FTC-Iowa: Championship 2011-2012

This past weekend was the FTC-Iowa Championship for the 2011-2013 Bowled Over Season. 
What an experience!

This event was held at the Iowa Memorial Union, in Iowa City Iowa.  We had 32 teams competing for a chance to be invited to the FTC World Championship in St. Louis in April. This was a very exciting tournament!!
 
Award Winners
Promote Award: #3550, Beta, West Des Moines
Think Award: Team #3549, Classified, Mt. Vernon Schools, Mt. Vernon
Rockwell Collins Innovate Award: Team #5466, Combustible Lemons, West High, Davenport
PTC Design Award: #458, Activate Go! Initiative, Mt. Vernon Schools, Mt. Vernon
Connect Award: Team #5084, BET, ITCOM, Cedar Rapids
Motivate Award: Team #3609, Polar Technics, North High School, Des Moines
Inspire Award: Team #3550, Beta, West Des Moines

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

1. Host Team: none
2. Inspire Award Winner: Team #3550, Beta, West Des Moines
3. Winning Alliance Captain: Team #458, Activate Go! Initiative, Mt. Vernon
4. 2nd Place Inspire Award Winner: Team #3549, Classified, Mt. Vernon

In summary, Teams #3550, #458 and #3549 will be invited to the FTC World Championship in April! Congratulations!


UStream
During the day, we live broadcasted the event via UStream. You can watch some of the videos of the matches, by visiting the site at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/state-championship


Interesting facts about the UStream: There were 227 Unique Viewers. Total viewing time: 249 hours, 24 minutes and 36 seconds. Each visitor watched for an average of 30 minutes. Cool stuff!!
Congratulations to all of the teams! 
Fun facts:

• Five matches had scores 300+ points!
• Nine matches had scores above 200-299 points!
• 19 matches had scores over 100-199 points!
• 32 teams competed, all teams had passed software and hardware inspection prior to opening ceremonies.
• We had three team alliances, so four teams advanced to the semi-final and final matches.
• Each team competed in 6 matches.
• Over 110 volunteers provided their time to make this day a great event! Thank you, Katie Mitchell and Andrew Bennett for coordinating all of the volunteers!

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!

An FTC Adventure & Gracious Professionalism at its Best!

Today (Feb. 4) was supposed to be the final FTC-Iowa Qualifier in Blair, NE. But instead, we had a great FTC Adventure and experienced Gracious Professionalism at its finest.

A team of the most fantastic FTC volunteers (Dan Edwards, Carl Gloe, Jerry Lalor, Andy Marshall, Craig Martinson and Rebecca Whitaker) traveled from Iowa City to Omaha, NE - about 250 miles west - on Friday morning. In the early afternoon we, along with FTC team #3550, had a speaking engagement at St. Wenceslaus School in which we presented to 400 students about FIRST.

After the presentation, around 2pm, we received a call from the Event Coordinator for the Blair event. Due to some projected severe weather, the venue decided to cancel all events for the weekend. This not only included the FTC-Iowa Qualifier, but also a high school sporting event.

We spent the next half hour investigating other potential venues and were unsuccessful.  We had to cancel the event. We felt deflated. We were sad/disappointed/bummed, etc. These teams had worked so hard on their robots and we couldn't do anything for them. By 2:45pm, we had sent an email and had called the teams and coaches. The volunteers were notified through appropriate channels (Judge Advisor notified the judges, Head Referee notified the refs, etc.). Additionally, we had to cancel our lodging arrangements as well as catering services for the event. Notifying the teams and volunteers was one of THE of the worst moments we have had all season.

Event was canceled.

We couldn't let the disappointment get to us. We still had an important meeting with the school administrators and teachers, at St. Wenceslaus about the importance of FIRST and the concept of Gracious Professionalism.

Thanks to the wonderful work and quick thinking of Emmaly Burkland, coach of Beta #3550, and Bryan Butcher, coach of #3609, Des Moines North High School we had an offer on the table. Des Moines North High School's facility was willing to be our surrogate host. We said yes! We were moving the event - about 120 miles east of Omaha, NE.

Time to recruit the volunteers! Where do you go when you need volunteers on a very short notice? John Deere! Within 30 minutes, we had 10 previously experienced FTC judges and volunteers. (We had several Rockwell Collins folks already lined up.) Team #3550 also provided some volunteers and we were ready to roll.

Event is back on!

Time to re-notify the teams! We understood if teams weren't going to be able to make it, but we wanted to give an opportunity for those that were able to make it. By 5pm, all the teams were contacted, again!

Gracious Professionalism at its BEST.

We cannot express the amount of gratitude to the administration at North High. Team #3609, the students and staff at North, did a fantastic job of planning a tournament (from notification to start of opening ceremonies) within 16 hours. It was amazing. They saved the day! The Booster Club was ready, the custodial service was ready, and we were going to have this event! Although not all of the teams could make the switch to Des Moines (their schools out homes also may have received a lot of snow), we had some very excited teams who were glad to make the switch! 

In the spirit of Gracious Professionalism, we decided to advance four teams from those who could attend the competition at Des Moines North, and four teams who could not. We will be having a 32-team competition in Iowa City on Feb. 25th.

In summary, the event went very well.  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

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!

Benton Community Qualifier (Dec. 17, 2011)

This past weekend, FTC-Iowa hosted a great qualifier! Wow! We were very impressed! Thank you, teams #3788, #4371, and #5153 - Benton Community High School for hosting this WONDERFUL event!

 
Award Winners
Think Award: Team #4626, Autobots, from Hudson, Iowa
Rockwell Collins Innovate Award: Team #4296, Disco Demons, from Davenport, Iowa
PTC Design Award: Team #3752, Falcon Nation, from Davenport, Iowa
Connect Award: Team #4177, Highland Robotics, from Riverside, Iowa
Motivate Award: Team #4371, Benton Community 2, from Van Horne, Iowa
Inspire Award: Team #5466, Combustible Lemos, from Davenport, Iowa

Teams Who Advance

Host team: Team #4371, Benton Community High School
Inspire Award Winner: Team #5466, Combustible Lemons from Davenport, Iowa
Captain of the Winning Alliance: Team #5466 -- however, since they won the Inspire Award, they had already advanced.
2nd Place Inspire Award: Team #4296, Disco Demons from Davenport, Iowa
1st Team Picked of Winning Alliance: #3572, Falcon Nation from Davenport, Iowa

Congratulations to all of the teams!

Fun facts:

• Two matches were over 100 points (26-113 and 116-36) and both were in the semi-final matches.
• Two matches ended in a tie, 5-5 and 22-22
• 16 teams competed, all teams had passed software and hardware inspection prior to opening ceremonies.
• One team scored the magnet ball! Check out the video.
• Alliance Selection was very exciting! The 7th ranked team became a Captain!
• Each team competed in 6 matches.
• Wanna see a video about a team being persistent? Hard work pays off for #5253 Check out the video!
• 40 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!!

FTC Team Blast #1: Welcome to Bowled Over!

Hello Teams,

This is the first official FTC-Iowa team email blast for the 2011-2012 season. Please share this and all other team email blasts with your team. Unless you have made other arrangements with me, the only people on your team that receive this email are the main and alternate team contacts that are listed in the FIRST Team Information Management System that was used to register your team with FIRST. All of the FTC-Iowa team email blasts are placed in an archive on the FTC-Iowa blog: http://ftc-iowa.blogspot.com/

Topics in this email include:

1. "Bowled Over" Kickoff
2. Tournament Structure for FTC-Iowa (New for 2011/2012)
3. New FTC-Iowa Website
4. Non-Competition Events are Open!


----------------
1. "Bowled Over" Kickoff

Welcome to "Bowled Over!" Thank you to all of you who were able to attend the FTC-Iowa Kick-Off Celebration on Saturday, September 10, 2011 at Vinton-Shellsburg High School. (Huge thank you to the teams who hosted, #3548, #4371, and #5153!) It was a great day!! If you were not able to attend, the game video, game manual and field bill of materials can be found at: http://www.usfirst.org/2011-2012-ftc-game-preview

----------------
2. Tournament Structure for FTC-Iowa (New for 2011/2012)

The FTC-Iowa program runs a two-tier tournament structure - local qualifying tournaments and a FTC-Iowa Championship. The Qualifying Tournaments are hosted in various communities, beginning on Nov. 19th, and will typically have between 12-16 teams competing. Approximately four teams, per qualifier, will advance to the FTC-Iowa Championship.

Attached is the FTC-Iowa Tournament Policies. In addition, they can be found on our website (k-12.engineering.uiowa.edu, click on "FTC" -->2011/12 FTC-Iowa Events --> Information about the Qualifier Tournaments)

Registration for qualifying tournaments will be performed through the FTC-Iowa web site starting in October.

If you have any questions about the Qualifying Tournaments, please do not hesitate to ask.

----------------
3. New FTC-Iowa Website

During the off-season, we have been very busy revamping the FTC-Iowa website. The new URL is k-12.engineering.uiowa.edu, and click on FTC.
The old "google site" eventually will be removed. If there are things you don't see on the new site, please let us know and we will make sure it gets over to the new site.

Please keep in mind, there are a few items on the new site that may change, eventually. This includes the specific URL and the "Home" button, which doesn't work, at this time. (In the mean time, please use your browser's back button).

----------------
4. Non-Competition Events are Open!
We encourage all teams to attend as many non-competition events as possible. If your team would like to register for the Skills Driving Event or any of the Scrimmages, you can do so at this time, via the new website. A listing of events is attached as well. Non-competition events are THE BEST way to improve your robot and see how other teams have taken on the "Bowled Over" Challenge.


Thank you and we look forward to a great season!

The FTC-Iowa Team