FTCNJ Tuesday Newsday - Sept 13 2022 ... (Sent via Google Group)
Vince Frascella
Greetings Newsletter Subscribers and FTCNJ Coaches
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Remember that the updates are shown in blue bold text. If you are a weekly reader, you can just quickly scan the BLUE to see what is NEW.
The black text is included for completeness sake and for our new readers.
ON THE HORIZON:
Southern NJ Workshops at Moorestown Friends School (Sept 24th) ß Is your team planning to attend? Let veteran mentors and teams help train your members!
October 1st & 2nd Outreach Event ß “Raritan Valley Science & Technology Showcase”. We are now just 3-4 teams short of our goal for this huge FIRST event.
Practice Day Events ß Making great progress on your bot, or need a hand? These 3 events are a great opportunity to get your robot ready in October before official Meets start.
Quick Links:
LEAGUES & CONFERENCES, TEAMS & HUBS
COMPETITION NEWS – KICK OFF & MEET REGISTRATION
FIRST NEWS
FTCNJ NEWS – STEM Girls, Control Hub Plan
OFF-SEASON ACTIVITIES
Southern NJ Workshops (In-Person … Sept 24th at Moorestown Friends School)
Registration OPEN for these free September Workshops. Coaches can register at: Upcoming Events - FIRST Tech Challenge - New Jersey (newjerseyftc.com)
Here are the 8 Day-Long Track Offerings at the Sept 24th Workshop
1. Basic Robotics Hardware w/ Build-a-Bot Hands-On
2. Beyond Basics / Advanced Hardware Topics & Showcased Teams
3. Introduction to Programming /using OnBot Java
4. Advanced Programming Topics including Function and Code Review by Top Teams
5. Blended Topics Track / Providing new students and adults with a great sampling of Roles & Activities on an FTC Team
6. Coaches & Team Leader Track / Featuring Team Organization & Mgmt Topics, plus Fundraising, Finding Sponsors, etc
7. Specialty Parts and Materials with a Focus on 3D Printed Parts
8. Introduction to Onshape and Hands-On Help to get your started on this year’s ro
bot modeling. ß exercises include starting a model on this year’s bot
Raritan Valley Science & Technology Showcase (October 1st/2nd)
FTCNJ has been invited to provide a full FTC Outreach area for this event at the Bridgewater Common Mall.
Interested mall-patrons are invited/directed to the areas of interest. This is a great Outreach opportunity for all FTCNJ teams!
We need ~4 more teams! Check out the description of 4 FTC Exhibition Activities and the Layout Concept on the attachment.
This will be the largest Outreach Event of the coming season. A big deal. If interested in helping with this Outreach, contact vfras...@aol.com
The following teams have stepped up to support the big event:
1. 7026(Jdroids)-Saturday
2. 7040/8812(Cyber Falcons) - Saturday
3. 7350 Watt NXT – Say Watt Robotics) - Saturday
4. 8812 (Cyber Raptors)-Saturday
5. 9889 (Cruise Control) – Saturday
6. 11697 (TECH-tonic) - Saturday
1. 6037(WAGS)-Sunday
2. 6934(Transisters)-Sunday
3. 9848 (Mechanical Pioneers) – Sunday
4. 16367 (Krypton Warriors) - Sunday
5. XXXX (Gearview or Green Machine) – Sunday
6. 12636 (IHA Blue Eagles) – Sat or Sunday TBD
Optimum staffing is 6-8 teams each day. We are currently ~halfway there.
Can your team step up to be part of this outstanding Outreach opportunity? We will be holding an evening Planning Meeting within the next week. Want to join us?
Note: While we’d love you to bring a Freight Frenzy robot to demo, or a partially completed Power Play robot, but …
…. since 2 of 4 activities are displays or driving zones, teams can still participate without a robot!
Practice Days (October 2022)
Making progress on your PowerPlay Robot? Need help? Need time on an official PowerPlay Field? Practice Days can help with all of this!!!
Similar to Outreach Scrimmages, these are unofficial events at which students can “compete” in the afternoon and tinker on bots in a stress-free environment in the morning.
The event will feature an official PowerPlay field and teams wll shaking out the new year’s “PowerPlay” robots. Bring that robot, no matter what shape it is in.
· Registration is NOW OPEN for all three October Practice Days. They are geographically spread, but sign up for the one that works best for you.
· Coaches can register via the FTCNJ website “Upcoming Events” page, … or here’s a direct link to the form (below):
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd98FKnY-3OpWcnbw3SNl4iKA9Ax4l-OwG_Sk5JfKe8BJaZeA/viewform
o “Central NJ Practice Day” – Sunday October 23rd. Co-hosted by Highland Park OWLS and Princeton STEM Academy Teams at Highland Park High School.
o “Southern NJ Practice Day” – Sunday, October 16th. Co-hosted by Toms River FTC Teams at Toms River High School North.
o “Northern NJ Practice Day” – Saturday, October 15th. Payne Tech, 498 West Market St, Newark, NJ
LEAGUES & CONFERENCES, TEAMS & HUBS
Season Plan – Conferences
Once again there will be 4 Leagues in FTCNJ with each comprised of 2 Conferences of 20-25 teams, organized by county.
Remember, all teams in a League may compete at any Meet within that League, regardless of Conference.
Coaches! – Check the county cross-reference below and take care to register for Meets in the correct League/Conference. Mistakes cause costly delays.
Only in February’s League Tournaments must teams play only at their Conferences season-ending tournament.
FTC NJ League / Conference Structure ß The FTCNJ Team “Pin Map” has been updated and can be found at: Team Map - FIRST Tech Challenge - New Jersey (newjerseyftc.com)
It shows locations of currently registered teams in 4 Leagues, superimposed on the map of New Jersey.
North East Edge League
· North East Conference: Hudson, Union, North Essex (Caldwell, Livingston, Montclair, Nutley)
· South Essex Conference: Bloomfield, Maplewood, Millburn, Newark, South Orange, West Orange)
Northern League
· Far North Conference: Warren, Sussex, Passaic, West Bergen (Glen Rock, Ramsey, Ridgewood, Saddle River, Township of Washington)
· East Bergen Conference: (Cliffside Park, Cresskill, Demarest, East Rutherford, Emerson, Englewood, Hackensack, Lodi, Oradell, Paramus, Park Ridge, Rutherford, Tenafly)
Upper Central League
· Central Conference: Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex
· Morris County Conference: Morris (All)
Southern League
· Upper South Conference: Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean
· Deep South Conference: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Gloucester, Cumberland, Salem
POWERPLAY Season Team Registration OPEN
95 of the 103 are fully registered; while eight registrations are pending.
89 of the 95 are returning teams … and 6 fully registered rookies.
As of this moment, 169 FTCNJ Teams have registered or confirmed their intent to do so for the upcoming season.
WELCOME Rookie Teams!
· We are delighted to have the following new teams join us….
o 21807 (Incinerators) – Edison
o 21767 (Quadra) - Edison
o 21630 (Argonauts) - Somerset
o 21505 (HHS Robotics FTC Raiders) - Hillsborough
o 21480 (C3 Loco-Motors) - Elmer
o 21226 (RoboRaiders) - Hillsborough
Expansion Hubs for our Rookie Teams!
· Super kudos to the veteran teams who’ve stepped up to loan Expansion Hubs…
o 11241(Blue Steel)
o 7149…(Enforcers)
o 16367(Krypton Warriors)
o 14481…(Princeton STEM)
o 12601 (RoboStorm)
o 7040…(Cyber Falcons/Raptors)
o 17009 (Steel Magnolias)
· We are expecting the September rookies. Better build a buffer.
· Need more Hubs. Can your team loan a spare?
COMPETITION NEWS
September 10th Season Kick-Off ß 2 Events Accomplished!
Thanks to all who made the two Kick-Off Events such a success. We’ve heard nothing but positive feedback about both events.
Special thanks to our returning hosts … Livingston High School (host of the Northern NJ Kick Off) and Hightstown High School (host of the Southern NJ Kick Off Event).
It is so great to have the Kick-Off Events in person again, after two years of Remote Kick-Offs.
A super job by our Auditorium Program Emcees, our Head Ref Q&A Crew, our Technical Directors, our Breakout Forum co-Leads and all of our Showcase Booth teams.
Needless to say that there were other people behind the scenes who handled Check-In, Ticket Distribution, Food Concession, Set Up & Tear Down
Thanks again to all for a wonderful job! Here we go!!!
State Championship – March 12, 2023
The FTC New Jersey State Championship will be held on Sunday, March 12th
In-Person Judging is anticipated at the State Championship, as well as at League Tournaments.
It is also our goal to have “Practice Judging” at four of the Period #3 Meets; one for each League.
Season Plan - Meets & League Tournaments
· Have you submitted your Meet Request yet? Now is the time to pick your primary event in each of 3 competition timeframes. Don’t forget your Bonus Event requests.
The attached “Executive Summary” shows the dates and locations of the events. The attachment replaces the long list that appeared in previous Newsletters.
The number of unconfirmed sites has dropped from 3 to just 2 events. Thanks very much to all of our returning hosts and our many new hosts!
We are delighted to welcome back Millburn Robotics this year, as an FTC team and as host of the January 14th Meet at their location.
Continuing to pursue confirmation of the final two competition sites.
FTCNJ is again holding six Meet choices per League (3 Saturdays, 3 Sunday). Teams can pick three plus apply for bonus Meets.
Event Registration opened at Noon on Sept 12th . Already over 140 teams have submitted their requested events. Date/time stamps matter.
Events are filling quickly. Here is the Registration link that coaches can use. : Event Registration and Acceptance Criteria - FIRST Tech Challenge - New Jersey (newjerseyftc.com)
Remember that you CAN submit your requested events EVEN IF your team is not yet fully registered and paid. Don’t get left out. Submit your events asap.
FIRST NEWS!
Kickoff Sweepstakes - ~2 Days Left!!!
Re-registering your team soon? Do it asap, on or before September 15th, to be included in the sweepstakes described below.
Four winners will receive a 2022-2023 POWERPLAYSM presented by Raytheon Technologies partial game set and scoring elements.
All teams need to do to enter is complete their 2022-2023 FIRST Tech Challenge team season registration before September 15, 2022, for a chance to win the 2022 Kickoff Sweepstakes.
The sweepstakes prize package includes one (1) 2022-2023 FIRST Tech Challenge POWERPLAY season partial game set and scoring elements, a total approximate retail value of $290.
If a team has already completed their FIRST Tech Challenge season registration for this season, they are already entered into the sweepstakes.
FTC SIM Grant
This opportunity was brought to our attention by our FIRST Senior Mentor, Chris N.
Rookie FTC teams who leverage the FTC SIM tool, developed in Canada, may want to check this out! https://www.firstroboticscanada.org/ftc/sim/grants/
Participants need to use the FTC SIM tool to do the exercises in this block-based (or Java) programming that's relevant to FTC, and earn "lightning bolts" that go towards the grant eligibility.
There are a limited number (140) of these $1000 grants available, so teams should act soon if they want to be a recipient.
Note: Has any team pursued this opportunity? Are any of our teams using FTC SIM (either the Canada or Illinois version).
FTCNJ would like to know the level of use and level of interest out there. Please let us know if you are a user, and believe that this topic should get more visibility.
FIRST TECH CHALLENGE New Jersey News
Coaches Caucus Returns
The Coach Caucus has come off of hiatus and resumed on Sept 2nd. The voluntary Zoom occurs on 1st Fridays of the month.
New and veteran coaches met at 8pm to discuss Kick Off, Workshops, and other topics of mutual interest.
Thanks to all of the Coaches who attended and participated on September 2nd.
The next Coaches Caucus is October 7th. https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvcOGorD4oH9dFMuNZqDZqfuuyune3TTzr
Captains Caucus Returns … (09/16) … Students Only, Please.
As we move into September, the Captains Caucus is coming off of hiatus. The voluntary Zoom session is 3rd Friday of the month.
Captains and Team Leaders will be meeting at 8pm to discuss Workshops, Practice Days and other topics of mutual interest.
Based on Registration Question Responses, the hot topics are: Build/Mech Design (41%), Team Mgmt (29%), Pgm’g (18%), CAD (15%)
Here is the Registration Link for interested Captains & Team Leaders: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUsceqvrTsvGdMEdriuVvQeQDFfQEoNwq0S
Control Hub Shortage – FTCNJ Community Support Plan
FIRST has issued a call for veteran teams to graciously “share a spare” and advise their PDP (i.e., FTCNJ) if they are able to loan their spare.
Beyond that FTCNJ is creating a pool of spare Expansion Hubs that can be loaned to a rookie, or a Donor/Loaner veteran team overnight, in a pinch.
Details: 5-Point Plan
1. FTCNJ is compiling a list of teams that are willing to be Donor/Loaners. (That means lending your spare Expansion Module into our pool for rookie teams.)
2. FTCNJ will match the need of the rookies with the maintenance of the pool. Responding veteran teams (based on date stamp) will be asked so send in their Hub, as the need is determined.
3. Any team which is officially requested to loan their Hub, and does so, will receive 50% off of next year’s FTCNJ Season Fee.
4. If a team that has loaned its spare Expansion Hub suddenly finds themselves in urgent need of one, FTCNJ will ship an emergency replacement.
5. At season’s end, or when the Controller Hub situation is resolved, Expansion Hubs will be sent back to all teams who graciously loaned one.
If your team has a spare Expansion Hub and is interested in getting onto the Donor/Loaner List, please write back to vfras...@aol.com
We currently have two Loaner Hubs left and seven Temp Number Teams with potential needs. More Loaners are needed, if you are able.
VOLUNTEERS – Tech Crew Initiative
Hoping to see more folks step up to assist in the Tech Crew. The October Practice Days coming up are another opportunity to serve, and learn.
Coaches interested in learning more about FTA and FTAA volunteering, please let us know. Our growing Program can surely use the help!
In-Person Event Policy
Last year, among other things, FTCNJ had a “mask mandate” in place; this season we are considering “Masks Optional” unless required by the venue.
We will defer to the venue and pass along any other requirements, as they are known. FTCNJ events will comply with any tighter requirements set forth by the venue.
While spectators will be allowed this year, headcount limits may be in place for smaller venues based on team count and space.
Hoping for a continuation of a return to normal during the coming season.
Excess Material Request
If you are a team that has successfully made the switch to the Driver Hub and have excess Android phones, FTCNJ has a good home for them
Whether they are legal or no longer legal (e.g., ZTE’s), your old phones have value to FTCNJ if you would like to donate them. A thought! Thanks.
Thanks to Blue Steel (Howell FTC) and Princeton STEM Academy for the donation of Android Phones J
Thanks also to Cyber Falcons and Cyber Raptors for their donation of Android Phones. We have plenty now.
STEM GIRLS News!
STEM Girls Supporting Workshops
The STEM Girls not only presented Tech Talks at the Aug 20th Workshops in Kean, they have committed to come back again to help out at the Sept 24th Southern NJ Workshops!
STEM Girls Supporting Kick Off Events
Beyond Workshops, with the help of WAGS and the Jdroids, STEM Girls Tables were staffed at both the Hightstown and Livingston Kick Off events.
If you are one of the folks who visited the STEM Girls at either Kick Off, you can opt in via the link below or send an inquiry to this address.
STEM Girls New Season – Opt In
In addition to welcoming all of the girls who have opted-in following the Sept 10th Kick Off, it is time for returning STEM Girls to opt-in for the new season.
Unless you have opted-in since the closure of the Freight Frenzy season (e.g., April 30th), you should opt-in now to continue your connection with the STEM Girls organization.
Otherwise, per FIRST policy, the email addresses of STEM Girls participants during our previous season will be deleted (“forgotten”) within the next week.
Don’t get disconnected if your interest continues. We’d hate to lose someone that way.
Simply use the link below to “opt-in” and receive the periodic notices of STEM Girl Happenings!. You can “opt-out” at any time!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfca5j11yjtAW6OJmRzbbwKyrSOrt8a5tty9SojZkwYLJLvCw/viewform
Our next newsletter will be on September 20, 2022.
If you have any questions, comments, or needs as you read this newsletter, simply write back and we’ll be happy to assist.
Making that comment here, rather than embedding it throughout the long newsletter above.
Thanks again for the interest in FIRST Tech Challenge New Jersey and being part of our community
Thanks much, Vince Frascella
FIRST Tech Challenge New Jersey