FTC-Iowa Team Blast - Week #20

Good morning, teams!

We are about 32 days until the FTC-Iowa Tournament.

You are receiving this e-mail because you are a coach or an assistant coach for an FTC-Iowa team.

1. January Status Report
2. Scrimmage -- attend at least one!
3. Championship Inspection times are published
4. "Get Over It" Game Manual

--
1. January Status Report
We are seeking for all teams to complete a monthly status report for January. With very little time remaining until the tournament, this feedback will help us get to the teams who need help.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dDF4UHJzTUNlVjhVellzdDF3SkM1RXc6MA#gid=0

We are asking for ALL TEAMS to complete this report.
--

2. Scrimmage - attend at least one!
Scrimmages are the best way to get some experience before the competition. We have a few events left and they are filling fast.
Here is the website for the dates/times/locations of our next scrimmage events: https://sites.google.com/site/ftciowacoaches/project-definition/Events

An example of the importance of a scrimmage: This past weekend, a team thought they were all prepared to run in the matches. However, once they started their match, the robot was not working how it was suppose to. After a complete examination, they noticed the wires were mixed up and were attached to wrong motors. They spent time fixing this problem and after a few hours, the robot was working appropriately. If this had happened during the tournament event, they would have been missing several of their qualification matches and may not have done as well as they wanted.

--
3. Championship Inspection times are published
Based on the information you provided when you registered for the FTC-Iowa Championship, we scheduled inspection times according to your arrival window.
You can view your inspection time at: https://sites.google.com/site/ftciowacoaches/project-definition/ftc-iowa-championship/2011-championship-registrations

--
4. "Get Over It" Game Manual
Please remember, it is your teams' responsibility to know the Game Manual. It is recommended teams bring a printed copy to each event.
The current version (v.4) of the Game Manual can be found at: http://usfirst.org/uploadedFiles/Robotics_Programs/FTC/Game_Info/2010/Game_Manual.pdf

----

As always, if you have missed a FTC-Iowa Team Blast, an archive of these messages are located on our blog: http://ftc-iowa.blogspot.com/

Thank you,
Rebecca Whitaker & FTC-Iowa team

Need help with RobotC & Templates

If your team is using RobotC and needs help with their templates, check out the site from Team Duct Tape #2845.

Check out the RobotC resources

Click here for Team Duct Tape's Website

CAD Drawings for FTC Parts

Did you know you could download the entire FTC and FRC kit of parts and fields modeled for PTC Creo Elements/Pro (Formerly Pro/ENGINEER)? Well you can. 

Check out the link here: http://www.catalogds.com/db/service?d=first&c=browse

FTC-Iowa Team Blast - Week #17

Welcome back, Coaches!

You are receiving this e-mail because you are a coach or an assistant coach for an FTC-Iowa team.
(Have you missed a FTC-Iowa Team Blast? An archive of these messages are located on our blog: http://ftc-iowa.blogspot.com/)

We hope the winter break treated you and your team well. (Also, we secretly hope you were able to meet with your team during the break as well.)

1. December/Early January Monthly Status Report
2. Scholarship Opportunities
3. Scrimmage Information
4. FTC Forums
5. Seeking volunteers for Tournament
6. Helpful Hints to FCS Success and Samantha Mounting Guidelines

------
1. December/Early January Monthly Status Report
Please take a few minutes to complete the December/Early January monthly status report. It can be found at:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dDgzcktrTjhldTROMFBjX0dRRy00bXc6MA#gid=0
This report will be open until Tuesday, Jan. 11th.

Remember, if you are a coach for multiple teams, please submit one report for each team.

--
2. Scholarship Opportunities
Did you know by participating in FIRST, students qualify for scholarships that they otherwise would not get access to? This season, over 128 organizations are offering 853 scholarships worth over $14 million! That's a lot of financial aid to FIRST students! Check it out at: http://usfirst.org/aboutus/scholarships.aspx

The University of Iowa College of Engineering is also very pleased to be able to offer FIRST scholarships as well. New for this season, the UI College of Engineering will be offering multiple scholarships to students, each worth a total of $16,000! Please encourage your students to apply, as the deadline is January 31, 2011. Information about these scholarships can be found at: http://www.engineering.uiowa.edu/sdc/scholarships/ECE-first.php

--
3. Scrimmage Information
On Saturday, we will be hosting our second scrimmage of the season. We are very excited to see the progression of the teams.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Scrimmages have capacities, and for some scrimmages, capacities have been met. It is important for your team to register to attend a scrimmage (https://sites.google.com/site/ftciowacoaches/project-definition/Events)
• During a scrimmage, we will be inspecting robots and running matches. Please be prepared for an inspection and running matches.
• Many of these sites are hosting a scrimmage as a nice gesture. Please encourage your team members to be respectful of the hosts' property and their time.

--
4. FTC Forums
Does your team have a specific question about a game rule? Does your team need help with the engineering notebook, want more information about the awards or wonder what happens during inspections? Does your team have questions about Samantha? If you answered any of these, then please check out the FTC Forums (http://ftcforum.usfirst.org/)

The Forums is THE official place to go for answers to your questions. Also, did you know that you can print information from the forums? Check it out!

--
5. Seeking volunteers for Tournament
As you may know, volunteers are the heart of FTC. Volunteers are critical to the success of a tournament. We are currently seeking volunteers for the FTC-Iowa Championship tournament on Feb. 25/26. If you know of any parents who are planning to attend the tournament, we'd love to have them help out! Please encourage all interested person to sign up at: https://sites.google.com/site/ftciowa/volunteers
An e-mail address has been set up for any correspondence about volunteering. ftc.iowa.volunteer@gmail.com

--
6. Helpful Hints to FCS Success and Samantha Mounting Guidelines
Attached are two very important documents. Please review them as they have helpful of information in the contents.

If you are interested in purchasing a router to help with your Samantha module, we found a great deal at Tiger Direct: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6747454&Sku=L48-2771
(Please note, we are not requiring teams to purchase this particular product from this vendor, but found this deal and wanted to pass it onto the teams.

---


Thank you, coaches, and please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions.
Rebecca Whitaker & FTC-Iowa team

Follow us on Twitter: ftc_iowa
Friend us on Facebook: ftc.iowa