number in this whole ecosystem. Since we have no true gauge in interest on Long Island about such an event, we are unable to offer an exact price at this time. Due to expensive personnel and material costs, with a minimum number of teams we estimate the highest cost to be $450 per team. However, with the more teams that join, the lower the price will be. With a maximum number of teams, it will cost about $150 per team.
The most important thing to note is this is NOT a competitive event. This is a collaborative, open environment to gain inspiration for improving your bot as you will have plenty of build season time left.
If you are even interested in the slightest, please fill out the following form. For ease of communication, please use a primary mentor as your contact for this form. We will get back to you with updates including final price, schedule details, and how you can purchase within about a week to a week and a half.
We appreciate the support as we make this Week 0 a reality on Long Island. Please contact Mr. Dan Zabell ([email protected]) with any questions!
Please feel free to DM me with any questions! Share this around if you think your team may be interested!