FTC-Qualifier Summary (02-04-2012) "Event Formally Known as the Blair Tournament"

This past weekend, was the final FTC-Iowa Qualifier for the 2011-2013 Bowled Over Season. What an experience! The event was scheduled to be in Blair, Nebraska, but due to inclement weather, it was moved to North High School in Des Moines. Check out the blog entry from Feb. 4, 2012: An FTC Adventure & Gracious Professionalism at its BEST!  Huge thank you to Team #3609 of North High School in Des Moines.
 
Award Winners
Think Award: Team #3550,  Beta, West Des Moines Schools, West Des Moines
Rockwell Collins Innovate Award: Team #5149, Robota, Union School District, LaPorte City
PTC Design Award: Team #4365, Robo Maroons, Dowling High School, Des Moines
Connect Award: Team #5084, BET, ITCOM, Cedar Rapids
Motivate Award: Team #5489, INTENTALO, Science Bound, Ames
Inspire Award: Team #3609, Polar Technics, North High School, Des Moines

Teams Who Advance (according to page 29 of the Bowled Over Game Manual)

1. Host Team: #3609, Polar Technics, North High School, Des Moines
2. Inspire Award Winner: Team #3609 - however, they received an invitation for being the host site.
3. Winning Alliance Captain: Team #5149, Robota, Union School District, LaPorte City
4. Inspire Award 2nd Place Winner: #3550 - however, they received an invitation to advance from a previous event.
5. Winning Alliance, 1st team selected - #3550 - however, they received an invitation to advance from a previous event.
6. Inspire Award 3rd Place Winner: #5489 - INTENTALO, Science Bound, Ames
7. Winning Alliance, 2nd Team selected - no team
8. Think Award Winner: #3550 - however, they received an invitation to advance from a previous event.
9. Finalist Alliance Captain: #3609 - however, they were the host site.
10. Connect Award Winner: #5084 - BET, ITCOM, Cedar Rapids

In summary, Teams #3609, #5149, #5489, #5084 will be invited to the FTC-Iowa Championship in February! Congratulations!



The FTC-Iowa team decided to expand the capacity of the FTC-Iowa Championship. This would allow us to invite four teams who could not compete at the new location in Des Moines. We did a random drawing, and those teams selected were:

#3517 - TechnoMafia, West High School, Sioux City
#4329 - The Wolfpack, Oelwein High School, Oelwein
#5445 - Upward Bound, Waterloo
#5611 - RoboBears, 4H Club, Blair, NE

Congratulations to all of the teams! 
Fun facts:

• Seven matches were over 100 points!
• One match ended in a tie (69-69)
• 8 teams competed, all teams had passed software and hardware inspection prior to opening ceremonies. (Received special permission from FIRST to have this be an official qualifier tournament.)
• All teams were selected during alliance selection.
• Teams were given 5 minutes "match-recovery" time, since many teams were competing in back-to-back matches.
• Each team competed in 6 matches. 
• Average match time was 8.91 minutes. 
• The picture shows a robot who lifted the create with one racquetball. However, the referees determined the majority of racquetball was not in the create - as it was balancing on the robot, so the elevation of the create did not count.
• Thank you to the wonderful high school students, faculty and administration at North High School. 
• Thank you, John Deere, for providing excellent volunteers on a very short notice.
• A Huge Thank you to Beta, Team #3550, who helped move the event to a new venue.

*Also, we would like to give a huge shout-out to the FTC-Iowa Volunteers who were along for the adventure of moving the event. Shaan Amin, Ben Dattilo, David Dellsperger, Dan Edwards, Carl Gloe, Jerry Lalor, Andy Marshall, Craig Martinson, and Leon Turner. Without these dedicated folks, we would have not been successful in moving the event to a different location. THANK YOU!

Next FTC-Iowa event: The Championship! Look for more information to come!

FTC-Iowa Qualifying Tournament: Registration Round #2

In order to allow teams to compete, and fulfill the criteria for the many team grants, we are implementing Qualifying Tournaments in Iowa.Teams MUST compete at a qualifying tournament to advance to the FTC-Iowa Championship.

1. Qualifier Tournaments - "Assignments" from Round #1
2. Qualifier Tournaments - Round #2 is Open
3. Amount of Space at Qualifiers
4. Scrimmage Events - Registration Open

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1. Qualifier Tournaments - "Assignments" from Round #1
Based on the information we received during Round #1, we have placed teams in the qualifiers they indicated they would be interested in attending. Please see the attached document.

A few things to keep in mind:

• At this time, we cannot make changes to the "assignments".
• If you do not see your team number on the attached sheet, it means you did not register during Round #1.

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2. Qualifier Tournaments - Round #2 is Open
To register for the Qualifying Tournaments, visit: k-12.engineering.uiowa.edu and under "FTC-Iowa Qualifying Tournaments" is information on how to register.
This is Round #2. It will close on October 20th.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Teams can select two events they would like to attend. These should be different from the event you were "assigned" to from Round #1. Again, after Round #2 closes, teams will receive their assignment based on their feedback.
• If a team DOES register for a second qualifier, they are committing to attending two events. (Example: A team does very well and earns a bit to compete at the FTC-Iowa Championship from a November qualifier event. The team has also signed up to attend a January qualifier. They are still responsible to attend the January event.) If a team does not attend the second qualifier event, which they have registered for, they will automatically forfeit their bit to the FTC-Iowa Championship.
  
• Each qualifier has a registration fee of $150, and they will be billed at the same time. (Invoices will be sent out after Round #2 closes.)
• Teams are NOT required to register/attend two qualifier events. If the team only wants to compete in one qualifier, that is just fine.

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3. Amount of Space at Qualifiers
Based on the information provided during Round #1, the following is how many OPEN spots are left at each Qualifier event.

• Nov. 19th event in Marion, Iowa: 2 spots remain
• Dec. 3rd event in West Des Moines, Iowa: 7 spots remain
• Dec. 17th event in Van Horne, Iowa: 9 spots remain
• Jan. 7th event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: 5 spots remain
• Jan. 21st event in Davenport, Iowa: 7 spots remain
• Jan. 28th event in Ottumwa, Iowa: 7 spots remain
• Feb. 4th event in Blair, NE: 11 spots remain

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4. Scrimmage Events - Registration Open
The best way to get practice before a qualifier is to attend a scrimmage event. We are very fortunate to be able to partner with several teams host three scrimmage events and they are:
Oct. 22: Oelwein, Iowa
Oct. 29: Ankeny, Iowa
Nov. 5: Solon, Iowa

Attending a scrimmage is at free, and teams get so much good information by attending a scrimmage.
Please sign up for scrimmages at: http://drupal.engineering.uiowa.edu/ftc-iowa-2011-events

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As always, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Good luck!

FTC-Iowa Qualifying Tournament: Registration Round #1

Qualifying Tournament Announcement

In order to allow teams to compete, and fulfill the criteria for the many team grants, we are implementing Qualifying Tournaments in Iowa.

Teams MUST compete at a qualifying tournament to advance to the FTC-Iowa Championship. To register for the Qualifying Tournaments, visit: k-12.engineering.uiowa.edu and under "FTC-Iowa Qualifying Tournaments" is information on how to register.

This is Round #1. It will close on Tuesday, Oct. 11. Round #2 will open on Friday, Oct. 14 and will go through Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011


Frequently Asked Questions

• What is a qualifier tournament?
  Qualifier tournaments are small tournaments between 12-16 teams competing. Teams compete in order to advance to the FTC-Iowa Championship.

• Is there a max of number of qualifiers for each team?
  Teams will be able to participate in 2 qualifiers. The idea: Teams should play early and play often.

• How do teams register?
  Teams have one week to register for their first qualifier tournament. We will close that registration after one week. The next week, the second round of qualifier registrations will open, which will close after one week. Teams and qualifier hosts will be notified as who will be attend the events.
  
• What happens if I do not sign up during these two rounds?
  If teams do not sign up for a qualifier event during the registration weeks, they will forfeit the opportunity to compete and will not be able to compete at the FTC-Iowa Championship.

• Payment Information
  After the two rounds to qualifiers close, teams will receive an invoice for the registration fees. Payment must be received before teams can participate in the qualifier tournaments.
  
• Other Information
  If a team registers for two qualifiers, and earns a bid to the FTC-Iowa Championship from the first one, they will still be RESPONSIBLE to attend the second qualifier. If a team does not attend the second qualifier, they will forfeit their bid to the Iowa Championship. As a Qualifier Tournament host, you are counting on having the registered teams attend.

Again, please visit: k-12.engineering.uiowa.edu and under "FTC-Iowa Qualifying Tournaments" is information on how to register.

Good luck!