FRC 2018
Kickoff Meeting Presented by Rick Blight
September 27/28, 2017 1 Goals for Tonight
Learn about FRC and our team Become acquainted with team mentors Understand our team’s goals Review season activities Review competition and travel plans Answer parent and student questions Get through 50+ slides and questions in about an hour!
2 What is AIR?
Aquidneck Island Robotics 4H Club (AIR) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Newport, RI. 4-H Club founded in 2008. Non-profit formed in 2014. AIR provides robotics programs to K-12 students from any school (public, private, home). 2017-2018 Breakdown 9 Teams (1 FRC, 1 FTC, 4 FLL, 3 FLL JR) 93 K-12 Students 33 Unique Schools + 6 Home School Students
3 What is FIRST?
FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
FIRST was founded in 1989 to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology. Based in Manchester, NH.
4 What is FRC? FRC: FIRST Robotics Competition
The varsity Sport for the MindTM, FRC combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams of 25 students or more are challenged to raise funds, design a team "brand," hone teamwork skills, and build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. It’s as close to "real-world engineering" as a student can get. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team. 5 4-H & FIRST Online Registrations
All mentors must register with RI 4-H and pass background check. All families must register online with RI 4-H. DO NOT SEND DUES! All families must sign an online waiver with FIRST before attending competitions. Easier said than done. Tom Silveria will help get mentors into RI 4-H system. I will send instructions in October for RI 4-H and FIRST. 6 BLUF
We are the equivalent of a traveling sports team. This sport is expensive and our team members and coaches take it seriously. Think of our meetings like practices for any other sport. An unbelievable amount of time and energy is spent making our team successful. All adults in the AIR organization are giving up their most valuable asset – time – to provide this experience. Please show them the utmost respect. We are not in this just for ourselves; we impact the community by helping other teams 7 Team Background
Team Name: AIR STRIKE Team Number: 78 Teams are assigned permanent numbers from FIRST. The higher the number the less time in FRC. Rookie teams starting at 6800 this year. Rookie Year: 1996* *AIR STRIKE was formed after splitting from another team in 2009. Due to the experience of mentors, our team could not be considered a rookie at the time. 8 Team Metrics
38 Students Bishop Connolly 15 more than 2016 Bishop Hendricken 21 Rookies Home School 17 Veterans 26 Young Men Middletown High 12 Young Women (10 new!) North Kingstown High 13 Schools Portsmouth Abbey 2 or more years on team: 9 students Portsmouth Middle Breakdown By Grade Portsmouth High 8th: 3 Rogers High 9th: 10 South Kingston High 10th: 3 St. George’s 11th: 12 12th: 10 St. Mary Academy – Bay View Tiverton High
9 Team Award History
3x Entrepreneurship Blue Banners - 7 1x Safety 2 District 2x Gracious Professionalism Competition 1x Industrial Design Champions 2x Quality 1 Regional 3x Dean's List Champion 3x VOTY RIDE 3x District Finalist 2 District 1x Regional Finalist Chairman’s Award 1x Champ. Div. Finalists 2 Regional 3x Engineering Inspiration Chairman’s Award
10 Educational Partner
Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport (NUWC) Workspace/Tools Scientists/Engineers Funds for purchasing tools & parts Support of approximately $60k per year for all AIR programs Since 2010 Season AIR & FRC not possible in it’s current form without NUWC Partnership
11 Platinum Sponsors - $2,500+
12 Gold Sponsors - $1,000+
13 Silver Sponsors - $500+
MVL LAW
14 Yearly FRC Operating Costs
Robot: $20,500 Admin: $2,500 Competition Entry: $15,000 Total $38,000
These are direct expenses for operating the team yearly. These figures do not include travel costs or grant support.
15 Bowling Tournament Fundraiser!
16 Fundraising
Yearly Calendar Raffle Sell in November, Draw in December Goal is for AIR to sell 1000 tickets – FRC team sell 780! Potential corporate donations/sponsors contact Heather Lynch – [email protected]
17 Lead Mentors
Rick Blight (2001) FRC Alum Head Coach Joe Menassa (2001) FRC Alum Resources Coordinator Tom Dolan (2002) FRC Alum Lead Mechanical Mentor Kim Lesieur (2011) FRC Alum Scouting/Awards Tim Sieben (2010) FRC Alum Lead Control Systems Mentor
18 Technical Mentors
Rick Casey (2004) Control Systems/RIDE Chair Jim Dolan (2016) Mechanical/Field Mockup Austin Estrella (2011) FRC Alum Mechanical/Backup Drive Coach Gary Gabriel (1995) Mechanical/Prototyping/Safety/RIDE LRI
19 Technical Mentors
Paige Manuel (2017) Mechanical/Troubleshooting David Nugent (1995) Mechanical/Machinist Mark Seidman (2008) Control Systems Gerri Wholey (2016) Bumpers/Field Construction Ken Wilkinson (2017) Mechanical
20 Parent Support
Brian Armijo (2017) Mechanical/Field Mockup Will Collins (2016) Mechanical/Field Mockup Maria Corey (2015) Fundraising/Travel Logistics Heather Lynch (2014) AIR Outreach Coordinator Stephanie Mediate (2015) Fundraising/Travel Logistics Sheli Silveria (2017) Fundraising/Social Media Darlene Sullivan (2016) Fundraising/Travel Logistics
21 General Building 80 Rules
Safety glasses at all times during meetings. No food or beverage besides capped water allowed in workshop. Cell phones in cubby at the start of meetings. Use cell phones, if you must, away from others – carpeted areas. Long hair tied back. No loose clothing. Closed toed shoes required. No sandals, crocs, high heels, etc. Be aware of sprinkler heads. Security cameras everywhere and NUWC security is stationed in the building. Respect the tools and workspace in addition to other students and mentors. 22 Expectations for All Safety Safety is the top priority for all members while at a meeting or competition. Goal is 100% injury free season. Respect To other students, to adults, to tools and equipment Professional No time for whining, complaining, excessive socializing. This can cost us huge in the long run. Bad news does not age well. Ask If you don’t know something – ask! Goals Set small goals each meeting with our big goals in mind.
23 Student Expectations
Mentors will treat students as mature young adults until we have a reason not to. Students can be asked to leave a meeting or competition for unacceptable behavior. Examples: Verbal, physical, or sexual harassment. Improper use of tools/equipment. Ignoring mentor/volunteer requests. Drugs, alcohol, weapons – zero tolerance. If you will miss a meeting, I expect an email or Slack message.
24 Parent/Guardian Expectations
AIR would not be possible without help from families! Periodically we will need help with: Fundraising efforts Outreach events Carpooling to competitions Food at meetings/competitions Prompt pick up of students at the end of meetings. Bring students to competitions on time and leave when team leaves.
25 Meeting Cancellation
Each year meetings get cancelled due to severe weather. Families come from all over the region and must use judgment when deciding to travel to a meeting. If a meeting is going to be cancelled: 1. The AIR calendar will be updated: www.air4h.org/calendar 2. The 78 Facebook page will be updated: www.facebook.com/frc78 3. An email will be sent to the team. These notifications will go out no later than 3 hours before a meeting.
26 Communications
Email is my preferred method of updating the team. If you do not check your email you will miss important information. To contact me I also prefer email: [email protected] My cell number is 401-575-6376. I will limit FRC emails to the team to once per week. Be on the lookout for AIR emails as well. Students and mentors will use Slack to communicate.
27 frc.air4h.org
Meeting Calendar 2018 Build Schedule is up now! Competition Info/Results Game Info Wild Apricot Login (Travel Payment) First stop for questions
28 Important Dates
Sunday October 15 – Strikes for AIR Bowling tournament fundraiser Saturday October 21 – Bay State Brawl Offseason Competition w/2017 robot. Westborough High School in Westborough, Ma Saturday December 16 – AIR FLL Qualifier Student volunteers needed – email [email protected] Saturday January 6 – FRC Game Released 2018 Season officially begins! 29 2018 FRC Game:
30 How Does FRC Work? ~200 Teams in New England District ~3500 Teams Worldwide Game is released in early January Teams initially have 6.5 weeks to build their entry. Robot access window prior to district competitions Upgrades/repairs allow at competition Game is usually 3 vs. 3 on carpeted field the size of volleyball court. At each competition, random qualifying rounds followed by alliance selection and elimination tournament Teams can advance to the next level of competition on robot performance and/or awards. 31 Season Goals Performance Goal: Attend the World Championship and either be an alliance captain or make it to Division Semifinals Top 3% in the world Award Goal: Win a DCMP Chairman's Award. Knowledge Goal: Have at least 1 student expert in these knowledge areas: CAD, Control System, Programming, Pneumatics, Strategy, Awards.
How will you help the team reach it’s goals?
32 Types of Competitions
District Event District World •2.5 Day Event Championship Championship •Friday Evening – •3 Day Event •4 Day Event Sunday Evening •Thursday– Saturday •Wednesday •Capped at 40 Teams Evening Afternoon – Saturday •Open Event •64 Teams Night •Earn Points at first 2 •Qualification •400 Teams events. Required •Qualification •Points earned Required tripled.
33 How to Qualify for World Championship Performance Judged Awards Win the DCMP Win Chairman’s Be in the top ~35 Award at DCMP teams in points after DCMP Win Engineering Means we need to Inspiration Award qualify for DCMP at DCMP Be in the top 64 out of 190 teams in Both must first be points after all won at a district district events are event. completed.
34 Championship Qualification by Year
2010 Waitlist 2011 Boston Regional Victory 2012 Boston Regional Engineering Inspiration Award 2013 Pine Tree Regional Chairman’s Award 2014 NE Chairman’s Award District Points 5th / 162 2015 Waitlist NE Engineering Inspiration Award 2016 District Points 21st / 182 2017 District Points 8th / 192
35 Build Season
FIRST POWER UP Game Reveal/Kickoff Saturday January 6th with teams 5112 & 5846 Week 1: Analyze game, choose drivetrain, prototype manipulators, build field. Week 2: Assemble drivetrain, continue manipulator prototypes, begin detailed design. Week 3: Complete design, manufacture parts. Week 4: Assemble, build bumpers and shields. Week 5: Finish assembly, program and Test. Week 6: Practice, pack pits, scouting prep. End of Week 6: Week 0 Event Robot Bag and Tag on Tuesday February 20th.
36 Build Season Meeting Routine
Drop off personal items and cell phone in cubby. Put on safety glasses. Check in on attendance sheet. Review last meetings progress as a group. Review what we want to accomplish during the meeting. Begin cleanup 15 minutes prior to the end of the meeting. Complete end of meeting checklist.
37 Competition FAQs
Is there a fee to attend competitions? There is a registration cost for the team to attend an event. However, events are free to the public and to participants. Do students have to attend every day of each competition? Yes – there is always something to do or experience at a competition. For those that can’t make each day due to a scheduling conflict – we’d rather have you for some of the event than not at all. Exception: Load-In night at the DCMP and WCMP Load-In. 38 Competition FAQs
What will I do at the competition? Everyone has a role and they are all important for the success of our team: Scouting Team: Responsible for scouting other teams and developing strategy. Awards Team: Responsible for preparing awards presentations and interacting with judges. Pit Crew: Responsible for robot repair and maintenance. Drive Team: Operate the robot on the field. Team Spirit: EVERYONE! What happens if I get hurt or there is an incident at an event? A chaperone will be assigned for each day/night of the event. All incidents must be reported immediately to the chaperone, then to event staff depending on the severity. All events have EMTs on site.
39 Competition FAQs
What should I wear to competition? Team members and supporters (parents, family) should wear the current year team shirt on full competition days. Just like in our workshop, you will need to bring safety glasses and closed-toe shoes. Sweatshirt or a light jacket is recommended. Dress for New England weather. Is there food available at competitions? All venues will have concessions. Some venues allow outside food. How will I remember all this information at a competition? Each event will have a custom packet with important event information, agenda, contact numbers, travel information, etc.
40 Team Clothing
Each student will receive two team shirts included with dues. Additional clothing available soon to order on www.air4h.org Fill out Survey Page
41 Taking Awards Seriously
The ‘blue shirts’ do not only judge our team in the pit. Our team is judged well before we even arrive to the competition – past events, online interactions, and reputation all contribute to judging. All team members need to remember that they represent the entire team with their actions. Before the judges put on their blue polos, they are mentors on other teams, sponsors of our team, staying in our hotel, and/or walking through the pits on day 0. 42 A note on school and competitions
The top priority of all students on this team should be school performance. Aquidneck Island Robotics strives to inspire students in the fields of science and technology. That inspiration should not come at the cost of your grades. Students and parents should discuss with teachers any missed days of school and missed assignments/tests around 6 weeks prior to competitions (i.e. during build season). AIR will provide support documents for schools on request – contact Joe Menassa. All mentors are happy to help students outside of our meetings with homework or projects. Unfortunately for the 2018 season, for most public schools, spring break falls on competition week 8 which is the week after District Championship and the week prior to World Championship. 43 2018 Competitions Rick’s Priorities: Your effort at our meetings will determine your role at events Reduce fragmentation On competition days arrive together, leave together, and wear the same uniform. Plan is to attend one pre-bag event and five official events in 2018. Continue to raise our profile in New England and all of FRC. Rhode Island = AIR STRIKE 78
44 Likely 2018 Competition Schedule Wk Date Event Location Travel 0 2/17 Week Zero TBD, NH Commute .5 Off 1 3/1 – 3/3 WPI Worcester, MA Hotel (Optional) 2 3/9 – 3/11 SEMASS Bridgewater, MA Commute 3 Off 4 3/23 – 3/25 RIDE N. Smithfield, RI Commute 5 Off 6 Off 7 4/12 – 4/14 DCMP Boston, MA Hotel (Optional) 8 Spring Break 9 4/25 – 4/29 WCMP Detroit, MI Hotel + Air 45 Week 1 WPI District Event
Officially registered! March 1-3, 2018 190 is the host team of this event Held at WPI which also offers campus tours during the event Load in Thursday night @ 5pm Compete Friday and Saturday 8am-7pm both days School missed on Friday 3/2 Many will commute, team has rooms blocked off at Holiday Inn in Worcester.
46 Week 2 Southeastern Mass
March 9-11, 2018 88 is the host team of this event Held at Bridgewater-Raynham High Load in Friday night @ 5pm Compete Saturday and Sunday 8am-7pm both days No school missed About 40 minute drive from Portsmouth
47 Week 4 RIDE
March 23 – 25 (Friday to Sunday) We are the host team of this event. If this is our 3rd district competition it will not count for points. I expect our veterans to step up and volunteer if this is the case. Many students, mentors, family will be volunteering at the event. Free shirt and free food! Less than 45 minute drive for most
48 Week 7 DCMP
April 12 – 14 (Thursday – Saturday) School Missed Thu/Fri A small group will go up on Wednesday 4/11 to setup pit and get inspected. 4 to 6 students / 2 to 4 adults We want as many students as possible to experience the DMCP Ways to lower DCMP travel costs Carpool as much as possible Consider staying 4 to a room Commute to/from Boston each day instead of staying in hotel Save on hotel parking by getting dropped off by family/friends 49 Week 9 WCMP Most inspiring event in all of FIRST April 25 – 29 (Wednesday – Sunday) Wednesday: Travel and Load In Thursday and Friday: Qualification Matches All Day Saturday: Elimination Matches and Awards Sunday: Travel Some students needed for load in starting in the afternoon Wednesday. Majority can arrive late afternoon Wednesday We need at least 10 students to compete at WCMP 2/3 of team went in 2017 Best way to lower costs for WCMP is to book flights now! Students either travel with family or stay with another family. Rarely do students stay in a room on their own at the world championship. 50 Travel Notes
For all competitions, an online travel survey will be sent out to families to collect travel information. Please complete survey even if not attending. All will include a due date. It is imperative that all completed on time – the earlier the better. For WPI & DCMP, the team will block off rooms and invoice families for payment. For WCMP, the team will block off rooms but families will pay hotel directly.
51 Travel Costs Travel costs are the responsibility of each family. Costs WPI Hotel rooms: ~$155 per night 2 nights – Holiday Inn Worcester ~8 minute drive from WPI DCMP Hotel rooms: ~$250 per night 2 or 3 nights - Holiday Inn Boston-Brookline $38 per night parking cost ~15 minute walk WCMP Hotel rooms: ~$200 per night (Estimated) 4 nights – Hotel TBD Priority is staying close to venue Other costs to consider: Food, airport parking, airport transfers, etc. 52