Tuesday, January 31, 2012

This past weekend, Team #4144, Engineer Imagineer, with collaboration from Hills Community College, hosted fantastic FTC-Iowa Qualifier.
 
Award Winners
Think Award: Team #4144,  Engineer Imagineer, Girl Scouts from Ottumwa
Rockwell Collins Innovate Award: Team #3608, Oskaloosa High Team #1, Oskaloosa
PTC Design Award: Team #5253, Decepticons, Hudson High, Hudson
Connect Award: Team #5340, Warriors, Waukee High, Waukiee
Motivate Award: Team #5047, Bionic Bulldogs, Ottumwa High, Ottumwa
Against The Odds (Coaches Award): #4237, Central Lee Robotics, Central Lee HS, Donnellson
Inspire Award: Team #4156, Wildcat Robotics, Central City HS, Central City

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

  1. Host Team: #4144, Engineer Imagineer, Ottumwa
  2. Inspire Award Winner: Team #4156, Wildcat Robotics, Central City, Iowa
  3. Winning Alliance Captain: Team #3608, Train, Oskaloosa HS, Oskaloosa
  4. Inspire Award 2nd Place Winner: #3608 - however, they received an invitation to advance from previous criteria.
  5. Winning Alliance, 1st team selected - #4443 - Oskaloosa HS, Oskaloosa
In summary, Teams #4144, #4156, #3608, and #4443 will be invited to the FTC-Iowa Championship in February!

Media Reports from the day:
"Robotics Reign Supreme During FTC Qualifier Event", Ottumwa Courier, Jan. 30, 2012


Congratulations to all of the teams!
Fun facts:
  • One match was over 200 points!
  • Twelve matches were over 100 points!
  • 18 teams competed, all teams had passed software and hardware inspection prior to opening ceremonies.
  • Each team competed in 6 matches. 
  • Average match time was 7.04 minutes. 
  • The picture shows a robot, tipped on its side, but still able to raise the create!
  • A HUGE Thank you to the wonderful volunteers, including high school students, college students, recent college graduates, professionals, and retirees. Thank you!
Thank you to Jeff Henderson of Team #4144 for being the Event Organizer. Also, thank you, Hills Community College for hosting this event!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Davenport Qualifier (1/22/2012)

This past weekend, the Quad City Engineering & Science Council (QCESC) with support from the Putnam Museum hosted a fantastic FTC-Iowa Qualifier. Due to severe weather on Friday, Jan. 20, the Qualifier was pushed to Jan. 22, and despite of the delay, it was a great event!

 
Award Winners
Think Award: Team #5174,  Clinton River Kings, Clinton, Iowa
Rockwell Collins Innovate Award: Team #4296, Disco Demons, West High, Davenport
PTC Design Award: Team #5466, Combustible Lemons, West High, Davenport
Connect Award: Team #3549, Classified, Mt. Vernon, Iowa
Motivate Award: Team #3866, NC 90 Degree, North Cedar High, Stanwood
Rookie Team of the Year (Coaches Award): #5280, Regal Robots, Regina HS, Iowa City
Inspire Award: Team #458,  Activate Go Initiative!, Mt. Vernon HS, Mt. Vernon

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

  1. No Host Team
  2. Inspire Award Winner: Team #458, Activate Go Initiative!, Mt Vernon HS, Mt. Vernon
  3. Winning Alliance Captain: Team #5466 - however, they received an invitation to advance from a previous event
  4. Inspire Award 2nd Place Winner: #3549 - however, they received an invitation to advance from a previous event.
  5. Winning Alliance, 1st team selected - #4296 - however, they received an invitation to advance from a previous event.
  6. Inspire Award 3rd Place Winner: #5466, however, they received an invitation to advance from a previous event
  7. Winning Alliance, 2nd team - #5094, Those Guys, Blackhawk County 4H, Waterloo, Iowa
  8. Think Award Winner: #5174, Clinton River Kings, Clinton HS, Clinton, Iowa
  9. Finalist Alliance Captain: #3788 - Benton Community #1, Benton HS, Van Horne, Iowa
In summary, Teams #458, #5094, #5174, and #3788 will be invited to the FTC-Iowa Championship in February!




Media Reports from the day:
"Teams gather for robot fight for qualifying spots", Quad-City Times, Jan. 22, 2012
"Davenport West teams excel at robotics", Quad-Cities Dispatch, Jan. 22, 2012
"Local students compete in statewide technology competition", WQAD.com, Jan. 22, 2012 (38 second video)


Congratulations to all of the teams!
Fun facts:
  • One match was over 200 points (214-18)!
  • Eleven matches were over 100 points!
  • 21 teams competed, all teams had passed software and hardware inspection prior to opening ceremonies.
  • One team raised the crate to the 9th level of the match stick - multiple times!
  • Alliance Selection was very exciting! The 7th ranked team became a Captain!
  • Each team competed in 5 matches. 
  • Average match time was 6.7 minutes.
  • A HUGE Thank you to the wonderful volunteers, including high school students, college students, recent college graduates, professionals, and retirees. Thank you!
Thank you to Patrick Barnes of John Deere for being the Event Organizer. Also, thank you, Putam for hosting this event!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Cedar Rapids Qualifier (1/7/2012)

This past weekend, FTC-Iowa hosted a great qualifier! Wow! We were very impressed! Thank you, Kirkwood Community College for hosting this WONDERFUL event!

 
Award Winners
Think Award: Team #5063,  Tipton High School, Tipton, Iowa
Rockwell Collins Innovate Award: Team #5062, Advanced, Solon, Iowa
PTC Design Award: Team #4324, Super Ninjas, Linn-Mar High School, Marion, Iowa
Connect Award: Team #4150, Outrageous Finger Socks, Linn-Mar High School, Marion, Iowa
Motivate Award: Team #5153, Benton Community High School, Van Horne, Iowa
Inspire Award: Team #4258, Bomb Squad, Jefferson High School, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Teams Who Advance (according to page 29 of the Bowled Over Game Manual)
  1. No Host Team
  2. Inspire Award Winner: Team #4258, Bomb Squad from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
  3. Winning Alliance Captain: Team #4258 - however, since they won the Inspire Award, they received an invitation
  4. Inspire Award 2nd Place Winner: #4324 - however, they received an invitation to advance from a previous event.
  5. Winning Alliance, 1st team selected - #4324 - however, they received an invitation to advance from a previous event.
  6. Inspire Award 3rd Place Winner: #5153, Benton Community High School, Van Horne, Iowa
  7. Winning Alliance, 2nd team - none
  8. Think Award Winner: #5063, Tipton High School, Tipton, Iowa
  9. Finalist Alliance Captain: #367 - Organized Chaos, Solon High School, Solon, Iowa
In summary, Teams #4258, #5153, #5063, and #367 will be invited to the FTC-Iowa Championship in February!


Congratulations to all of the teams!
Fun facts:
  • Two matches were over 200 points (61-205 and 209-26)!
  • Seven matches were over 100 points!
  • 16 teams competed, all teams had passed software and hardware inspection prior to opening ceremonies.
  • One team raised the crate to the 9th level of the match stick!
  • Alliance Selection was very exciting! The 7th ranked team became a Captain!
  • Each team competed in 7 matches.
  • A HUGE Thank you to the wonderful volunteers, including high school students, college students, recent college graduates, professionals, and retirees. Thank you!!!
Thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers, mentors, coaches and teams. This event went tremendously smooth! Thank you!!

Friday, January 6, 2012

FTC Team Blast #5: Qualifier Tournaments | LabView Code Fest (1/16/2012) | FTC Success Stories | Forums | Promote Award

Hello, Teams:
We hope you all had a wonderful and safe Holiday & A Happy New Year!
2012 is going to be an excellent year for FTC in Iowa.

A few items for this message:

1. Qualifier Tournaments

a) Tournament Update
b) Remaining Events
c) Hosting Events for 2012-2013
2.LabView Code Fest: (Jan. 16, 2012)
3. FTC Success Story
4. Questions About Specific Rules: Forums
5. New Award for 2011-2012: Promote Award

1. Qualifier Tournaments

1a) Tournament update:

Wow! Qualifier Tournaments are going very well. A HUGE Thank you to the wonderful volunteers and the event coordinators!! They have done, and continue to do, a fantastic job!  Thank you, teams and coaches, who took on the stress of hosting a Qualifier Tournament.
Teams that we've seen at the Qualifiers, have also been very impressive! Kudos all around.
Check out the FTC-Iowa blog for a summary of the events: http://ftc-iowa.blogspot.com/

Qualifiers will be the norm in Iowa!

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1b) Remaining Events
We have received an interest from many teams, who want to attend additional tournaments. Although we would like to try to accommodate these requests, the remaining events are full. If additional spots open up, we will notify teams as to how to register.
Please view the site at: https://drupal.engineering.uiowa.edu/ftc-iowa-qualifier-tournaments-2011-assignments

Seeking Volunteers! If your students/mentors/coaches are not competing, but would like to watch an event, we would love to have them as volunteers!
Volunteers can sign up at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&pli=1&formkey=dEdlcUJaT0lONS1nSHkzdjhDUm1mZWc6MA#gid=0

1c) Hosting an Event for 2012-2013
Are you interested in hosting an FTC event for next season? Many of the coaches/mentors have expressed an interest in hosting an event, either verbally or via e-mail. Even if you have expressed an interest, please send an email to Rebecca Whitaker (rebecca-whitaker@uiowa.edu) with the Subject: "2012-2013 FTC Host Event Request" so the requests can be collected - with the location (address), potential dates, etc. We will then collect these requests, look at the calendars, and go from there. Thank you, in advance for your interest and desire to host FTC events!
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2. LabView Code Fest: Jan. 16th

FTC teams who use LabView, or are interested in using LabView, are invited to attend the first ever FREE!! Code Fest! Monday, Jan. 16th at The College of Engineering from 10am-4pm. More information, including the goal of the event, is in the attached flier. RSVP to Andy Marshall (andy.marshall@ni.com) Coaches, mentors and students are invited to participate.
~Exciting Stuff!!~

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3. FTC Success Story
FTC National is looking for success stories from the teams and students who participate in FTC. Please send stories, brief or long, to stories@usfirst.org. They'll be kept as confidential as you like with names and team numbers used or not based on your preference. Feel free to share as much detail as you'd like - your privacy will be protected if you'd like to remain anonymous. We would love for Iowa teams to submit their success stories!!

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4. Questions About Specific Rules: Forums
Does your team have questions about specific rules which are confusing or are not defined in the Game Manual? Check out the FTC forums. (http://ftcforum.usfirst.org/)
FYI: The most recent version of the Game Manual is #4, dated 11/28/2011
The rulings on the forums are final. Teams are responsible for knowing the information provided.

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5. New Award for 2011-2012: Promote Award
All teams, regardless if they are invited to compete at the FTC-Iowa Championship, are encouraged to submit an entry for the Promote Award. Information can be found at: http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ftc/promote
Now is the time to get stock footage of your team in the building/competing phase of the season.
Details about how to submit a video to FTC-Iowa will be sent at a later date.


Thank you all!
The FTC-Iowa Team