NorCal FLL Community

Most if the information on this site is "public"  - meaning that you don't have to be logged in to see the information.  However,  if you are not logged in, you need to have the direct link for the Event Calendar.  To help, here are links to the posted scrimmages - most of these still have room for more teams!

Upcoming Silicon Valley District Scrimmages:   10/29 San Jose,  11/6 San Jose
Upcoming Capitol District Scrimmages:  10/29 Folsom,   11/5 Sacramento,  11/6 Folsom,  11/6 Foothills

I have not heard of any upcoming scrimmages in the East Bay or Peninsula districts.

Several rookie coaches are interested in collaborating on a Spring 2012 "unofficial" tournament experience.   FIRST calls these, "Community Events".     They have an event guide and tips, etc.   If you are interested in participating and/or organizing,  feel free to respond.

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/fll/unofficial-local-event

I read this today and was curious if experienced coaches agree:  

The robot is lost after two turns.   After two turns the robot is essentially lost so you need to take advantage of lines and walls to reorient the robot.   A lot of teams will build their robot so that it can back into a wall to correct its orientation.  ....  Variances in the table mats (wrinkles, dust, and wear) and wheel slip can throw off that count.

Thinking about hosting a scrimmage but not sure about logistics... here are some thoughts.   Feel free to ask questions,  post what has worked for you (for those that have run scrimmages) and add your comments.

The 2 most important things:  space and time (date).  

SPACE:   Need an open space that can fit the "tournament pair"  (ie 2 challenge tables "back to back") plus space around them.   We like at least a  20' x 20' open space - more is better.  Then you will need space for teams to have their stuff - it is best if they have a table  to set their stuff on.

TIME:  We recommend somewhere between 2 and 3.5 hours, typically on a weekend.  It is hard to get momentum going if you do less than 2 hours and people get hungry (and then start to get cranky) if you run for more than 3.5 or so hours.  It is harder but not impossible to do a weekday event.

After these two items,  next comes, how many teams and how to organize the day.

We are big fans of the "stone soup" model - where everyone contributes something to the success of the "event" instead of considering themselves as being "hosted" by someone.     

A couple of people can bring field setup kits, a couple more can bring challenge tables.  A couple more can bring power strips / power cords.   A few others can volunteer to be the "referee" for the day (we do try to get volunteer referees to be there but they may not be comfortable being an official "referee" for the entire time, etc)     Perhaps someone can bring a music / sound system.   You get the idea.

We find a "first come, first served" type of scheduling model to work well - you are not ever quite sure how "prepared" the individual teams will be.    We have seen two models of this type work well:     In the first, teams that are ready to run a match, come up to a "ready queue" and matches are run when there are at least 2 teams ready.

A second way that works well is to breaking the total time into equal parts  (say every 15 to 20 minutes) and then allowing teams to sign up for no more than half of the slots or something similar.

We don't find merit to prescheduling the rounds or stressing about when teams run and "against" which other teams.   The important things at a scrimmage are not related to this aspect.

The next question then typically is how many teams to invite?

Assuming space is not an issue and that the site can handle as many teams as you want....  otherwise the physical site is the limitation.

Generally think about running a match every 10minutes or possibly 15 minutes.  [you could run faster than 10 minutes but it ends up being more stressful than needed for the couple of minutes of time savings  but you may also find that teams will want to go slower, like 15 or 20 minute cycles.]

This means that you can run between 4 and 6 matches,  every hour.   Assume on average, most teams would want at least 3 to 4 "matches",  that gives you some things to think about.

If you have 2 hours,   you can support, 6 teams, possibly 8 teams.   If you have 3 hours and 2 pairs of tables, you can support, 12 teams, and possibly a few more teams.

I would recommend somewhere between 8 and 12 teams is a good number of teams.   This is enough to have an "audience" but not so much that you generally have to worry too much about logistics.

Any other ideas?

Q: can I order an extra Field setup kit?    A: No,  each registered team may order exactly 1

Q: do parents need a waiver to enter the pit area?  A:   At a tournament, the pits will either be closed or open.  Open means open to everyone, including the public.   Closed, means closed to everyone except for the team members plus at least (and usually also this means, at most) 2 adult coaches.   There is no "middle ground" so to speak.

Q: Any help available for Coach to develop TECHNICAL skills?   A:   The educational version of Mindstorms has an extended set of tutorials available built right into the software.  In addition,   Carnegie Mellon has announced a free web-based programming course and finally,  there are some additional programming help listed on the FLL -> Team Resources link as well as on the norcalfll.org -> weblinks page.

Q: How do you qualify to the regional tournament passing the qualifying rounds?  Is it mainly how many points you score on the Robot Game?     A:  No, advancement is not based on how many points the robot scores in the game.  The robot game performance is a factor but not the biggest factor.        Advancement is defined by FIRST as those well rounded teams that meet the Champion's Award criteria -  I have updated the local Advancement Policy to reflect FIRST's updated Champion's Award criteria as identified in the 2011 Judging FAQ.    Finally, NorCal will not have "regionals" this season, only qualifiers (1st level) and a championship (final level).

Q: if a mission knocksoff or moves pieces during the mission of another& mission is there a chance to reset that?   A:   It depends.  The longer answer is that you need to carefully read the game mission description and game rules.  In particular,  rules 5 and 14.

Q: What are the recommended meeting times for each week?     A:   Most of our teams meet for about 4 hours a week.  The recommended meeting times are when all of the team members and at least 1 coach/mentor is available.

Q: Can you clarify the payments? The $75 qualifier tournament, how much to register each team?   A:   To register a new team with FIRST is $225 plus shipping.    To register for a qualifier is $75 per team.

Q: what's the difference when you mention project and game?  A:   There are 2 primary aspects to FLL's annual challenge:  An open-ended fun project and a fun, LEGO-only robot game.    These are 2 distinct and separate activities that are both required elements along with FIRST Core Values.

Q: is there a limit to the #ofattachments?  A:   The limitations on the robot are not described this way.  The robot has to fit into "BASE" completely and there are 2.5minutes total for the robot to go out of base, do 1 or more missions and then possibly return to base.   The more time that the robot spends in base getting "reconfigured" with attachments, the less time there is for the robot to be solving the game challenge.

Q: Will I be able to request a weekend for the tournament when I register, as our team is unable to make one of the weekends.  A:  When you register for tournaments, you will select your top 3 choices in your district.  You will receive immediate feedback which of your choices your team was "placed" into.    See this article to explain in more detail.

Q: How do I get in touch with near by teams/coaches so I can coordinate a small scrimmage?  A:  The only way that we have is for coaches to join the elgg Community site  (here).  This is an opt-in community forum.  We do not send out individual emails to coaches looking to connect each other up.

Q: Do I need to bring the competition board and mat to the competition?    A: It depends. Most tournaments ask their teams to bring something to help the tournament out - either provide a general tournament volunteer or a challenge table for judging or pit practice area

Q: where do I find the info of the missions?   A:   On the firstlegoleague.org site under "2011 Food Factor Challenge".  There are 3 primary aspects :  Core Values,  Project and Robot.

Q: Are there restrictions about where on the field an aiming jig may be used. A:  Yes.   The team may only add/change items in the Base area and everything that comes to the game area must be made of LEGO elements.  The team is  not allowed to touch or change or add or remove, etc etc any other part of the game field.

Q: is there a link that confirms  water as not a food item for contamination? A:  The Project FAQ clearly disallows water as a food choice for this season's Project.

Q: Where do I find the size, parts can be or can not be used, and  other restrictions for a robot?  A:   In the robot game section of the challenge, in the Rules area,   a robot is defined as any LEGO element with restrictions on the electrical aspects (and no wind-up LEGO motors) plus restirctions on size (must fit in BASE).

Q: What about rubber band's comes with the kit can they be used?    A:  If the challenge does not limit their use  (which they don't) and they are LEGO rubber bands (which if they are, if they came in the Mindstorms kit) , then yes, items like rubber bands, tank treads, are allowed.     

Q: What's the best way to find teams who are looking for members or members looking for teams?   A:   TeamUp! is the only mechanism currently available on a general basis.  We find generally sending out an email on a relevant local mailing list or posting a flyer at your school/library or similar to be better ways of reaching those in your local community.

I have had quite a few people say that they are getting zero replies from trying to use the TeamUp application to start new teams....    What has been your experience?   Do we have any success stories or not?   What can FIRST do to make this tool better?   One thing that I would like is to be able to do "distance" searches instead of either one city at a time or the entire state. 

Looking for feedback from teams on Marco's TechBrick worksheets.   Should we point raw rookies to use them?      The sheer amount of information associated with the challenge can be overwhelming - What strategies do you use or would recommend for the raw rookies for breaking this down into manageable "chunks"?

The Partnership for Food Safety Education

       

 Learn more at  http://fightbac.org/

Northern California:  Coach Calls

FIRST Hosted Senior Mentor:  Coach Calls
Call In Phone Number: 1-866-951-1151
Conference Room: 7052714
Each call can hold up to 1000 callers 

SOURCE WEB PAGE  [snapshot as of Aug10]

Date/Time/Call Info	Topic
8/15/2011 - 7pm ET	Where Do I Start? Coach Orientation (outline)
8/23/2011 - 7pm ET	Coaching A Team Agenda - coming soon
9/7/2011 - 7pm ET	Basic Programming: Tips, Skills, & Resources Agenda - coming soon
9/12/2011 - 7pm ET	The Robot Game Agenda - coming soon
9/19/2011 - 7pm ET	The Project Agenda - coming soon
9/21/2011 - 7pm ET	Core Values/Teamwork Agenda - coming soon
10/13/2011 - 7pm ET	Judging: A Perspective for the Coach Agenda - coming soon
10/20/2011 - 7pm ET	Preparing for an FLL Event Agenda - coming soon

Every so often,  we get asked our opinion about the variety of LEGO+ books that exist...   I am seeking your input!  What would you (or your team) recommend?  Why?   Would you recommend different books used for reference versus learning versus experimentation?  What about programming versus building?

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