Out here in Washington State it is very likely that we will have snow and (because we have … limited snow clearing equipment) a few inches means everyone panics and schools & roads close, etc. Which means that our remote kickoff may be canceled . Does that mean that FIRST will not let us pick up our kit of parts, even if we miss the kickoff broadcast? When kits of parts are handed over to remote kickoff locations, does possession transfer to the team that’s organizing the kickoff or does it go to FIRST-hired (or volunteer) staff? What has happened previous times when remote kickoffs were canceled?
I’m pretty sure not all teams actually attend a kickoff event, and that those who don’t are able to make alternative arrangements to pickup/have delivered their kit of parts. If there is a concern, you should talk to the organisers of your local kickoff. At any rate, you will be able to get the kit of parts; it just may be a bit delayed compared to other teams who were able to attend a kickoff. FIRST is pretty good at planning for this sort of thing, so you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
If your’e really worried, you may want to contact a FIRST representative about this. As said above, they may have encountered the situation before. Good luck with the weather. Is there perhaps a possibility of reserving an emergency backup location that isn’t closed, if there is such a thing in your town?
Many a year have we plowed through the snow and ice to the NH Kickoff. I would be shocked if there wasn’t alternate plans in place due to weather - your team leader would probably have the information about being contacted in case of emergency.
last year 1368 did not attend their remote kickoff and their parts went back to FIRST…when they contacted FIRST they had been told their parts were given to other teams to fill missing item requests…hope this helps
If you think that just getting to the remote kickoff in bad weather is your biggest weather related problem…think again I think it was 2 years ago when there was a huge ice storm here in NH and the NASA truck with that satellite couldn’t get to the kickoff site…when it did there were lots of transmission problems due to the blizzard like conditions
Figured I’d throw that in there just for nostalgia sake.
You will get your KOP, it just may be a few days after other teams. Honestly though, you don’t need the KOP the first day, or probably even the first week. Then again, I came from a team who believed the robot had to be finished by the last match of championships…
I think that was last year, could be wrong though. I remember sitting at my friend’s house who had satellite tv, and we saw the FIRST Logo, and heard audio, but it took a while for them to get the video equipment working (something along the lines of it was frozen inside of the truck is what I remember).
i am not/have never been on 1368…and from what I have heard they did end up competing, but they got sent the controller and not much else and had to purchase whatever else they needed…but im not 100% on that…
The remote kickoff in Seattle is, to my knowledge, being shown on a tape-delay. That will provide a few extra hours for road clearing on Saturday morning if it does end up snowing.
Maybe it isn’t a bad idea to decide upon an alternate location to view the web simulcast of the NASA TV broadcast that is closer to Bellevue if you are concerned that the 520 floating bridge will be a parking lot. You’d have to wake up earlier to see it live at 7 AM, though.
I’d love to see it snow on Friday or Saturday. It’s hysterical to watch the entire city become paralyzed by 2" of snow.
If we are unable to get to the remote kickoff, what do we do to keep something like this from happening, is there a specific person/department at FIRST to contact?
I’d try calling whoever is in charge of your kickoff and explaining the situation to them. Chances are they’d understand and would probably be able to help find a way to get your kit of parts to you (even if it is a few days later).
If that doesn’t work, you could try talking to a team that you know will be in attendance. Maybe they’d be able to pick up your kit for you and deliver it if you authorized them to?
(I’m in high school…and I don’t quite know how it works. I’m just trying to help, but don’t take my word as the truth…)
You should have your main team contact get in touch with your Kickoff Coordinator ASAP. If you cannot pick it up tomorrow make sure they know that. If you are going to have another team pick it up for you then it MUST be cleared with FIRST. The deadline for doing so was a while back but FIRST was allowing teams to send in letters releasing their kit to another team today. If FIRST has not receive this letter your kit won’t be released to another team and most likely will go back up to NH. Good luck.
I know this is a little off topic but I didn’t want to start a whole other thread. The remote kickoffs in other time zones, say in Arizona, are at the respective times of the broadcast right? So the kickoff in Arizona starts at 8am?
You should check with those organizing your local Kickoff, but presumably they’ll be starting at 8 AM in Arizona. In Seattle, they’re running a tape delay of three hours, so we’ll start things here at 10 AM PDT (or PST…whichever it is).
The AZ kickoff event, held at the home of team 991, will start at 7:00 am and the simulcast will start at 8:00, weather permitting (oh wait, we don’t have any weather).
. Does that mean that FIRST will not let us pick up our kit of parts, even if we miss the kickoff broadcast? When kits of parts are handed over to remote kickoff locations, does possession transfer to the team that’s organizing the kickoff or does it go to FIRST-hired (or volunteer) staff? What has happened previous times when remote kickoffs were canceled?
I think it was 2 years ago when there was a huge ice storm here in NH and the NASA truck with that satellite couldn’t get to the kickoff site…when it did there were lots of transmission problems due to the blizzard like conditions 
