Tuesday Newsday - October 26 2021 ... (Sent via Google Group)
Vince Frascella
Greetings Newsletter Subscribers and FTCNJ Coaches
Here is our weekly update on our “Freight Frenzy” Season. New information is shown in blue text.
Welcome to all of our new coaches/subscribers. If you have any questions about you are reading, below, just drop us a line. Glad to explain.
Pre-Season Practice Days Accomplished
On Saturday, October 23rd, the third and final Practice Day of the season was held.
A big Thank You to our Toms River host, our volunteers, … and the teams that came out to tinker and mini-scrimmage.
We were actually able to conduct five 4-robot matches and a “Southern Practice Day Finals Match”
Great progress and participation by all teams. Now, … looking forward to the start of official Matches on October 30th.
ON THE HORIZON:
Saturday, October 30th “Haunted Harvest” Northern League Meet at Lenape Regional HS (1st In-Person Meet since 2019!)
Wednesday, November 3rd ADVANCED PGM’G – Added Feature (Intro to FTC “Machine Learning Tool”)
Friday , November 5th November Coaches Caucus
Tuesday, November 23rd Initiative Teams & “STEM Girls Get-Together”
More detail on all of the above (and links) appear later in this document.
Quick Links:
Remote Sessions / Training Videos
REGISTRATION STATUS
Team Registration Status
Currently, 175 teams have either registered their team with FIRST or have advised FTCNJ that they are definitely planning to re-register.
We now have 155 fully-paid/registered teams and 20 that have yet to register. Hopefully, most of them will do so very soon.
Welcome 19 New Teams!!
FTCNJ would like to give a warm welcome to all of the new teams joining our FTC community.
FTCNJ Season Fee
Each FTC New Jersey team is asked to pay $100 to support the cost of the events and associated materials.
Within ~1 week of registering a team with FIRST, the coach will be sent the $100 invoice, mail-to address, etc.
Unlike many other states, FTCNJ has never charged for any single-day competitions, with the exception of $200 for the State Championship.
This year, that $200 State Championship fee is being eliminated. Hopefully, all understand/support this shared-expense approach to the season.
League/Conference Assignments
Assignment to Conferences / Leagues are based on county of team registration. This information is posted on the FTCNJ website and shown in the attachment.
Newark Public School (NPS) Teams
Today, we received sad news that the NPS team schools will not be allowed to travel to Meets in 2021.
This affects at least 8 of our Newark teams. FTCNJ is assessing the impact. If the situation changes, we will gladly have them join us in 2022.
Any impact should be limited to the Northern League’s February tournaments. Let’s hope the NPS teams can join us by then, precluding any change.
Northeast Edge League
It is also noteworthy that the growth of the Bergen County Conference (31 teams) has far outpaced its sister Northeast Conference (10 teams).
While there is no impact on the full season’s League Meets, FTCNJ will offer a number of Bergen teams (by date stamp) the opportunity to compete in the Northeast Conference L/T.
This will help to balance the February events (i.e., avoid having one League Tournament overloaded at 30+ teams while the other League Tournament has ~10 teams).
Of course, the Conferences will be recomputed at the start of next season to take into account this large population of Bergen teams. Kudos Bergen!
LEAGUE / SEASON OVERVIEW ….plus ULTIMATE GOAL SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Under this heading, we have been providing a link to a recording from a Coaches Caucus that gave an Overview of the League Structure and Events.
By way update, we have replaced that link with this one, from the Sept 18th Kick Off. Skip the first 2 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2zLmO5uz8Q
The first ½ of the ~20 minute video reviews last season highlights; the last ½ is a more detailed update of this season’s event.
Event Registration Status
The percentage of teams registering for events has risen from 92% to 95% in the past week. Continuing to reach out to the last few teams.
Here is the direct link for Event Registration …. http://www.newjerseyftc.com/upcoming-events.html If your team has not yet registered, please do so at once.
Following registration, headcount information will be solicited as we assure that we are safely within venue caps
Reminder …. Naturally, teams are using the FTCNJ Registration System to select Preferred Meets, Bonus Meets and/or to say “Not Ready”
One more option is to select a Closed Meet in order to be “Wait Listed” for it. There is no assurance of “Wait Listed” teams getting in but that is an option too.
Teams not realizing this option can still do it now by submitting a “Change”. Wait Listed slots and Bonus slots are assessed ~2 weeks prior to the event dates
COMMUNICATIONS
Coaches Caucus … (November 5th)
We are once again coming up on the first Friday of the month and time for another Coaches Caucus.
New Coaches, in particular, should be taking advantage of these sessions.
This time, we will be meeting just before the big two-event weekend (Sat Meet at Howell, Sun Meet at Montclair)
It will be great to hear about teams’ situation, preparations, and advice to share.
Here’s the Registration Link for Coaches: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvfu-grDgtH9VCROphYAqHDmqYi9v91Oya
Captains Caucus … (November 19th)
For those unacquainted, the monthly student-led meeting is an opportunity for student Team Leaders / Captains to meet and share best practices.
Breakout Groups are used and various leadership challenges and great ideas are discussed and documented.
The next Captains Caucus will be November 19th (3rd Friday of the Month) at 8pm. Coaches are strongly urged to send their leaders.
Here is the Registration Link for Team Leaders: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAuce6hrT0vEtYQU_58rgOjnAc-SC0rPygk
COMPETITION NEWS
It is understood that all competitions are presently planned to be in-person events, but subject to change if pandemic conditions make it necessary.
We’ll keep everyone posted of any change, and all events will have a re-confirmation date 2 weeks prior to the event date.
The Season Calendar is updated on the FTCNJ Website to show event dates by League. http://www.newjerseyftc.com/season-calendar.html
Venue have now been found for all of the planned competitions. We are enormously grateful to those who have stepped forward.
It is through our generous hosts and volunteers that we will be able to make this in-person season happen.
LOCATIONS (All Confirmed!)
State Championship – Sunday, March 6th
The FTC New Jersey State Championship will be held at Morris Knolls High School, one week after our final League Tournament.
FIRST has announced that the World Championship will be held in Detroit: April 27 - April 30, 2022
League Tournament
All League Tournaments will take place in February and all fully registered teams are automatically invited to their League/Conference tournament.
The attachment shows the locations and dates for all Leagues/Conferences. All Venue Hosts are confirmed for the League Tournaments.
Late-Season Meets (8) – in January
There will be two Meet opportunities for each League in January. Teams have a choice of a Saturday Meet or Sunday Meet.
There are four of January (Saturday) Meets (one in each League) which will include “Practice Judging”, as a tune up for February’s official judging at League Tournaments.
The attachment shows the locations and dates of Late-Season Meets.
Mid-Season Meets (8) – in November / December
There will be two normal Meet opportunities in each League in the period of Nov 20 – Dec 19. Teams have a choice of a Saturday or Sunday Meet.
Four of our Nov/Dec (Sunday) Meets (one in each League) will include “Practice Judging”, as a tune up for February’s official judging at League Tournaments
The attachment shows the locations and dates of Mid-Season Meets.
Moved from High School to Middle School:
Nov 20th ………..NE Edge League/ Either Conference………Cliffside Park Middle School is 440 Oakdene Avenue, Cliffside Park, NJ
Early-Season/Holiday Meets (7) – 4 Early November Meets & 3 Holiday Meets (Halloween & Thanksgiving Weekend)
FTC NJ is continuing the tradition of offering each League one more special Meet opportunity. Many teams have taken advantage of this in past years.
Though the October 31st (Northeast Edge Meet) had to be canceled due to lack of team sign-up, the October 30th Meet is full speed ahead at Lenape Regional HS.
Two more Meets occur during the long four-day Thanksgiving weekend. The attachment shows the locations and dates of Early-Season/Holiday Meets.
Newly Confirmed:
Nov 13th (Note: Moved from Nov 14th) ……..Central-West League / Either Conference………….. Timothy Christian School, 13 Ethel Road, Piscataway, NJ
ATTENDANCE POLICY
In making this in-person season happen, it is FTCNJ’s intent to allow all team members to attend, plus two adults per team. We want to avoid team member caps.
Unless the host site has tighter headcount restrictions, that headcount plan it going to be the standard practice. It delivers some consistency, relative to adult attendees.
We are really trying to maintain in-person events and allow all team member students to attend throughout the season. COVID sensitive protocol has been promised to all.
While we understand that some teams have a number of additional, actively-involved adults, however, we need to set a consistent limit.
The general position is that all students on the team (maximum 15) are able to come in person, plus two adults to chaperone them. (Coaches can serve as the two adult chaperones.)
Teams that have parents driving far to deliver students may be allowed to attend on an exception basis. (Coach must request and justify. We expect GP in requesting such exceptions.)
Sorry that we are unable to allow extra adult supporters and spectators this year. We will be livestreaming the events this year, with the high hopes of getting fully back to normal next season.
COMMON COVID PROTOCOL
1. Remember that Masks must be worn at all times at the event. This applies to all sites.
2. The decision of whether to provide lunch or snacks will vary from host to host. FTCNJ will advise teams of the decision within a week (or more) of the event.
When necessary, teams should be prepared bring their own lunches. It would seem that most hosts will be selling pre-packaged snacks throughout the day, but FTCNJ will confirm on a site by site basis.
3. Upon arrival, we will checking temperatures of everyone and affixing wrist bands before people are allowed into the event.
We’ve seen that this can cause some clustering at Check-In. We ask that only the coach initially approach Check-In and we will call the team members over when ready to test and wrist-band.
4. We need very accurate information on who is attending the event. Make sure that you mark your roster to clearly indicate which students are present.
You can also indicate the names of the two adults accompanying the students. The adults would usually be the coaches, but can be their delegated alternate if both coaches are not coming.
5. Thanks to all for supplying the headcount information. We will confirm on event-by-event basis but right now it appears that all students on the official team roster are welcome to attend events.
We ask that those not working on the robot spend most of the day in bleachers or chairs, watching the action, rather than clustering in the pits. Let’s spread out.
6. The event is being livestreamed on the FTCNJ YouTube Channel for friends and relatives to watch. Here is the link: youtube.com/firsttechchallengenj
At this time, we are not allowing spectators at the Early-Season Meets in light of COVID precautions and protocol.
7. All are asked to be conscientiously practicing social distancing throughout the day.
Assigned Pit Tables will be well spread out as much as possible. We are also re-positioning and managing Practice Fields to avoid clustering.
8. Certain events will utilize the AM/PM Approach as a way to reduce in-person headcount relative to venue capacity.
At this time, it is the November 13th event at Don Bosco, the December 11th event at Grace Church Recreation Center, and January 8th at Liberty Science Center that are AM/PM.
Half of the teams would complete their matches in the morning, then depart. The other half would compete their matches after lunch.
Elimination Matches are not required for Meets. Teams leave after accomplishing their 5-6 head-to-head official Matches.
Teams involved in an AM/PM event will be asked for their preference of morning or afternoon play.
REMOTE SESSIONS/ TRAINING VIDEOS
Sessions Accomplished (Last Week):
Advanced Programming – “RoadRunner” … (Oct 20th - Accomplished)
Thanks to all of those who registered/attended the October 20th “Advanced Programming Session” that focused on use of “Roadrunner”.
Two of our top teams, Don’t Blink (Team #14481) and Watt NXT (Team #7350) did a great job of presenting the theory and the code.
Lead FTA John McDonnell hosted and supplemented the presentations with some general material on the topic.
Here is a link to a recording of the October 20th Zoom session.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_eFRaaKKoVUy64PBNhMbjdiG4IIYMBfV/view?usp=sharing
Advanced Programming – Series Completion
This completes the 8-week series. We thank FTA John McDonnell for being our host and all of the great teams that contributed presentation.
Kudos too, to all who attended and hopefully found some useful information to take their robot programming to the next level.
Upcoming:
“FIRST Tech Challenge MACHINE LEARNING” … (November 3rd)
The Team Blast from FIRST on October 7th talked about the FTC Machine Learning Tool.
This tool allows FIRST Tech Challenge teams to create custom TensorFlow models for use in the FREIGHT FRENZY presented by Raytheon Technologies game.
TensorFlow can be “trained” to recognize your Team Shipping Element, Freight scoring elements, and more.
Models can be downloaded models for use in your autonomous and driver-controlled Op Modes.
Two team members from Watt NXT (Team #7350) are preparing a detailed presentation and will share it on Weds, November 3rd at 8pm.
Here’s the Registration Link for their Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpcO6gqDIqHNKMFOvfGCXH0oK-TVYJP85y
Training Videos:
Freight Frenzy Officiating Training
Once again this year, FIRST has engaged our very own League Head Referee Julia Berry to create these training videos.
As you can see below, it is a three-part series that Julia narrates with excellent technical support by her husband, our FTA Rob Berry.
Julia’s description of the game elements, scoring and use of the scoring system is outstanding. Listen carefully; you’ll learn a lot.
FIRST has posted these videos on their YouTube Channel, but if you did not spot them there, here they are….
Super work by Julia and Rob Berry. Enjoy!
Video 1 - Field and Game Elements
Video 2 - Scoring Referee Training
Video 3 - Electric Scoring Tablets and Paper Scoring
FTCNJ STEM Girls
STEM GIRLS – INITIATIVE TEAMS “LAUNCH ZOOMS”
As you can see below, 8pm Zoom Sessions (30-45 minutes) have been held on each topic. A great chance for the girls to learn more about the four Initiative Teams.
Ladies signed-up to attend one of these sessions with no strings attached, asked questions, dug a bit deeper, to help them decide which sub team(s) they may wish to join.
During the coming week, all Opt-In STEM Girls members will receive an email with Team Overview and will be given an opportunity to join the team(s) of interest.
Recently Accomplished
Tuesday, October 12th (8pm) – STEM Girls Mixers and Briefings
(Gathering to exchange ideas, Pulling together the presenting valuable information)
Thursday, October 14th (8pm) – STEM Girls Tech Team
(Lunchtime Tech Talks at the Field, Training Videos, …)
Accomplished Last Week
Tuesday, October 19th (8pm) – STEM Girls Role Models & Guest Speakers
(Interviewing Skills, Hosting Guest Speakers, Working with Bios…)
Thursday, October 21st (8pm) – STEM Girls Motivate & Alum Engagement
(Recruiting New Members, Marketing, Engaging FTC Alum, …)
First STEM Girls Get-Together (November 23rd @ 7:30pm)
Past participants will remember these monthly get-togethers.
During the first 30-minutes, there is a “Mixer” where girls can gather and discuss topics of mutual interest.
During the final 30-minutes, there will be two role model Guest Speakers who share their experience and take questions.
Next week’s Newsletter will include Guest Speaker names and a Registration Link.
FTCNJ News
Four New Fields for FTC New Jersey!
We would like to thanks our generous sponsor R&J Control, Inc. for funding the purchase of four new Fields for FTCNJ.
As many know, we have using the old style IFI fields for well over ten years.
Moving to the Andy Mark fields will improve the compatibility between teams’ fields at home base, and FTCNJ, and Worlds!
They also look so much better than our faithful IFI fields. We thanks R&J Control, Inc. once again.
Photo Permission Waiver
Once again this year, FTCNJ is soliciting a state-level permission to allow person’s image to shown in FTC-related videos and stills.
If you are a student, or adult, whose image may be captured, FTC needs your permission to show/post it. This is particularly important for mentoring teams and our volunteer instructors.
Here is a link to the very simple “Video Permission Request”. It is a easy Google Form that simply captures the authorization. bit.ly/FTCNJrelease
Thanks to all of those who helped us with this last year. Coaches with engaged students, please encourage them to address this.
Note, persons under the age of 18 need to have their parent or guardian complete the form.
FIRST NEWS ITEMS
FIRST Tech Challenge Rookie Grants
For anyone thinking of starting a brand new FIRST Tech Challenge rookie team, $500 rookie grants available!
Teams that haven’t yet registered for the 2021-2022 and are located in North America are eligible! Learn more on FIRST’s grants webpage!
FIRST® Apps No Longer On Google Play
FIRST decided to remove all versions of the FIRST® Tech Challenge control system software from the Play Store. This decision is due to Google Play security requirement changes that are causing us to no longer distribute versions 6.1 and later of the FIRST Tech Challenge control system software through the Play Store. Teams must use the REV Robotics Hardware Client software to manage their software on the Robot Controller/Control Hub and Driver Station devices, including the new Driver Hub. For more information, please read FIRST’s blog post.
Hopefully, this Communique has provided a lot of good information regarding the coming season. (New in blue!)
Our next newsletter will be on November 2nd.
If you have any questions, comments, or needs as you read this newsletter, simply write back and I’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
Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.
More to come.
Thanks much, Vince Frascella
FIRST Tech Challenge New Jersey