CORE Coordination of Robotics Education

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CORECoordination of Robotics Education

• FIRST LEGO League
• Pre-Tournament
• Coaches Meeting

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Questions?
Where will this be held in Houston? Where at the
UH Campus? Facility Layout Come and have a good
time Tournament check list Team Supplied
volunteers What is day Schedule? How will
registration go? Early Registration Coachs
meeting and field inspection Dont worry about
the scores, but focus on the experience. Enjoy
the Chaos! How can parents help? Team Queing Tell
us about the pits, charging stations, practice
tables. Lunch Food Resist the urge to modify
robot or programming. Dance with the girl that
brung ya! Do we have to stay until the end if our
kids arent advancing? What must we bring
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Getting to UH Central Campus

• DIRECTIONS if traveling South on I-45 from
  downtown
• Exit Spur 5 South (44B) and proceed to the
  stoplight.
• Turn RIGHT onto UNIVERSITY DRIVE.
• Campus Recreation and Wellness Center is on
  LEFT.
• Park ALL vehicles in Pkg. Lots 20A or 20C
  across street.

• DIRECTIONS if traveling North on I-45
• Exit Elgin-Lockwood-Cullen (44A)
• Proceed to the stoplight
• Turn LEFT onto Elgin Blvd.
• At the 2nd stoplight make a LEFT towards Alt
  90.
• Turn RIGHT onto UNIVERSITY DRIVE. The Campus
  Recreation and Wellness Center is on your LEFT
  side.

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Campus Map
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Facility Layout
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Fly little Bird, Fly!

• Remember this moment!
• Capture it in pics and/or videos
• Let them go and be astonished!

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Tournament Checklist

• Tournament Checklist
• BRING THESE THINGS WITH YOU TO THE TOURNAMENT
• _____ Signed "Consent and Release" forms for all
  team members and coaches
• No one will be allowed to participate in the
  tournament without a properly completed Consent
  and Release form. Please make sure that you have
  all of these forms with you so that we don't have
  any broken hearts on tournament day.
• _____ Four copies of "Team Information for
  Judges" form with team photo
• These forms help the judges learn more about your
  team and remember you at deliberation time.  The
  photo is an important component, so please be
  sure to attach it. Your team will turn in one
  form at the tournament registration table and
  take one copy to each judging session.
• _____ Provide two adult volunteers to serve a
  single, two hour shift.
• _____ Printout of schedule, tournament map, and
  program
• _____ Your robot, all attachments, a MINDSTORMS
  kit for making changes or repairs, and extra
  batteries.
• It never fails - every year one team forgets an
  important attachment, cant repair a broken part,
  or has its last set of batteries run out halfway
  through the competition. Don't let this happen to
  you!
• _____ A protective box to transport your robot
• _____ A box or heavy cloth to cover the robot
  tower during program downloads.
• All robots must be covered during programming. Do
  not use tape on your robot.
• _____ Your laptop computer with your RCX or NXT
  programs on it
• Computers will not be available at the
  tournament, so you must remember to bring your
  laptop.  Obviously, it is essential that your
  programs be on that laptop.
• _____ A backup of your programs
• _____ A power cord for your laptop and an extra
  laptop battery
• _____ A printout of your programs for the Design
  Judges
• Without this printout, the judges cannot evaluate
  the teams programming. Your team will take the
  printout to its Design judging session.

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Team Supplied Volunteers

• Provide two adult volunteers to each serve a
  single, two hour shift.
• Please email the names of your two volunteers to
  
• Southtxfll_at_gmail.com
• Please tell me when they will work and their
  email or phone.
• Deadline Jan. 1, 2009.
• All volunteers will Sign Out at HQ when they
  arrive and when they leave.
• Volunteers are welcome to find stand-ins when
  they wish to witness a robot match.

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Tournament Day Schedule

• TIME ACTIVITY
• 630 Registration Open Pits
• 700 Field Setup Inspection (Coaches Only)
• 710 Judges Meeting in judging area
• 715 Mandatory Coaches Meeting
• 745 Opening Ceremony
• 800 Matches and all Judging Begins
• 1240 Eliminations Begin
• 130 Final Four Tournament Teams Announced
• 140 Final Four Presentations Begin
• 400 Awards Ceremony
• Coaches to Registration
• INDIVIDUAL TEAM SCHEDULES

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Tournament Day Registration

• Registration begins at 630 a.m. in the Rotunda
  and run until the tournament begins at 800 a.m. 
  
• Coaches Only in Line!!!
• Any teams arriving after that time should check
  in with the Tournament Director at HQ.

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Schedules
Actual day schedules will not be published until
the week of the tournament. This document is
prepared by the Match Manager who carefully
orchestrates a schedule where teams have enough
time to get from matches to judging and back
again.  He also coordinates the separation of
schools into divisions and pays special attention
to the balance of teams when a particular school
or district is sending multiple teams.  Please be
patient.  
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Early Registration

• Early Registration is Friday evening from 6-8 at
  Recreation and Wellness Center at UH. 
• You dont have to bring your team. 
• You or another responsible adult can bring your
  consent forms and the team information form and
  will register your team. 
• You will register your team and get a team bag
  containing your VIP passes and team wristbands.
• If you Pre-Register Friday, then Saturday morning
  walk right in and go to the pits.
• Set up Pit Table (Dont leave valuables)
• Scope out Facility and where your team will meet
  in the morning.
• Any team that wants to bring their practice
  table, bring it Friday Night! We need 8! These
  will be set up at the end of the Pit Gym and
  everyone will be able to practice on it. Bring
  Field Set Up Kit and Mat as well. Contact me if
  you can bring a table.

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COACHES MEETING AND FIELD INSPECTION

• The coaches meeting and inspection will be at
  700 a.m. in the Match Arena.
• The Match Director will go over the tournament
  guidelines andanswer any questions.
• In this meeting, we will ask the coaches to
  helpus stay on schedule which primarily means
  having your team ready fortheir matches.

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Features of this Photo

• Confusion/Chaos
• Huge Crowd
• Screens
• Tables
• Overhead lighting
• Stanchions
• Team Placards

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Parental Help on Tournament Day

• Supervise kids while you register
• Supervise kids while you go to Coachs meeting
• Parents can go get lunch for team
• Particularly helpful to assign parents to
  different judging areas to shepherd team.
• Parents can help listen for pit cueing of teams
  on-deck
• Parents can help w/ equipment load/unloading

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Team Queing

• QUEUING OF TEAMS FOR ROBOT MATCHESWe will queue
  2 teams for each playing field. Please help by
  having yourteam in the queue approximately 5
  minutes before your match.
• TEAMS WILL WORK IN THEIR APPEARANCES AT THE
  RESEARCH AND TEAMWORK JUDGING ARENA.
• Only those with competitor wristbands or VIP
  badges will be allowed in those areas. Judges,
  at their discretion may ask spectators to leave
  the area if noise or interference becomes a
  problem.
• RESEARCH PRESENTATION JUDGINGTeams reporting
  for Research Presentation OR Teamwork judging
  will be queued outside the Judging Arena in two
  separate lines.
• TECHNICAL JUDGING will take place at Interview
  Tables withinor near the Match Arena after
  judges have watched a team's Match.
• All Research, Technical and Teamwork judging
  should be completed by 1200 noon.
• It is your responsibility to present your team
  for judging. We will not come look for you.

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PITS

• Pit spaces will be assigned
• You may set up your 10x10 space the night before
  from 6-9
• The space will accommodate a small table and a
  couple of chairs
• Signage and décor is encouraged
• No glitter or helium balloons
• Be good neighbors
• Pits open to those with competitor wristbands and
  those with VIP badges
• Each team gets 10 VIP badges
• Charging stations at one end of PIT
• Bring practice tables the night before. All will
  use. Remember FSK and mat.
• WARNING! The likelihood of cross talk (When a
  program is accidentally transferred from one
  teams computer to another teams robot) is
  dramatically higher under these circumstances.
  Please bring a "shield" (a box large enough to
  hold and cover your robot). This will protect
  your robot when you are downloading programs.
  Also, please be sure to turn your robot off when
  the robot is not in use. As a courtesy, each
  team should announce when they download a program
  so the other teams in the pit area can turn their
  robots off. Please abide by the tournament rule
  that "NO downloading of programs outside of your
  pit is permitted." The use of walkie-talkies
  will not be permitted.

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Food

• Please be advised that there is no formal lunch
  break for the FLLtournament. Please consult your
  schedule on tournament day to determine the best
  lunch break time for your team.PLEASE NOTE
  FOOD AND DRINK ARE Allowed only in the Rotunda
  area and not in the competition areas.
• We have asked for many of the campus eateries to
  open that day but be prepared to send someone to
  get lunch, to tail gate or to picnic.

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Surviving Competition Day

• Pre-Register the night before, if possible.
• Get some rest, this is supposed to be fun!
• Pack your earplugs, or anything else that might
  make you comfortable.
• Meditate, pray, write out a list of things to
  bring, take a deep breath.
• Be an example to your kids of how to function
  graciously under pressure.
• CHARGE UP ROBOT
• Get parents involved. Use them as runners,
  communicators, team chaperones, drivers, and of
  course, cheerleaders.
• Keep your parents under control.
• Resist the urge to modify robot or programming.
  Dance with the girl that brung ya!
• Know that in just a few hours, the tournament
  will be a memory. Make the best experience you
  can for yourself and for your kids.

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Awards and Closing Ceremony

• We will award trophies during the Award Ceremony.
  
• Each official team member will get a medallion
  for participating. We hand out these medallions
  at the Award Ceremony.
• Extra medals will be available for purchase after
  the tournament. 3.00 each.
• During Awards we will acknowledge our sponsors,
  volunteers, the teams and our VIPS.
• We will also have a Parade of Teams, in order to
  showcase all of the teams who participated during
  the tournament.
• Please practice gracious professionalism by
  staying until our closing ceremonies and
  participating in our parade of teams. If you must
  leave before the tournament is over, see the
  Tournament Director to makearrangements for your
  team's medallions. We will not mail them!

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Reminder Check In/Registration

• Submit all required Consent Forms for each team
  member present.
• The FLL and UH consent forms are located on the
  tournament website. Team members not having the
  required consents will not be able to participate
  as a team member. There will be no time or place
  to complete consent forms that morning, so have
  them ready when you come to register.
• Coach will submit 1 copy of Team Information
  Form.
• Any outstanding registration fees will be
  collected at this time.
• Coach will receive from the Registration Team a
  Team Bag containing tournament wristbands for all
  team members, as well as important tournament
  forms, placards, schedule, maps and other
  information.