The 4 Week Countdown

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Oregon,

You can expect more frequent posts from here until the tournaments in just 4 weeks!

1. November Mission Model Discussion
2. Notes from Oregon Head Referee Tom Mosher
3. OMSI & Cedar Mills Project Demonstration Days
4. November Team Goals
5. FIRST Tech Challenge Leagues Start this week

1) November Mission Model Discussion

Yesterday, started the November Mission Model Discussion. This annual Facebook event is also being cross-posted on the blog! Each day from November 1 through November 23 a new model or FIRST LEGO League robot rule will be discussed. Please use the discussions as part of your team meeting, or share your ideas in the comments here on the blog or on our Facebook page.  These posts will NOT be sent via email. Please follow our blog, facebook, G+ or all!

2) Notes from Oregon Head Referee Tom Mosher
Oregon Head Referee Tom Mosher would like to share the following with all teams - many of these items will also be addressed in the November Mission Model Discussion.

Greetings FLL Teams!

Here is some information you should know as you prepare your strategy for the Animal Allies robot game. References to specific rules are in parenthesis.

Note that this information is not official rules, and is subject to change by any official updates or your tournament's head referee (GP5).

General Guidance:

We prefer that Mission Models stay in Base or on a Tray with the two Technicians who are at the Table. The Team members who are not the current Technicians may hold Robot equipment, but please leave the Mission Models near the Table where the Refs can easily see them (R12).

Veteran teams should review the “Serious Changes for 2016” notes on Page 20 of the Challenge Guide. 

Teams may not store any game materials on the Mat outside of Base (R10 and R12).

Reminder: The “Interrupting” rule (R14) means that teams may only have one chance to deliver an Object from Base out to the Field.  Once the Robot is completely outside of Base, Interrupting the Robot while it is Transporting any Objects will result in all of the Objects being removed from the game. Please read and understand R14 completely.

Questions? Contact Tom Mosher (ORTOP Head Referee) at <fll.rules.or@gmail.com>

Mission Notes:

M01: Shark Shipment: The Shark and the Tank are separate Mission Models. R11 does not allow these models to be combined, other than “loose enough” that if a Model is picked up (such as the Tank), nothing else (such as the Shark) should come with it. So be very careful with any strategy that connects the Shark and Tank.

M02: Service Dog Action: The Robot must travel along the corridor formed by all of the Barriers, and the entire Robot must cross the Fence from west to east.

M05 Biomimicry: During the 2.5 minute Match, Interrupting the Robot while the Wall is supporting the Robot’s weight will result in an “Interruption” penalty and the loss of any Transported Objects (R15). The Interrupted Robot can be left on the Wall, but these penalties will apply.

Usually the Refs allow a team to turn off their robot during a Match without penalty (to save battery power) if they are not attempting any additional missions. But the duration of M05 includes “visible at the end of the match”, so there is no free Robot turn-off for M05.

M06 Milking: The lower point value is given if all three milk and any manure roll out. The higher point value is given if all three milk and no manure roll out.

M09 Training and Research: For purposes of Transporting (D10) the Manure Samples, “contact” includes indirect contact. If A touches B, and B touches C, then A is touching C.

For example, if the Robot moves multiple Manure Samples to the Training and Research Area by using a container, the “More” rule for M09 is not met (because the Robot was in indirect Contact with multiple samples while Transporting them).

The “More” rule for M09 applies whenever a Manure Sample is being Transported – not just between Base and the Training and Research Area.

M10 Bee Keeping: In the Challenge Guide, the caption for the picture on Page 24 “Training & Research Area” only applies to the left side of the image; the Beehive is not part of the Training and Research Area.

M14 Milk on Ramp: For Options 2 and 3, it is OK if the East or West edge of the Ramp is touching the Mat. The Mat does not count as a “thing”. 

M15 All Samples: An official Rule Update says there are seven Manure Samples (not twelve). 

3) OMSI & Cedar Mills Project Demonstration Days
Space is still available for teams to share their FIRST LEGO League Innovative Solution at OMSI or Cedar Mills Library.

On November 19th and December 3rd, your team can be the feature of the OMSI Lab for one hour. Your team will have the opportunity to bring in their innovative solution and any additional materials they need to share their solution with all the people attending OMSI that day. Book your 1-hour slot here. 

Cedar Mill Library also has several days they are welcoming FIRST LEGO League teams to share their Project. Teams must use the link above to register to participate on these days: Monday, November 28, 6:30 pm, Tuesday, November 29, 6:30 pm, Friday, December 2, 6:30 pm, Sunday, December 4, 1:00 pm, Monday, December 5, 6:30 pm, Tuesday, December 6, 6:30 pm, Friday, December 9, 6:30 pm.

4) November Team Goals
This month your team should be working to achieve these goals:

• Share your Innovative Solution with an expert who can provide critical feedback to help the team refine their idea.
• Have all of the team parents complete the STIMS form for your team, online or in print. Please see this page for help. (It is targeted at FIRST Robotics Competition, but is true for all FIRST teams). Team Rosters showing electronic consent for all team members, or Team Rosters AND FIRST OFFICIAL Youth Team Member Forms (both pages) are REQUIRED for all teams and their 3 adults at the qualifying tournament.
• Practice your 5 minute presentation for your team's parents or your school.
• Robot successfully runs 1 minute worth of missions without needing to interrupt the robot (pick it up).  Make sure you time it!  You can touch the robot in base of course!
• Practice your team's public speaking by sharing FIRST LEGO League in your community, this can be as easy as talking with your class, school, or a local organization.
• Practice your Core Values! Reach out to others in your community who could use your help, or a new team you may know about. Maybe your team struggles with a core value, find a way to practice it at each meeting this month.
• Practice your team introduction that you will use as you walk into the judging rooms. This is a great practice to get things started. Have fun, your judging session begins the minute the door opens, so having your team practice by walking through a door is a great way to prepare! Your introduction should last no more than a few seconds, but is the first impression your judges will have of you. Keep in mind that the judging rooms will be configured differently at every event depending on the space available. This is not anything fancy, it is the same thing adults do when walking into job interviews, but for new teams, it's an unknown experience. Plus there are up to 10 team members. A great example is to line up in a particular order and have each student introduce themselves while walking or as they reach a stopping point in the room. "Hi I'm _________." The last team member adds, "and we are Team #### _______"
• Reveiew the challenge manual and download the updates!

5) FIRST Tech Challenge Leagues Start this week
FIRST LEGO League isn't the only group of young engineers getting ready for competition. FIRST Tech Challenge League teams are beginning their League Meets this week! Every 2 weeks teams in clusters around Oregon will meet to test their robots in short competitions. Top scores from the League Meets will carry forward with the teams as they go to their Qualifying Tournaments in January. See the schedule for all FIRST Tech Challenge events in Oregon here.

FIRST Tech Challenge is a competitive robotics program for students in 7-12th grades. Teams are made of up to 15 students who work from September through February to design, build, and program a robot that will compete on a 12' x 12' game with 3 other robots. Teams are paired either the red or blue alliance in each match. This year's game is called Velocity Vortex and challenges teams to shoot wiffle ball particles into a rotatable center goal among other challenges. You can learn about the challenge here.

I highly recommend FIRST LEGO League teams attending FIRST Tech Challenge events to see the next level of the program.