Team Essays in TIMS: Don’t forget to complete the Team Essays within the Judge’s Info field in TIMS before the upcoming deadline tonight, 2/23/12 at 8 pm ET.  Completing your Team Essays gives the judges additional information to use when evaluating your team for an award at your competition event.

Note: If your team took a photo of the robot before it was bagged and tagged, please upload a picture of your robot using the Robot Picture field which is located in the Judge’s Info section in TIMS. This will allow the judges a quick “look see” about specific features when deliberating the awards.  If you did not take a photo,don’t panic!  The judges will be stopping by your Pit station, as well as seeing your robot in action.  If they have specific questions about your robot they will ask.

The time has come—Week One of FRC Regional/District Event Season starts next week!  Please remember your Team Roster and any paper-copy Consent and Release Forms.  Remember, electronic Consent and Release forms “cover” individuals at all 2012 FIRST competition events (students and their parents access the electronic form in STIMS; adult mentors in TIMS ).

If anyone on your team opts to submit a hard-copy Consent and Release form, please download at: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/first-student-team-information-members-system-and-consent-form and follow instructions for submission located in the “Process Overview Document”.

Michigan (FiM) and MAR (Mid-Atlantic Robotics) teams will find instructions specific to their Consent and Release form submissions in the “Process Overview Document” as well.

Print your Team Roster! No matter which method you choose (electronic or hard-copy), you MUST print off your Team Roster from TIMS and bring it with you to your Kickoff, and your initial Competition event.  To print the Team Roster:

1)    On the Team Summary page in TIMS, scroll down to the “Student/Roster” field.

2)    Click “View” next to Team Roster.

3)    Click Printable Roster.

4)    If you have any students/mentors who are providing hard-copy forms, please write in their names on the printed roster and attach their Consent and Release forms.

For more information about the 2012 Consent and Release Form, including FAQ’s and a helpful Process Overview, please visit: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/first-student-team-information-members-system-and-consent-form.

News from Autodesk: We have recently posted the details on the 2012 Submission Process for the Excellence in Design Award (3D Design & 3D Animation categories). We encourage teams to register and understand how to submit their entries well in advance of the March 30^th submission deadline. Click here for details.

Autodesk Inventor Specialist Phil Dolan has posted the second and third installments in his FRC Webinar series: Fast Tracking Your Robot Design and Getting Started on the Excellence in Design Award.

Autodesk, Inc. is always looking for bright, enthusiastic and knowledgeable talent, which is what brings us to the FIRST mentors and coaches for help.

Our Sustainability team has two interesting positions open that they need to fill quickly. The application deadline is Feb 27: Click here for requirements and application information.

Return of Tuesday Email Blasts: Please note that in an effort to get important information out to teams in a timely fashion during the competition season, we will send out our weekly email blasts on Tuesdays instead of each Thursday starting next week.  Don’t forget to check your email and the News & Email Blasts Page (http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/emailblastarchive.aspx) early and often for the latest FRC News!  

Go Teams!

FRC Team Support

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2012 

The 2012 Jr.FLL World Festival Expo is taking place April 27, 2012 in St. Louis!  This year is going to be a fantastic full day event.  Is your team interested in attending? All teams are invited to submit anapplication!  If you are interested, the deadline for applications is Feb 24, 2012.  **Invitees are chosen from applicants via lottery.

Brain Buster

What does FIRST® stand for?

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology

Base Set Blues

The Base Set and all its elements can seem very overwhelming, especially if you have never built anything out of LEGO® elements that has a motorized part. Don’t worry! Don’t fret! Help is here!Check out this video on building a motorized car. Our Coach Resources page gives tons of info on what to do with LEGO elements and simple machines. Also, your base set includes the LSP Special Activities & Jr.FLL Guide that gives instructions on building both a motorized car and chair swing.

**For those that purchased the Base Set in a previous year or are not planning on purchasing a Base Set you can purchase the LSP 8 Pack & LSP Special Activities & Jr.FLL Guide separately from LEGO Education using the links found in the Team Information Management System where you registered your team. If you would like to purchase a Base Set it can be found using the links as well. Remember, you can only order 1 Base Set per registered team.

Impact

What is the greatest impact Jr.FLL has had on your team? Hit “Reply” and let us know!

Twitter?

Would you like Jr.FLL to have a Twitter feed? Please let us know by taking our poll! We’d like to know your opinion.

Questions?

As always, if you have any questions at all drop us a note at jrfllteams@usfirst.org.

Helpful Links

Links - YouTube Jr.FLL Marketing Tools TeamUP! Forums

Email - jrfllteams@usfirst.org

Phone # 1-800-871-8326 x 0

The event was notable for many reasons – from having the highest number of competing teams ever, 32 – to generating the still

standing World Record high score in the Bowled Over game: 584!  (Check out video of the match here!) The event ran smoothly, with great energy, enormous fun and ridiculously high robot lifts!

Embry Riddle also gave out scholarships worth $20,000 each, over four years, to 12 FTC students.

Here’s the complete tournament results list, from the FIRST Tech Challenge Florida Championship held at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical

Pyramid o' Refs

University in Daytona Beach, Florida on February 18, 2012.

Winning Alliance

• 4997 (Alliance Captain) Masquerade
• 1369 Minotaur
• 5454 dent in the universe

Finalist Alliance

• 506  (Alliance Captain) Pandara
• 3101 BoomBots
• 516 Schrodinger’s Army

Judged Awards

• Inspire Award – 5454 dent in the universe
• Rockwell Collins Innovate Award – 1369 Minotaur
• PTC Design Award – 516 Schrodinger’s Army
• Think Award – 5018 Team Brick Buddies
• Connect Award – 2845 Team Duct Tape
• Motivate Award – 4997 Masquerade
• Judges Award – 5070 N.U.T.S.

FTC Teams 2845, 4997, and 5454 qualified for the World Championship.

Congratulations to all the great teams who made it to the State Championship, and many many thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who made the event possible! See you in St. Louis!

They’ve worked hard – competing in a record nine qualifying tournaments, and making their way to the top in a field of over 60 FTC teams across the state.  Now it’s all on the line for a bid to the FIRST World Championship in St. Louis, MO in April!  These top teams will each compete in five qualification matches for a total of 40 qualification matches to see who makes into the Finalist Alliance matches.

To sweeten the experience further, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is offering 12 scholarships to participating teams in the FIRST Tech Challenge, Florida Championship.  Teams have been asked to submit their nomination forms at the Embry-Riddle admissions display in the ICI Center’s lobby by 2:00pm on Saturday. The scholarship will have a value of $5,000/yr. ($20,000 educational benefit) for selected students.  How cool is that?!

You can see the whole thing Livestreamed at http://www.flfirst.org/Florida_First_Tech_Challenge/Stream.html , where you can also see the day’s schedule and find a list of State Championship teams.

Go Teams!!

Upcoming Senior Mentor Calls: Don’t forget that the Robot Transportation Checklist Call is taking place tonight @ 7 PM EST.  Additionally, the FRC Competition 101: Getting Ready for your Regional Call will take place on Thursday, 2/23 @ 7 PM EST.  For call outlines and call-in information, please visit: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/frc-senior-mentor-teleconference-recordings.

Award Submission Reminders: Don’t forget that submissions for the Chairman’s, Woodie Flowers, and Website Awards are due by 2/16/12 at Noon EST in STIMS.  Additionally, Dean’s List Award submissions are due in TIMS by 2/16/12 at Noon EST.  Read more about all FRC Awards: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/awards

Robot Stop Build Day-2/21/12: On this day your team MUST stop work on your robot and seal it in the bag provided in your Kit of Parts, with the tag from your Kit of Parts. You may work on your robot until midnight local time, but the seal must be on the bag when the clock strikes midnight! You will also need to complete the Robot Lock-Up Form:http://www.usfirst.org/sites/default/files/uploadedFiles/Robotics_Programs/FRC/Game_and_Season__Info/2012_Assets/Robot_Lock-Up_Form.pdf. Please note: Robot Lock-Up forms will be inspected upon arrival at your event.

Details on the process are available in section 5 of the Administrative Manual- Robot Transportation: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/competition-manual-and-related-documents.

2012 FIRST Robotics Conference- Call for Proposals: FIRST is seeking presentation proposals for the ninth annual FIRST Robotics Conference. 45-minute workshops on topics of interest to FIRST Robotics (FRC), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) and FIRST LEGO League (FLL) teams, coaches, mentors, students and prospective leaders will be accepted.  The deadline to submit is 2/17/2012. For the submission form, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/89vj2hm. For full details, please visit: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/firstplace/workshops-and-conferences.

Airline and Car Rental Discount Programs for FRC Teams: For information about these discount programs, please visit: http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/travel-discounts.

Autodesk Webinars: Autodesk Inventor Specialist Phil Dollan has created a series of webinars to help teams using Inventor during the FRC 2012 season. Watch the first in the series, “Getting Started,” here.

Brandeis Executive Summary: Brandeis University has released findings from research it conducted on FIRST programs. Check out all the good stuff the researchers had to say here:http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/impact.

PTC and National Instruments Webinars:  Come join PTC and National Instruments every Thursday Night from 7-9 PM EST to talk about FIRST Robotics, to answer questions and learn new information about programming, controls, kinematics, data management, etc. Go towww.ptc.com/go/firstrobotalk to register and then listen in for exciting tips and tricks for this year’s competition. You can also send in questions that will be addressed in the next webinar.

Go Teams!

FRC Team Support

FIRST® is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) Not-For-Profit Organization

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Team leader Hala Essenmacher reported, “The event was lots of fun and a big success. We had so many kids and parents there and I could tell that they were all really excited. We brought our robot, 12, from the 2009 game, Lunacy. Students got to roll the balls at the robot which would drive around and pick them up.

“We also brought our tee shirt shooting robot that we use at all of our home football games. We shot Krunch and Safety Harbor tee shirts off into the crowd every so often.

“Also we had an information booth where we had some fliers for FIRST and Krunch 79 where we answered people’s questions and told them about FIRST. Once the crowd started to die down we let some of the kids drive the robot a little, with safety glasses of course. One boy was even dressed as an astronaut. Everyone had a great time. “

Way to go, Team Krunch!  Thanks so much for sharing your story and the great photos!

Jr.FLL introduces children to the concepts of teamwork and basic design skills, creating an initial interest and hands-on approach to science and technology through the familiarity and fun of LEGO building. Jr. FLL also introduces families to the FIRST philosophy and the concept of Core Values.

President Obama will celebrate the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions nationwide. The President will also announce key steps that the Administration and its partners are taking to help more students excel in math and science, and earn degrees in these subjects.

During the White House Science Fair, the President will salute the following FIRST students:

– Three FIRST teams who won the 2011 FIRST(R) Robotics Competition Championship: Team 254 “The Cheesy Poofs” from San Jose, Calif.; Team 111 “WildStang” from Schaumburg, Ill.; and Team 973 “Greybots” from Atascadero, Calif. Students who will represent the winning alliance will include: John Harrison Drake of Arlington Heights, Ill.; Eric D. Bakan of Mountain View, Calif.; and Sean Wesley Murphy of Atascadero, Calif.

– A second FIRST program team, FIRST(R) LEGO(R) League (FLL(R)) “The Flying Monkeys,” an all-girl team from Ames, Iowa, and the winners of the inaugural FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award (2011), will include representatives: Kate Murray, Gaby Dempsey, and Mackenzie Grewell, all of Ames, who were part of a team that designed, tested, and produced a prosthetic hand device (now patent-pending) to help a three-year-old hold a pencil and draw for the first time.

– Members of the distinguished ‘Christopher Columbus Award’ winning team, from Mont Vernon, N.H., represented by Anthony Edvalson, will also be representing FIRST. The team’s award-winning work was based on its research project from the FIRST LEGO League “Smart Move” season in 2010/11.

– FIRST Robotics Competition Team 1311 “Kell Robotics” will show their “beyond FIRST” invention called ORCA (Oil Recovery and Capture) – a robotic oil skimmer for coastal estuaries. This project was funded by a Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant. Representing the team are: Carlie Schulter of Kennesaw, Ga. and Mathew Tompkins of Acworth, Ga.

“It’s an honor to have students from two of our four FIRST programs recognized at the White House,” said Jon Dudas, president of FIRST. “Kids are natural innovators and FIRST helps kids create innovative solutions to real-world problems within an intense, fun robotics sports competition model.”

The President will view exhibits of student work, ranging from breakthrough research to new inventions, followed by remarks to an audience of students, science educators and business leaders on the importance of STEM education to the country’s economic future. The White House Science Fair will be live streamed on whitehouse.gov/live.

FIRST Student Responses on Going to the White House:

– FIRST LEGO League student, Mackenzie Grewell from Ames, Iowa, “FIRST has changed my life through all of the things that we have been able to do because of FIRST, like going to California and now the White House!”

– FIRST LEGO League student, Kate Murray from Ames, Iowa, “I want to be a mechanical engineer when I grow up. I want to design cars to be more fuel efficient and/or rely entirely on wind or solar energy. I am super excited to go to the White House!”

– FIRST Robotics Competition student and Team Captain, Sean Wesley Murphy of Atascadero, Calif., “I am greatly honored. I feel that I have been representing FIRST for a long time on a smaller scale and now on a big scale, and I am excited to do so at the White House.”

– FIRST Robotics Competition student John Harrison Drake of Arlington Heights, Ill., “This is a once in a lifetime experience. It’s special because we have been invited by President Obama because of our team’s accomplishments. It is also significant because we strive to be a model for FIRST teams through our Gracious Professionalism(TM) and the way we organize our teams.”

Follow: FIRSTweets, #omgrobots, #sciencefair, @whitehouseostp and @whitehouse

About FIRST(R)

Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST (R) (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500 companies and more than $14 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST (R) Robotics Competition (FRC(R)) and FIRST(R) Tech Challenge (FTC(R)) for high-school students, FIRST(R) LEGO(R) League (FLL(R)) for 9 to 14-year-olds, (9 to 16-year-olds outside the U.S., Canada, and Mexico) and Junior FIRST(R) LEGO(R) League (Jr.FLL(R)) for 6 to 9-year-olds. Gracious Professionalism(TM) is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org .

FIRST(R), the FIRST(R) logo, FIRST(R) Robotics Competition, FRC(R), FIRST(R) Tech Challenge, and FTC(R) are registered trademarks, and Gracious Professionalism(TM) is a common law trademark, of the United States Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST(R)). LEGO(R) is a registered trademark of The LEGO Group. FIRST(R) LEGO(R) League, Junior FIRST(R) LEGO(R) League, FLL(R), and Jr.FLL(R) are jointly held trademarks of FIRST and The LEGO Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. (C)2012 FIRST. All rights reserved.

140 INVENTIONS AND COUNTING!

Two weeks since we began accepting submissions for the FLL Global Innovation Award and already there are so many great ideas!  Now that the FLL season is winding down, gather your Food Factor Project information and submit it at http://fllinnovationaward.firstlegoleague.org. The winning team will have the chance to work with Edison Nation to learn about what it takes to bring a product to market. All FLL teams are eligible to enter. So what are you waiting for? Submit your invention today!

Vote Early, Vote Often and Remember the Gracious Professionalism

For the teams who have already submitted their ideas – keep promoting! Remind friends and family that they can vote every day, but we do not allow any form of automated voting. While voting is a fun and interactive way to get your invention noticed, we would like to remind all teams that voting alone will not determine the winner. Please review the FAQ called “How will the winners be determined?” found here: http://fllinnovationaward.firstlegoleague.org/faq-page  Even if you haven’t entered, be sure to support other teams and vote for your favorite submission.

*The FLL Global Innovation Award is optional and in no way affects the judging outcome of official FLL Qualifiers or Championships.*

What’s Next for You?

Are you an FLL team member who is graduating from the program this year? Share your favorite FLL memory with us! You can post a short video on Youtube to share what FLL means to you. Let us know what you plan on doing next. Not sure? FIRST ®Tech Challenge (FTC ) is the natural next step to build on all that you’ve learned from your FLL experience. Please visithttp://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ftc for more information on how you can continue the fun into your high school years.

 Yippee for Volunteers

FLL could not operate without them! The volunteers in your area are the ones who make FLL happen. They share their time, knowledge and support to the best of their abilities to give you the best FLL experience possible. Be sure to show them the Gracious Professionalism they deserve and thank them for all they do.

*THIS EMAIL IS FROM FIRST LEGO LEAGUE HEADQUARTERS. BE SURE TO WATCH FOR EMAILS FROM YOUR LOCAL PARTNER.*

With High 5’s and Admiration,
FLL Team Support
Stay Connected with FLL!
Twitter (@firstlegoleague)| YouTube (youtube.com/fllglobal)|FLL Blog (fllblog.wordpress.com)

FIRST(R) LEGO(R) League (http://firstlegoleague.org) | fllteams@usfirst.org | +1 603-666-3906 x0, +1 800-871-8326 x0 | FIRST(R) (http://usfirst.org) - 200 Bedford Street – Manchester NH USA 03101