In this post you will find:
- Winter Is Coming - the ORTOP Cancellation Policy
- Some Statistics and Advice from 1st Weekend Events
- Winterhawks Tickets - Celebrate the season!
- Call for coaching/team stories
1) Winter Is Coming - the ORTOP Cancellation Policy
NO EVENTS ARE CANCELLED at this time. ORTOP and the tournament directors are currently watching the weather very closely. Not only by watching the snowflakes out my window, but also by using weather websites; particularly NOAA and ODOT. We believe them when they tell us that Friday will bring warmer weather that will change our snow to rain and make the roads safer. If that turns out to not be the case, here is what we will do:
ORTOP Inclement Weather and Event Cancellation PolicyThe safety of the team members and our volunteers is the most important consideration. The FIRST LEGO League Operational Partners for Oregon use that consideration to guide all decisions when deciding to cancel or delay an event.Oregon's FIRST LEGO League Affiliate Partners will cancel or delay an event using information from the US Weather Bureau to help us forecast if it would be safe for a majority of the teams/volunteers to travel to and from the event. If the site host closes their facility because of weather, health, and emergency related reasons, the event will be canceled.Coaches and parents must always assess their own travel route for safety and make their own decision to travel. Keep it in perspective. The safety of the kids is the most important consideration. Official information site for tournament cancellations or delays .In addition, ORTOP and Qualifying Tournament Directors will email to both the primary and emergency contact email addresses with notification or updates.The third method of contact is by phone using the emergency phone number provided by the coach.If any of this information has changed since October, please update your Qualifying Tournament Director.Please note: If an event is canceled it is impossible to reschedule it. Site hosts have booked their facilities months in advance. There is no time to reschedule prior to the Championship. State Championship slots left open by an event cancellation will be assigned by lottery from teams affected by the cancellation.
2) Some Statistics and Advice from 1st Weekend Events
The first weekend of events went well. Awards have been posted on the Oregon tournament page.
We witnessed at some tournaments that the refrigerator model and the animal conservation model were stiffer than teams anticipated. This means that a well-used refrigerator from practice may close faster than a new refrigerator on a competition table. Your team should prepare for this! With the conservation model the problem came with table bumping. If an excited team bumps into or pushes on a table it can make the gears bind. Please be mindful of the table so that this model functions correctly.
We also saw scores that varied greatly from last year. We learned that Animal Allies is a low-score game. 30 points is a good score for a team. That doesn't mean high scores are impossible. Last weekend G.E.A.R.S. set a high score of 235 points.
Other things we saw:
- Teams did not read the new Interruption rules (D09 CORRECTION - R14 IS THE RULE, D09 IS THE DEFINITION), items being transported by the robot when the robot is interrupted will become the possession of the referee and removed from play and scoring.
- Teams forget that you can not reset the field nor touch ANYTHING outside of base except to interrupt your robot. If the field is not set how you think it should be, talk to your referee. Do not return objects your robot has moved in a previous launch, they must stay where they stop.
- Don't forget to put the wheels on the pet - and please leave the wheels (and all other table elements) at the table when your match is over! One event lost 3 sets of wheels and we do not have extras.
- Don't forget to load the Animal Conservation model, even if both teams are not going to attempt this model it gets a big item out of base to give your robot more space.
If your coach has not done so already, make sure they read the checklists and the It's Tournament Week! blog post.
3) Winterhawks Tickets - Celebrate the season!
Celebrate all your team has accomplished with their families at a Winterhawks game! We are thrilled to have these tickets donated for Oregon's FIRST teams to use. Join the fun as the Winterhawks take on TriCity! Where your team shirts or tournament buttons so teams can find each other!
We also are happy to be able to include our volunteers in this activity! If you volunteer with ORTOP, please join us at the game.
4) Call for coaching/team stories
While many of you are preparing for the end of the season. At ORTOP I'm thinking ahead to next season. That especially includes more resources for coaches. As you reflect on your team's season, please send me stories and advice that got you through. What surprised you? What really worked with your team? What inspired you to get through the challenges? What challenges nearly made you want to stop? I will use your emails along with a soon to be sent coach survey (please look for that to complete in the next few weeks) to add materials to the coach training workshops, prepare materials for future blogs, and to help all coaches who ask for help. New coaches, I especially need your insights! We only start once and it is new coaches who contact me most often.
Good luck to all the teams competing this weekend!
Best Wishes,
Loridee
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