FTCNJ Tuesday Newsday - August 16 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.
HEADLINES:
August 20th Workshops at Kean University ß Registration & Track Selection now closed. Good luck to all of our participants at this Saturday’s event.
September 10th Kick Off Events ß Registration for either of the two in-person events is currently OPEN. Upcoming Events - FIRST Tech Challenge - New Jersey (newjerseyftc.com)
October 1st & 2nd Outreach Event ß FTCNJ has been asked to participate at the “Raritan Valley Science & Technology Showcase” (RVSTS). Details below; more to follow next week.
Southern Workshops at Moorestown Friends School (Sept 24th) ß Registration Open. Tracks similar to Aug 20th but not identical. Track detailing occurring after Aug 20th .
Quick Links:
KICK-OFF EVENT – Registration Open
COMPETITION LOCATIONS – Confirmed to Date
FIRST & FTC COMMUNITY NEWS
FTCNJ NEWS – STEM Girls, Control Hub Plan
OFF-SEASON ACTIVITIES
In-Person Workshops (August 20th at Kean University)
Thanks in advance to our volunteers, presenting teams and Kean University for all of the help with this coming Saturday’s event.
Remote Workshops
It has been decided to conduct these remote offerings in Sept/Oct when more teams have organized and more members are available.
This approach will help us to focus on the Sept 10th Kick-Off Events and August/Sept In-Person Workshops now.
In-Person Workshops (September 24th at Moorestown Friends School)
Planning is underway for these free September Workshops. The intent is to mirror the August Workshops to the degree possible.
Since the Workshops are entirely dependent on volunteers and team presentations, we are looking for help and will do the best that we can.
The same link is used to pre-register for the Sept Workshops: Upcoming Events - FIRST Tech Challenge - New Jersey (newjerseyftc.com) Track specifics within 1-2 weeks.
Practice Days (October 2022)
Similar to Outreach Scrimmages, these are unofficial events at which students can compete and tinker on bots in a stress-free environment.
The big difference is that we’ll be playing on an official PowerPlay field and teams will shaking out the new year’s “PowerPlay” robots. Super helpful and fun!
· Highland Park High School has now confirmed as host for the “Central NJ Practice Day” on Sunday, October 23rd. Thanks, once again, to the Owls, who also hosted a July FTCNJ Outreach.
· Tentative dates for the remaining two Practice Days are … October 15th for the Northern NJ event and October 16th for the Practice Day in South Jersey.
o Awaiting confirmation from the venue hosts. Approvals in process.
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!
TEAM REGISTRATION / CONFERENCES
Season Plan – Conferences ß Structure Diagram attached
Once again there will be 4 Leagues in FTCNJ with each comprised of 2 Conferences of 20-25 teams, organized by county.
The updated Conference/League structure takes into account travel time and should really improve that situation for many.
Remember, 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 Conferences season-ending tournament.
FTC NJ League / Conference Structure ß The FTCNJ Team “Pin Map” 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, 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
46 of the 53 are fully registered; while seven registrations are pending.
43 of the 46 are returning teams … and 3 fully registered rookies.
As of this moment, 157 FTCNJ Teams have registered or confirmed their intent to do so for the upcoming season.
COMPETITION NEWS
Register NOW for the September 10th Kick-Off Events
Livingston High School is host of the Northern Kick Off Event and Hightstown High School is host of the Southern NJ Kick Off Event.
The Registration Link for Kick Off is now posted on the FTCNJ website and is available here, as well. Coaches only please.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhCVag93LPub7WpJntRjspHyD7F2QTU2ETw1f1M_qKu92iXw/viewform
Coaches may register their team(s) now for one of the two sites, and provide information regarding headcount, etc.
We have received fewer registrations than expected, to date. Don’t delay. We may need to actively poll coaches shortly.
Coaches are asked to PLEASE register soon so that our hosts can properly plan space and food for the expected headcount.
Game Plan:
· Game Reveal will be at noon, followed by Q&A, and a chance to view the physical field (and receive game element construction tips.)
· Shortly after the Aug 20th event, registered Coaches will receive their “Breakout Session Request” form… to request tickets.
· Per usual, the morning will include an informative FTCNJ Auditorium Program to explain the season, as well as a number of the special “Breakout Sessions”.
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.
League Tournaments
All eight of the Conference/League Tournaments will take place in February 2023.
· Saturday, Feb 4th is confirmed as the Morris County Conference League Tournament at Delbarton School in Morristown.
· Sunday, Feb 5th is the Northeast Conference League Tournament is at Bayonne HS
· Saturday, Feb 11th is officially confirmed for the Far North Conference League Tournament at Glen Rock HS.
· Sunday, February 12th is confirmed as the Upper South Conference League Tournament at Hightstown HS in Hightstown.
· Saturday, Feb 18th is nearing approval for the South Essex Conference League Tournament at Payne Tech, Newark. In Final Approval Stage.
· Sunday, February 19th is now confirmed for the Central Conference League Tournament at Kean University in Union.
· Saturday, Feb 25th is confirmed for the Deep South Conference League Tournament at North Burlington Middle School.
· Sunday, Feb 26th is confirmed for the East Bergen Conference League Tournament at Emerson Jr. Sr. High School.
Meet Sites
· Don Bosco Prep HS is site of a Northern League Meet on Saturday, November 5th.
· Howell High School has now confirmed as site of a Southern League Meet on Saturday, November 12th.
· Westfield High School has confirmed as site of a Northeast Edge League Meet on Sunday, November 13th.
· Cruise Control has confirmed Grace Church (Randolph Campus Facility) as site of a Upper Central League Meet on Saturday, November 26th.
· Transisters have confirmed their GSJS Program Activity Center as site of a Southern Meet on Sunday, November 27th.
· Williamstown Middle School confirmed as site of a Southern League Meet on Sunday, December 4th
· Cliffside Park confirmed as site of a Northern League Meet on Sunday, December 11th.
· Clearview Regional Middle School has confirmed as site of Southern League Meet on Saturday, December 17th.
· Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School has confirmed as site of a Northeast Edge League Meet on Sunday, December 18th.
· Liberty Science Center is site of a Northern League Meet on Saturday, January 7th. Jdroids are once again the Team Host.
· Pingry School has confirmed as site of an Upper Central League Meet on Sunday, January 8th.
· EHT PAL has confirmed as site of a Southern League Meet on Sunday, January 15th.
· Chatham High School has confirmed as site of Upper Central League Meet on Saturday, January 21st
· Blair Academy has confirmed as site of a Northern League Meet on Sunday, January 22nd.
FTCNJ is again planning six Meet choices per League (3 Saturdays, 3 Sunday). Teams can pick three plus apply for bonus Meets.
Event registration opens on the Monday after Kick Off (e.g., Sept 12th at Noon)
All confirmed events can also be found on the FTCNJ website: Upcoming Events - FIRST Tech Challenge - New Jersey (newjerseyftc.com)
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.
FIRST & FTC Community News
FIRST® Tech Challenge Development Kit (SDK) v7.2 Release Available
Did you take note of this email blast from FIRST? ...
“FIRST Tech Challenge Software Development Kit (SDK) v7.2 has been released.
This offseason software release comes with new features, bug fixes, and enhancements; it's being released early this summer to allow teams to discover,
experiment, and familiarize themselves with the updates and prepare themselves for the upcoming season. You can read more about it on our blog.
NOTE: Another SDK software update is scheduled for release on or around Kickoff (September 10, 2022), and this kickoff release is currently slated as
the minimum version required for teams to use during the POWERPLAY presented by Raytheon Technologies season.”
From FTCNJ:
Programming for this release will be mostly unchanged from previous releases, but the WiFi format has changed, so when you move to this release, you'll have to update both the Driver Station and Robot Controller devices.
A session on SDK 7.2 has been added to Track #4 at the August 20th Workshops.
One of our Track #4 Lead Instructors has built a Robot Controller with 7.2, error-free, including calls to EasyOpenCV (Computer Vision) and is running it soon.
Programmers can warm up for the season with a look at the recently-released Robot Controller 7.2 SDK. Get your Control System up-to-date early!
Raritan Valley Science & Technology Showcase (RVSTS)
In last week’s Tuesday Newsday, we advertised this event and the organizer’s wish to have a couple of FTCNJ teams present.
Things have changed. FTCNJ is now being invited to provide a full FIRST Tech Challenge Outreach area for the event.
The organizers have obtained a good amount of mall floor space and are highlighting all FIRST Programs in generous areas.
Interested mall-patrons are invited/directed to the areas of interest. This is a great Outreach opportunity for all FTCNJ teams!
We are considering Team Presentation Tables, PowerPlay Practice Field, Driving Zones, and FTC Robot Demos.
This will be the largest Outreach Event of the coming season. A big deal. If interested in participating, contact vfras...@aol.com
Organizers: Raritan Valley Science & Technology Showcase (RVSTS) Committee
Event Details: October 1-2, 2022 at Bridgewater Commons Mall
For a full description of this unique event, please see the website: rvsts.org (Note – The off-season competition mentioned is FRC, not FTC)
Canadian Off-Season Event (Canadian National Exhibition)
FTCNJ has been contacted by Lisa Ramraj, the FTC Program Mgr at FIRST Robotics Canada has reached out regarding this off-season event occurring in downtown Toronto.
She asked us to share this info about the 2-day in-person competition, with our teams. It would be a great opportunity to not only compete but to enjoy the city as well!
Robots@CNE - FTC … When: Saturday, August 20, 2022 – Sunday, August 21, 2022. All matches occur between 10AM – 10PM
FIRST Tech Challenge teams past, present, and future, are invited to play in 2021-2022 Freight Frenzy off-season event.
Whether you officially registered in the 2021/22 FTC season or not, this event is open to teams of up to 15 students aged 12-18.
Alliances will have a chance to win part of a $3000 cash pool!
· Winning Alliance splits $2250 in cash; Finalist Alliance splits $750 in cash ; People's Choice - $500 to a single team
What: 2021/22 Season Competition Legal FTC Robot Registration Cap: 26 Teams
Registration Fee: Initial fee is $18.08. After CNE confirms registration, primary team contact will receive a unique code to purchase up to 29 additional single-day passes at a corporate rate
(enough for 15 team members per day of competition). Additional team members may purchase standard rate CNE admission passes in advance of the fair, or at the gate.
This event, along with the 2022 CNE is following all Toronto Public Health Guidelines.
If you are interested in registering you can do so at this link: https://www.theex.com/tech-challenge/
Game Manual Release
FIRST has released both versions of their Game Manual Part 1, as planned.
We expect to be using the “Traditional” version, or course. Here are the links, for your convenience.
· Traditional: https://www.firstinspires.org/sites/default/files/uploads/resource_library/ftc/game-manual-part-1-traditional-events.pdf
FTCNJ News
STEM GIRLS News!
Advice from a Returning Alum
An encore presentation of the “College Experience Video” by STEM Girls Alum Sophie R has now been posted.
Check out the sound advice from this 2nd Year student in the Biological Engineering Program at Purdue University. It is 9 minutes of viewing well spent!
Here’s the link: STEM Girls News - FIRST Tech Challenge - New Jersey (newjerseyftc.com)
In-Person Tech Talks on August 20th
Kudos to the STEM Girls for their plan to provide two abridged Tech-Talks during Track #6 of the upcoming August Workshops.
One Talk covers “Exploring Onshape” while the other covers mechanical design topics “Intake Systems and Linear Slides”
Tech-Talk Team co-Lead Tanya V leads “Intake Systems”, Ally M leads “Linear Slides”, and returning Alum Sakshi L leads “Exploring Onshape”.
STEM Girls PowerPlay Season
Meetings being planned soon for the September kick off of the new season.
We look forward to field-side Tech Talks resuming in the Fall, as well as other remote sessions.
For any girls interested, it’s not too late to join the STEM Girls community! Action starting soon.
Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfca5j11yjtAW6OJmRzbbwKyrSOrt8a5tty9SojZkwYLJLvCw/viewform
Control Hub Plan (Supply Chain Challenge)
We are aware of the FIRST notification regarding the difficulty in obtaining Control Hubs for the coming season.
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.
In addition to the Gracious Professional aspect of “sharing a spare”, FTCNJ is offering a discount on the season fee for our accepted Donor/Loaner veteran teams.
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
A fourth veteran team has expressed willingness to loan an Expansion Hub.
Hoping that more veteran teams will step up. All is quiet right now (3 rookies) but there may surely be a flurry of rookies in September.
Please consider joining the list of potential donors, if you can afford to loan your spare Expansion Hub.
FTC New Jersey Season Calendar
In addition to the “Event Information” tab, you can also find information on unofficial and official FTCNJ events in calendar format on the FTCNJ website.
The FTCNJ “Season Calendar” has been updated and can be found at: Season Calendar - FIRST Tech Challenge - New Jersey (newjerseyftc.com)
Team Seeking Members (Burlington County)
Returning All-Girl Team “Outer Galaxy” is recruiting new members for the 2022-2023 season.
They are inviting all interested potential students in South Jersey area who may be interested in joining our team to reach out via email at te...@outergalaxy.org
FTC 18241 is an all-girls team and ideally looking for new team members who will be rising HS Freshman thru HS Juniors in Fall 2022.
Note: There is no team membership fee for the season. Team usually raises funds through sponsorships.
Our next newsletter will be on August 23, 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