Rookie Alert- Upcoming Deadlines~What to do now~How to ask questions~Save yourself some trouble

1/8/13

Greetings Rookies:

Upcoming Deadlines:

Replacement Parts Request Deadline—Sunday, January 13th at 12 pm (noon) EST: check your Kit of Parts (KoP) against the KoP checklist: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/kit-of-parts and submit a Replacement Parts Request in TIMS.

**IMPORTANT**:  This is your only chance to get those parts replaced for free.

Additional Event Registration Payment Deadline—Friday, January 25th: If your team registered for more than one competition event (other than the two District events included in a District registration fee), payment for all additional events are due on this day.  Registration payment information can be found here http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/frc-payment-terms.

ASAP - Your team may add to your KoP components using FIRST Choice http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/first-choice. Parts are limited, so visit the website now and order soon!

What to do now:

If you didn’t have the opportunity to attend a Robot Quick Build Session at your Local Kickoff, the challenge of turning your KoP into a working robot may feel overwhelming at this moment. Don’t worry. The Robot Quick Build Documents are available on our website here: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/2013-Technical-Resources.

You may find your team focusing solely on robot build right now. Be aware: As teams ask the Game Design Committee questions about the game, some rules will be clarified and others may be updated.  You don’t want to spend valuable time working on an assumption that is no longer valid.  Assign reliable team members to check the Team Updates twice weekly and have them share updates with your team regularly:  http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/team-updates.

How to ask questions:

The Q&A system: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/game-q-and-a opens Wednesday, January 9th for teams to ask questions about the game and game manual.  Your team’s account information and password will be found in the right hand information bar of TIMS.

Save yourself some trouble:

Rookie teams from last year stressed the importance of understanding FRC rules are rules, not guidelines.  The weight is a limit.  The size is a limit, the wiring requirements are requirements, the robot shipping rules are rules.  If you read the FRC manual and check the Team Updates twice weekly http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/game-and-season-info  you improve your team’s chance for success.

We’re here to help

If you have any questions, please contact Team Support at frcteams@usfirst.org or 1-800-871-8326, “0” –  they are eager to help you during this rookie season!

Did you find this rookie alert helpful?

You can find this season’s prior rookie alerts here http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/emailblastarchive.aspx/.

Go Rookies!