Good Day Teams,
 
UPDATED 12-12-2017

Attached is the match schedule for the upcoming FIRST Tech Challenge Relic Recovery 2017-2018 season. We have done our best to create a schedule that meets the varied and sometimes conflicting requests of each team.
 
Here are just a few reminders about how league play works:

1. Each team has been placed in one of four leagues: Gauss, Descartes, Euclid or Turing. 
2. All teams will compete for 4 weekends in Dec-Feb. There will be 3 weeks of league play called “League Meets” followed by a “League Championship.”  Each league will have its own League Championship.
3. In week 1, teams will compete only with other members of their own league, but for weeks 2 & 3 teams will competing against teams from all 4 leagues.
4. During weeks 1-3 teams will only compete your robot.  There will be no judging during weeks 1-3, although you should plan on setting up your pit (for a 6’ foot table only please) like you would at a championship.  These league matches will take about 4-5 hours.
5. The top 10 scores for each team from weeks 1-3 will be used to rank teams for the League Championship.  For example, if your team won at least 10 matches, the 10 matches in which your team earned the highest Ranking Points (i.e., number of points scored by the losing team) will be used.  Your team would then enter the League Championship with 20 Qualifying Points (i.e., 2 QP per win) plus whatever number of Ranking Points you earned in your top 10 matches.  Then, you would earn further QP and RP at the League Championship, and your ranking at the end of the League Championship qualifying rounds will be the total of the QP and RP that you started the day with plus the QP and RP that you earn that day.
6. At the end of league play during weeks 1-3, the top 4 teams at each site will select alliance partner (creating a 2 team alliance) and compete to determine who is the winning alliance for that week’s play.  Trophies will be given out to the winning alliance and the finalist alliance. This is an opportunity for teams to practice scouting, alliance selection and have a bit of extra fun.  Scores from these semi-finals and finals are not used as part of the top 10 scores for League Championship ranking as they are not part of the official FIRST scoring structure.
7. Each league will have its own Championship.  This will be 3/4 event including robot competition, judging, and awards.
8. 9 teams will advance to the San Diego Regional Championship from each league.  Advancement is based on the criteria laid out in part 1 of the game manual on page 22.
9. If you still have not paid your $250/team fee to compete in the San Diego Region (this is separate from the fee to USFIRST national), we need your payment by the end of November.  Make check payable to RISE and mail it to 3517 Hugo Street, San Diego, CA 92106.
10. Tournament hosts will be sending you additional details in the near future.
11. Dean’s list interviews will be held at the League Championships and all Dean’s list nominations must be submitted by mid-January, 2018.  More details regarding this process will be sent out soon.

 
Questions?  Just ask.  Good Luck teams!!!
 
Matt Nilsen
San Diego FTC – Affiliate Partner
[email protected]
www.SanDiegoFTC.org​

Hello FIRST FTC mentors and coaches!
 
It’s time to nominate your students for the 2017-2018 Dean’s List Award!
A Dean’s list submission guide is attached for your reference.
 
Important Dates:
January 15th, 11:59 pm        
Student nominations must be uploaded to FIRST FTC Dean’s List site (accessed via Team Registration System)
 
February 10th, February 11th League Championship Tournament(s)
Interviews of nominated students take place at each League’s Championship Tournament
 
February 28th San Diego Regional Championship
Three (3) student Finalists announced to be in the running for Dean’s List Winner spots at the World Championship
 
 
Student Eligibility:
Every registered team may submit two (2) students as FIRST Dean’s List Award Semi-finalists.
Students must be a sophomore (grade 10) or junior (grade 11) to be eligible for this award.
 
Nomination Process:
Student nomination(s) are done electronically from the Team Registration Dashboard through the FIRST Tech Challenge Dean’s List Award System (see detailed instructions in attached Submission Guideline)
 The coach or mentor nominating the student(s) must submit an essay explaining why the student should receive this award. 
The essay must be 4,000 characters or less.
 
For a list of Dean’s List award selection criteria and a detailed explanation of the submission process please see the attached Dean’s List Submission Guide.
 
REMEMBER! :
All student nominations must be uploaded to the FIRST Dean’s List site via the Team Registration System no later than January 15th, 11:59 pm
 
 
This nomination process can often be confusing for first-time mentors and coaches. 
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me for further clarification if needed.
[email protected]  (858) 431-9189
 
Good Luck to your teams as they build and compete during this 2017-2018 FTC season!
 
Kind Regards,
Julie Bonnardel

The North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO) is a fun contest for U.S. and Canadian middle and high school students in which contestants compete by solving compelling and creative puzzles in linguistics and computational linguistics. Requiring no previous knowledge of linguistics, languages, or computing, these puzzles can be solved by analytic reasoning alone, and serve as a fun introduction to a field to which many students have never been introduced. Winners of NACLO are eligible to compete in the International Linguistics Olympiad, one of twelve international high school science Olympiads.

​Try some of these practice problems: http://nacloweb.org/practice.php#naclo_online

Students must register by Jan 14, 2018 for the Open Round at SDSU; more information available here:
https://sites.google.com/a/mail.sdsu.edu/naclo/

The top US team and perhaps additional teams will get a trip to the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL)!
http://nacloweb.org/

Team Mentors, Parents and Students!

The following weekends have been selected for league meets and regional for this season:

Kick Off: Sept. 9
Regionwide Scrimmage: Dec. 2
Meet 1: Dec. 9-10
Meet 2: Jan 13-14
Meet 3: Jan 27-28
League Championships: Feb. 10-11
Regional: Feb. 24th or 25th (subject to facilities/volunteer availability)

With the good possibility that the San Diego region will expands to 5 leagues this year, we may still be looking for meet hosts. If you have a desire to host, please send me an email at [email protected]

Thank you,

Matt Nilsen
San Diego FTC region - Affiliate Partner

From the FTC Team Blast email:

FIRST® Tech Challenge Registration Opening:
Registration for the 2017-2018 season for FIRST Tech Challenge opens today at noon ET.
 
Visit the streamlined registration website - simplified dashboard with reminders. Two Youth Protection Program (YPP) screened Lead Coach/Mentors are still required to manage the team roster and begin meeting with youth; however, now Lead Coach/Mentors and Team Administrators can create teams, pay and order products while either Lead Coach/Mentor is completing the screening process. Register today and join the excitement of the season ahead!
 

FIRST Tech Challenge grants:
Register your team and take advantage of a registration grant. [be aware that in the past, teams had to wait to register or buy kit materials until after they were notified of a grant award because the grants could not be used after purchase]
 
Now’s a great time to get started for the season. FIRST®  is offering a $275 grant for qualified veteran teams to cover the cost of a FIRST Tech Challenge registration. Know someone who might want to start a new team? We also have a rookie grant to cover the cost of team registration plus materials (total value $750). There’s a limited number of need-based grants available, so apply today.
 
You’ve already made an amazing impact on your students, why not build on it even more? FIRST team members who remained in FIRST for more than one year showed greater gains in STEM awareness, STEM interest, career interest and knowledge than those who only participated for a single year? Students will also gain access to over $50 million in scholarships! Keep the momentum going and continue to be part of the world’s largest not-for-profit education program.

FIRST FTC has just released a teaser video for the 2017-2018 season: FIRST Relic Recovery.
https://www.firstinspires.org/node/3616
Full details will be released Saturday, September 9, 2017 at Kickoff!