Tuesday Newsday - December 6 2022 ... (Sent via Google Group)
Vince Frascella
Greetings Newsletter Subscribers and FTCNJ Coaches
This email is being sent to everyone on the existing Newsletter Distribution list.
As always, you can very easily opt-out from receiving it. (See that process at the bottom of this email.)
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.
HEADLINES:
New Coaches Meeting (Zoom) held on Dec 1st
Upcoming Zoom Caucuses – Student Leaders Caucus on Dec 16th
STEM Girls Tech-Talk-Topic Survey … Input Requested from All
Quick Links:
LEAGUES, CONFERENCES and TEAMS
FIRST NEWS
FTCNJ News
LEAGUES, CONFERENCES & TEAMS
Season Plan – Conferences
There 4 Leagues in FTCNJ with each comprised of 2 Conferences of 20-25 teams, organized by county. (Shown on attachment)
All teams in a League may compete at any Meet within that League, regardless of Conference.
Only in February’s League Tournaments must teams play only at their Conference’s season-ending tournament.
POWERPLAY Season Team Registration
173 of the 177 have registered; 4 potential Rookie Registrations are pending.
157 of the 173 are returning teams … and 16 registered rookies.
WELCOME Rookie Teams!
· A big WELCOME to our 16 brand new teams, below.
o 22822 (Yellow Jackets) - Hackensack
o 22810 (Pequaautobots) – Pompton Plains
o 22704 (Robo-Redwings) - Hoboken
o 22504 (STEM Robotics) – South Orange
o 22348 (Minds of Steel) - Robbinsville
o 22261 (Hornet Blue) - Holmdel
o 22219 (MORT JR) – Budd Lake
o 22062 (Cyber-Tigers) - Tenafly
o 22050 (Pirate Robotics) – Egg Harbor City
o 21995 (Aquinas Trojans) - Edison
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
COMPETITION NEWS
West Caldwell Tech Hosts Full-Day NE Edge League Meet – December 3rd
Team #11180 did a great job of hosting the second FTCNJ competition in their beautiful facility.
Being bigger than last year’s event necessitated placing 4 teams into classroom pits. It worked nicely!
Beaks n’ Bolt student volunteers set up the venue is a flash and took nice care or Reset and Queuing.
The event finished well ahead of schedule which was great for those with heavy Sunday plans.
At day’s end, here are League standings:
Northeast Edge League Rankings….
#1-11180 (Beaks n Bolts)
#2-18051 (Robotic Llamas)
#3-8405 (Millburn Robotics)
#4-10785 (Highlanders)
#5-10874 (Lions)
Bravenators Hosted Southern League Meet in their Large Gym – December 4th
Due to construction in the traditional location, the Meet was moved to the larger gym at Williamstown MS.
Teams flowed into the competition area from the cafeterias on either side of the gym. Very fast paced event!
Thanks again to Team #9533 Bravenators and their supporters for the solid job of hosting.
FTCNJ appreciates the perennial support of this site …a long time host.
Following this Meet, here are the League standings:
Southern League Rankings….
#1-16139 (The Martians)
#2-7149 (Enforcers)
#3-18241 (Outer Galaxy)
#4-6934 (TranSisters)
#5-9848 (Gearview)
Coming Up … Completing this coming weekend’s two events brings us to the Halfway Point in the FTCNJ Meet Season!
On Saturday, December 10th, NanoGurus once again host the “Holiday Meet”. This is the first time back since the pandemic.
There are 27 teams confirmed to participate in this very large Upper-Central League Meet.
On Sunday, December 10th, we head to Oradell for a very large Northern League Meet at River Dell High School.
We are delighted to have Team #4215 Hypnotic Robotics hosting again. It has been several years and all are looking forward to being back.
This is another very large event, with 26 teams competing. As we move forward, almost all events will be two field affairs …
Period #2 (Nov-Dec)
Spectator Policy
o For Period #2, the spectator cap has been removed for large gym venues.
o FTCNJ is asking for no more than 10 spectators per team when Meets are held in cafeterias or small gyms.
o Venue sizes vary, of course. If a team has any question or is anticipating many spectators, contact FTCNJ for discussion and resolution.
Period #3 (Jan)
Added Optional Features
· Teams participating in Saturday Meets in January may partake of optional in-person “Practice Judging”.
o While it does not affect advancement or earn a trophy, the face/face judge interview is very good practice for the February events.
· Teams participating in Sunday Meets in January may partake in optional “Elimination Matches”.
o Again, this added feature does not affect advancement but does provide teams with experience in Alliance Selection ….
· In both cases, the added features are strictly optional.
League Tournament Season (Feb)
· In-Person Judging at all eight League Tournaments
· Remote Dean’s List Interviews taking place during select February weeknights
Meet Registration
If you are a coach who has not submitted your Event Requests yet, please do it now …or let FTCNJ know the nature of your problem.
Here is the Registration link that coaches can use. : Event Registration and Acceptance Criteria - FIRST Tech Challenge - New Jersey (newjerseyftc.com)
FIRST NEWS
World Championship Allocations
New Jersey has been allocated three advancements to the World Championships in April (Houston)
FIRST TECH CHALLENGE New Jersey News
New Coaches Zoom
Kudos to the new Coaches who took the time to attend this very informative Zoom on December 1st.
Special thanks to Bala K and Narmada K who talked through several of the key processes and answered all questions.
Attendees remarked during the session that they were finding it extremely helpful. That is great to hear!
We realize that there is a lot involved in managing an FTC team through a successful and enjoyable season.
Congrats again to all of our first-time coaches, …those directing rookie teams and those taking over an established teams.
We’ll poll folks in the near future to see if there is interest in a January Follow-Up “New Coaches Zoom”.
Dean’s List Plans
Similar to last season, Dean’s List interviews will be performed remotely again this year.
FIRST has been advised that our Dean’s List “remote event” is February 15th. That allows us to conduct interviews throughout February.
It also means Coaches must submit their DL Nominations by the 15th day of the preceding month (i.e., January 15th).
The Remote Interviews, themselves, will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings during the first 3 weeks of February.
Depending on the number of nominations, interviews will extend to the 4th week in February, or will include Thursday nights.
FTCNJ will once again hold Orientation Sessions for Coaches (on Nomination Writing) and for Dean’s List Interview volunteers.
More to come, but coaches should be reviewing the material provided by FIRST and start considering candidates now.
Information about the Dean’s List can be found on the FIRST website: FIRST_Robotics_Competition_Deans_List_Award_Guide.pdf (firstinspires.org)
STEM Girls Tech-Talk Survey
For the past 2 years, the Tech-Talks have been “virtual” as a result of the pandemic. This year, the in-person Tech-Talks return.
The season will include a combination of short lunchtime Tech-Talks at competitions and a few full-sized Tech Talks via Zoom.
Please help the STEM Girls planning efforts by answering the questions on this survey. https://forms.gle/FnbHYCc95toj69AU8
They are interested in gathering input from coaches, mentors, team members, and other interested parties. You!
We STILL have received very sparse response to the on-line Survey thus far. Please take a moment to give your input on desirable topics.
Counting on our Coaches and the engaged student community to provide some thoughts here.
While still asking all Tuesday Newsday readers to take the Survey, the STEM Girls have also reached out at last weekend’s Meets.
Members the Tech Talk Team were assisted by girls from two other STEM Girls Initiative Teams and were very successful.
Between the Saturday and Sunday events, nearly 50 hard-copy survey responses were received.
The general mix of topics is fairly balanced between Programming topic areas and Mechanical Design topic areas.
Part Fabrication topics drew fewer votes but almost all were interested in “creating g-code for CNC equipment”.
Within each of the general categories, the girls collected great input on specific topics of interest.
All will be discussed at the Tech Talk (EMPOWER) Team’s monthly Initiative Meeting on December 9th.
Then, the course of Tech Talks can be set. Stay tuned … and provide some input via the link above, if you’ve not done it yet.
Coaches Caucus (Held Dec 2nd) … 1st Friday of the Month
New and veteran coaches met at 8pm on December 2nd to discuss topics of mutual interest.
Thanks to the Coaches who participated. The key topics of interest were Event Experiences and Challenges ….and Dean’s List.
Are you a coach who is missing out on these discussions? Join us next time and see what it’s like!
The next Coaches Caucus is 8pm on January 6th.
Captains Caucus (December 16th) … 3rd Friday of the Month
Coaches should encourage student leaders to attend. Notes are distributed to attendees and their coaches following the sessions.
Thanks to our Breakout Room Leads on Nov 18th … Vincent F (Judging Topics), Quinten S (Mech Topics), Eldrin B (Team Mgmt Topics).
Are you a Student Leader? You should join us on these 3rd Friday of the Month Zooms.
Coaches should really consider sending their captain(s)! There is a lot of very smart and very useful information exchanged.
The next Captains Caucus is 8pm on December 16th. Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEscuivqz0vHNXjC24qAoE7pDyDFBgXNFCr
Tips from FTCNJ Head Refs
1. Boost your TieBreaker Points 1 by designing and printing your own Sleeve to go over the Signal. This enables you to try to score the 20-Point Signal Bonus.
IMPORTANT: Handwriting or other changes on the Sleeve after it is printed makes it ineligible for the Signal Bonus.
2. Increase your TieBreaker Points 2 by designing a Beacon (that a Team’s Human Player introduces during End Game). This enables you to try to own a Junction by capping it.
IMPORTANT: The predominant color of the Beacon designed by a Team must match the Team’s assigned Alliance for the Match (Red or Blue).
Also, taped up cups are not legal Beacons - that is, the Beacon may not resemble any POWERPLAY scoring elements.
Our next newsletter will be on December 13th
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