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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">-All,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"> Patrick has asked me to
share a call for help with various FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) competitions
happening in the next month. The first event is this weekend in Wylie and
conflicts with DPRG’s annual planning meeting that you do not want to miss.
However, each of the following 3 weekends also have opportunities for you to
help. Read the message below to find out the details of how you can become
involved. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"> I was a judge in one of
these competitions last year, and I can tell you that it will get you pumped up
about our youth and robotics. If you have a free weekend in the next month,
please consider helping Patrick and FTC.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Regards,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Doug P.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT
face="Times New Roman">------------------------------------------</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">On Saturday, January 14th Wylie East HS is
hosting a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC)<BR>qualifying tournament. This
tournament will showcase the work of 10-20 teams (over 200 students) and we need
volunteers to help with the event and provide feedback. We principally
need judges and referees.<BR><BR>Judging is an all-day commitment consisting of
panel interviews and observations of teams and robots in action. Ideally,
judging panels are comprised of people with a technical background along with
those with skills in communication and outreach. No one will judge
alone.<BR><BR>Referees observe team matches to observe rule violations and
"call" them. They also keep track of which elements have been scored and
record these items on scoresheets. There is online training to become a
referee and a certification exam (which usually isn't very hard).
Refereeing also gives you "the best seats in the house" for watching the matches
take place. :)<BR><BR>Inspectors meet with teams in the morning to check
robot designs for safety and compliance with build rules and restrictions.
This involves going through a short checklist of items for each robot, informing
teams of any infractions that will prevent the robot from competing or
certifying the robots as being compliant with the game requirements. This
also has training materials and a short certification exam for the
role.<BR><BR>To learn more about FIRST Tech Challenge, check out </FONT><A
style='href: "http://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/ftc"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman">http://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/ftc</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Registering as an event volunteer is a two-step
process. First go to the Volunteer Registration System site, </FONT><A
style='href: "https://my.usfirst.org/FIRSTPortal/Login/VIMS_Login.aspx"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman">https://my.usfirst.org/FIRSTPortal/Login/VIMS_Login.aspx</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> . It can be a bit confusing, so here is a video
about how to create a new VIMS account: </FONT><A
style='href: "http://www.screencast.com/t/pTL7rCsb"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman">http://www.screencast.com/t/pTL7rCsb</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> If you already have a VIMS account from
volunteering in a previous event or season, you should use that
account.<BR><BR>Then select "Apply for an event" tab, select FTC, and enter
75098 and select the Wylie East HS event. Finally, select the event role
you would like.<BR><BR>We need an array of volunteers-from concessions and
referees, to set up and inspections-so please feel free to forward this message
to any friends or colleagues who may be interested in helping.<BR><BR>And we
have other events taking place throughout January and into February, so we
invite you to consider volunteering at those as well.<BR><BR> Jan 14
- Wylie East FTC Qualifier, Wylie<BR> Jan 21 - Plano Academy HS FTC
Qualifier, Plano<BR> Jan 28 - Allen HS FTC Qualifier,
Allen<BR> Feb 4 - Hedrick MS Qualifier,
Lewisville<BR><BR>Please contact Patrick Michaud at <</FONT><A><FONT
face="Times New Roman">patrick.michaud@utdallas.edu</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman">> if you have any questions. Thank you so much
and we hope to see you
soon.<BR><BR>Pm</FONT><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>