FIRST LEGO League Championship Announcement 4: Snow, Travel, and Intentions

Greetings FIRST LEGO League Championship Teams,

1. Schedules will NOT be posted today
2. Your Response is NEEDED by 11pm January 12, 2017
3. Both Tournaments Are Still Happening!

1) Schedules will NOT be posted today
In the Coach Pre-Tournament Letter, which I am sure you have all read in it's entirety by now states that schedules will be posted on the website on Wednesday. That will NOT be happening today, please read the other items to understand why.

2) Your Response is NEEDED by 11pm January 12, 2017
I need a coach from EVERY team to fill out this Google Form before 11pm tomorrow!  Teams have already started to contact me about travel problems because of this latest storm to hit Oregon. Some areas may have flooding, others are bogged down in snow. In Hillsboro, there is a fair amount of snow on the ground and schools are currently closed. We do anticipate the schools to be open tomorrow or Friday. It does not appear that the events will be as Winter-Warm as I predicted in my last email, as we anticipate freezing and near freezing temperatures going into the weekend.

Please look at your local weather.
Please check TripCheck.

Talk with your team, then fill out this form. More decisions will be made after every team has submitted a form. Look for more communication soon!

3) Both Tournaments Are Still Happening!
As of 3pm Wednesday, January 11, 2017 both State Championship Tournaments are scheduled to happen on the 14th and 15th. Our volunteers are scheduled (although we still need a few more), our venue is still planning to be open, and we hope that most of you are still planning on attending.

What could cause a cancellation:

• If Hillsboro School District declares the facilities closed on January 14 & 15 we will not be able to hold the tournaments. We must abide by their facility decisions
• If the Liberty High School grounds are considered unsafe on Friday, with that situation unlikely to improve by Saturday.
• If the weather reports are drastically wrong and we get another storm - very unlikely
• If a significant number of teams (like most of you) are unable to attend because of concerns over safe travel - also unlikely.
• If the interstates closest to Liberty High School (primarily 26) is closed and there is no viable alternative route. - I've never seen this, but I'll put it on the list so you know I'm looking at everything.

If the tournaments are going to be canceled:

• Your emergency contact information will be used to notify all teams of a cancellation affecting their tournament AS SOON as ORTOP makes a cancellation decision OR the school district notifies us of building closure. 
• An email will be sent to this list and a blog posted.
• I will be on my phone all day making sure that you have been notified.
• You WILL be asked to fill out a form that acknowledges your team knows the event has been canceled.

BOTH CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENTS ARE STILL SCHEDULED TO HAPPEN THIS WEEKEND!

Here is a cute video of our animal allies at the Oregon Zoo enjoying today's snow:

Best Wishes,

Loridee