Missouri Robotics State Championship

Competition Off-Season Events
1

Team SCREAM is proud to announce the inauguration of the Missouri Robotics State Championship (MRSC). The highest ranked FIRST Robotics Competition teams from Missouri will face off in this one day event to crown a state champion.

Event Details
Location: Mathewson Exhibition Center, Sedalia, MO
Date: Saturday May 9, 2015
Cost: $350 registration fee per team

Selection Details
Invitation only event for the top 32 ranked Missouri teams
A ranking committee made up of Missouri teams will establish the ranking criteria
Top 8 teams will be alliance captains
Alliances will be made up of 4 teams
Invitations will be announced once all Missouri teams have completed their regional schedule
If a team declines an invitation the next ranked team in line will move up

Competition Details
Official FIRST field, FMS, rules, etc. from the 2015 season
Team load in will be on Friday night and/or early Saturday morning
Field will be open for connectivity and sensor calibration before exhibition matches
Exhibition matches will be played in the morning (does not affect rankings)
Alliance selections before lunch
Elimination matches after lunch
Awards ceremony at the conclusion of elimination matches

Event Website:
www.missouriroboticsstatechampionship.com

More details will come out as they become available. If you have any questions please let me know.

Thanks,

Michael Wright
Team SCREAM- Head Coach

MRSC Announcement.pdf (182 KB)


MRSC Announcement.pdf (182 KB)

1 Like
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Two thoughts popped into my head when reading this, yea, and this is really interesting. It looks like we are going to use the Indiana model for the event which is fantastic. A big thank you has to go out to team SCREAM for getting this event started this far ahead of the game. If you all need any help feel free to pm me.

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I agree that it’s great it has been announced so early. This gives time for teams to prepare for the possibility of attending. They can include it on their calendar for students, parents and the school district.

I took a quick look at last years numbers an there was 88 teams in MO. With 32 team cap this is roughly 36% of teams in MO. It would be interesting to see what teams would have been invited after this past season, but from the looks of the committee putting it together is still working on the ranking criteria.

I’m also interested to see what the teams on the committee decide to include for the ranking criteria.

4

If we used the same point structure as the district systems use to invite teams to the district championships then 2014 would have fallen like this.

Edit: http://frclinks.frclinks.com/t/mo-usa/2014 only shows 66 teams competing last year.

Missouri Teams competing in FRC
2014 = 66
2013 = 61
2012 = 58
2011 = 52
2010 = 48
2009 = 52
2008 = 49
2007 = 46 (First year for the KC Regional)
2006 = 33
2005 = 15
2004 = 16
2003 = 11

5

Thanks for posting the frc links page the what teams are in my area page is a bit funky. It looks like a little over 50% of the teams ~34 are only single event teams so a ranking structure might be a bit interesting. Also I know Eastern Saint Louis Teams and Western Kansas City Teams probably should be added to the list as well.

6

We are glad to see the initial interest. We definitely wanted to give teams plenty of time to plan.

We also want teams to know that this is a collaborative event between several missouri teams, it’s not just ours. We have had several conversations with area coaches prior to announcing the event. This holds especially true with the ranking committee. We will be inviting several coaches and personnel from FIRST to participate.

If you would like to be on this committee let me know.

1 Like
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I’m very excited that this is happening - thank you for putting in the hard work and effort to make this happen!

I would be interested in being on the planning committee or helping in any way that I can. Feel free to PM me to get my information or shoot me an e-mail if you already have it.

4329 will strive to be in the top 25 Missouri teams for the 2015 season to ensure our qualification for this event :] Should be a great time - we love coming to Sedalia!

8

If you need any more help, please feel free to contact me. I am available at any time. This sounds like a great time to be had by all.

9

This is going to be fantastic. It gives good teams one more chance to compete and another goal to strive for. From a team that has been finalists several times, but have never won a regional, this is extremely good news. Thanks to 4522, Team Scream for their willingness to host the event, and their forethought to plan it so far in advance. I have yet to see 4522 do anything that isn’t impressive.

Is there a reason that you may not be using the standard district point ranking system? It might make it easier to compare Missouri to other existing districts (even though we aren’t really in a district…yet). That said, if you come up with a better ranking system, I’m all for it.

Let me know what I can do to help.

10

I just wanted to refresh this thread and let teams know that we have made some updates to the MRSC.

A ranking committee made up of several coaches and supporters of FRC from across Missouri provided input and recommendations to make this event as best as possible.

The selection and ranking committee is as follows:
Michael Wright- Team #4522- Team SCREAM
Aaron Bailey- Team #1986- Team Titanium
Mitch Comer- Team #3284- LASER
Scott Vitek- Team #1806- S.W.A.T.
John Nichols- Team #3885- Shockers
Ryan Dognaux- Team #4329 Lutheran Roboteers
Robert Dumler- FIRST Regional Director Greater Kansas City Regional

Based upon their input we made the following decisions on the event:

Event Details
Location: Mathewson Exhibition Center, Sedalia, MO
Date: Saturday May 9, 2015
Cost: $350 registration fee per team

Selection Details
Invitation only event for the top 32 ranked Missouri teams
Top 8 teams will be alliance captains
Alliances will be made up of 4 teams
Invitations will be announced once all Missouri teams have completed their regional schedule
If a team declines an invitation the next ranked team in line will move up

Ranking Details
Ranking will be based off the District Standard Ranking System Click Here for link to ranking system
Points will be based upon team’s first two events. Teams that only participate in one event will have their points doubled
Culture Award points will not be doubled. Ex. Chairman’s, etc.

Competition Details
Official FIRST field, FMS, rules, etc. from the 2015 season
Team load in will be on Friday night and/or early Saturday morning
Field will be open for connectivity and sensor calibration before exhibition matches
Exhibition matches will be played in the morning (does not affect rankings)
Alliance selections before lunch
Elimination matches after lunch
Awards ceremony at the conclusion of elimination matches

Bag and Tag Rules
Teams will follow bag and tag rules until their final event. After that point teams are allowed to make modifications to their robot if they so choose. In an effort to prevent teams from bringing 100% brand new robots to the event we request that teams make no more than 30 lbs. worth of improvements to their competition robot. An honor system will be in place.

Robot Inspections
Teams will be required to follow all robot safety and inspection rules. Teams will be required to be checked for size and weight compliance. It will be up to Safety inspectors to perform more detailed inspections if they deem it necessary. Teams should be competition ready when they arrive with their robots.

Event Website
www.missouriroboticsstatechampionship.com

More information will come out as the season gets closer. We just wanted to remind teams of the event so that they can plan accordingly. Please pass this information along to coaches and mentors in Missouri.

Also, I wanted to thank our ranking committee for their time and input.

If you have any questions please let me know.

1 Like
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Question for you. Have you talked to FIRST or your Regional Director yet? We are currently planning the Ohio FRC State Champs event and the initial date from the venue was May 9th and FIRST would not support this with an official field. Their stance is no off-season events will have access to an official field sooner than 3 weeks after Worlds, which means May 16th was the earliest we could host the event.

12

If either Missouri or Ohio has any quesitons, I’d be happy to help fill in details surrounding the Minnesota State Robotics Championship. It’s a State High School League event, takes place shortly after champs, and is run as close to an official FRC event as possible.

Some things to think about:

  • Load in the night before (if possible), and utilize that evening for inspections and getting every robot connected to the field (connected is very, very important! You don’t want to show up day of and have robots just sitting there).
  • Have extra volunteers on hand to help with queueing (preferably inspectors) - there are very quick turn around times, and teams will be very stressed. Having a volunteer available to help every team get into queue instead of the walk-by “You’re up, get in the queue!” will help with nerves. We had an issue with this our first year, but have since handled it better and relieved some of the stress on teams
  • Inspections are important! Please, please, please don’t make it sound optional or at the discretion of the inspectors - make it required for everyone. We’ve found inspection issues at State’s that were missed for teams that attended two regionals and Champs, including safety issues (I remember one team that somehow was operating at 150 PSI…).
  • Talk with the qualifying teams attending champs well before they go to champs. Shipping the robot back from champs does NOT guarantee it’ll be there 3 weeks later for the competition, and it’s something most teams won’t think about. Teams have two options - they can work with FIRST to get expedited shipping, or they can take the robot home with them, so long as they have permission beforehand.

We’ve been running our event for several years now, and by this point it’s pretty smooth.

13

John we have discussed using a size and safety inspection with no bag and tag with a 30 lbs. change limit from a team’s final official event; along with teams make a major system change, such as adding a motor, mechanical system, or pneumatic component be required to have that change and system reinspected. Is there anything from your experience at MN State that we would still need to cover?

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We did speak with FIRST and they had the same stance. We are however getting the field direct from Andy Mark and already have it scheduled.

John thanks for the great advice. We will definitely make inspections important. That’s a great idea of getting everyone inspected on Friday night.

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Interesting, we were told the FIRST fields that Andymark supports would not be available prior to May 16th because FIRST requires that all fields go back to HQ for inspection before going to Andymark. Our State Champs this past year was 3 weeks after champs and although Andymark had the field they did not get the Scorpion until the night before they came out for field delivery. Of course Andymark has their new field they designed and built (which is pretty nice to assemble), they still need to get the scorpion and other field electronics from FIRST.

16

The big problem is identifying the changes. If a team competes in an event in early March and not again until May, there is a good chance that they won’t remember some things they changed on the robot, or the person who made the change isn’t there.

Also, I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve had teams tell me “but it passed at XXXX”. We get teams all the time who have issues after making it through several events, and they’ll swear they hadn’t changed a thing. We all like to think we’re perfect, but the truth is inspectors miss stuff all the time. We’re training in new inspectors every year, someone may be distracted and not do a good job, our we may beer rushed because half the venue hadn’t inspected yet and its getting late. Just because something was missed at a teams regional didn’t mean you should just let it go at the next competition. Heck, I’ve even found problems at fall off-season events on teams that made it through two regional, champs and states!

17

I see several states are represented here in regards to State Championships that are not in the District model.

I have a few questions:

  1. Is your state tournament sanctioned by the state? For instance, is it through a state agency? I believe that Minnesota is?

  2. I see that Missouri is charging a registration fee? Is that true with the others?

  3. Are all teams in FIRST eligible in your state? (seems like a strange question but is important to know)

  4. Who organized the first tournament, rules and guidelines, etc? (state with input from teams/mentors, teams on their own)

  5. Was you tournament organization in communications with FIRST beforehand?

  6. If yes to 5, any advice or communications you can offer?

Thanks,

Norman

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For Minnesota:

  1. Yes, ours is held as part of the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL). This is the same organization that runs the various sports leagues around the state and holds those tournaments. Holding the State Championship was an important part of being recognized by the MSHSL and earning a state-wide lettering patch.

  2. I don’t think we charge a fee, but that’s not really my area of responsibility for our events.

  3. All teams in the state are eligible. Full eligibility requirements can be found here (note: these have not been updated for the 2015 season yet): http://mnfirst.org/offseason/mshsl

  4. MN Champs is organized by the regional planning committee, in cooperation with the MSHSL. It is run as a normal FIRST event, although it does have a compressed schedule to fit everything in one day - no practice matches, and fewer matches overall. It is a Bag and Tag event, full inspections, qualification rounds, alliance selection (4 alliances), elimination matches, and trophies for the winners/finalists. We skip judges all together and don’t do the other awards.

  5. Yes.

  6. Talk early and often, and get your local volunteers involved. If the RD, Regional Planning Committee, and Volunteer Coordinator are all involved and eager to see it happen, then it’ll happen. Pay close attention to the details and edge cases (When do teams find out if they’re in? Do they have enough time to get their robot home from Champs before the event? What do you do if a team declines the invitation, and what sort of deadlines do teams have?)

Our State Champs holds 30 teams, but we only send about half that number to FRC Champs each year. As a result, State’s becomes a pretty big deal for a lot of teams. Be ready to handle questions and complaints from energetic mentors/parents who feel that their team should have made it because of X. It comes with the territory.

19

Norman,

This is our first time attempting this event but to answer your questions:

  1. Our event is not yet sanctioned by the state. It is technically considered an offseason event.

  2. We are charging a fee to cover the costs of the event.

  3. All FRC teams in Missouri are eligible to qualify for the event.

  4. Our team is hosting the event but the planning committee is made up of several coaches from across the state and with our local regional director.

  5. Yes

  6. Contact the offseason events coordinator. If your event schedule allows it make sure that you can schedule it a minimum of three weeks after champs. http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/off-season-events

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Our event is organized through OhioFIRST. We just had our 2nd Championship this past May.

Yes, we charged a fee to cover the costs of the event.

Yes, all teams are eligible

I organized the 1st year event. Qualification was based on OPR. The 2nd year we had a larger planning committee and we used the District Point system for qualifications.

We were in touch with Our RD and FSM.

Make sure your teams know the event is going to happen so they have time to prepare. Our teams preferred the event occur in the spring time vs. later so that their entire team could be involved.