Infinite Recharge Coach Email Volume 9 – 10/26/20 Virtual Pits and PNW FRC Team meeting
Greetings Coaches!
If you are new to this email this is the place where you will find all of the Washington specific FIRST Robotics Competition information. Coaches in the FIRST system for the INFINITE RECHARGE season will be added once teams are able to register for events. Every email from me will be numbered and that number lets you know which update it is, if you miss an update you can find it on our website.
Here is what I have for you today:
- We need your help
- Virtual Pits this Saturday, Oct 31 at 10:00 am
- FIRST PNW FRC Meeting Thursday, Nov 6 at 6:00 pm. 2046 is our host
- WA public school teams – iGrants close Nov 2, get yours in!
- FIRST Washington Grant is open
- New resources added to the FRC page
We need your help
Last week I sent an email to all FRC mentors, coaches, parents and students from last season asking them to join our mailing list. I am able to do this once a year and allow families to “opt in” My goal is to be able to communicate things (like the virtual pits & PNW FRC team meetings listed below) directly and not have to go through you. To do this successfully, I may need some help from all of you. Could you reach out to your team and ask them to fill out this form which will put them on our mailing list?
Thanks for the help!
Virtual Pits THIS Saturday, 10/31/2020 from 10am-11:30am
FRC is a very social community yet we have not been able to meet in person, so we are going to try something new this year. Virtual Pits!
Come join us at 10am on Saturday 10/31/2020 and hang out with FRC teams from across the PNW. Students, Mentors & Volunteers, you will be able to visit with many teams and participants. Talk about FRC, technology, gaming, or anything else you want. We will have breakout rooms for teams who want to establish a virtual pit. Don’t want your own pit? No problem, you can wander around and visit others!
Requirements: You will need Zoom on your device, version 5.3.2 or higher. This version was released recently. If you are in doubt, just install the latest version of Zoom today.
The event is free and you are welcome to come join the fun!
Some other instructions:
Host your team pit: If your team wants to host a pit space, we recommend that you take some time to create some graphics. Someone on your team will act as the host in your virtual pit. Visitors will drop into your room. You can share a screen to display your graphics using Zoom. Good suggestion: A PowerPoint that has pictures of your robot, CAD drawings, perhaps pictures from outreach events, or some bit of technology your team is proud of. Anything is fair game. Come up with a strategy for hosting your virtual pit. Perhaps schedule a pit host to be in your virtual pit, or you want to have multiple people take shifts.
Click here to sign up for your virtual pit space.
Step by step:
1) Install the new Zoom software
2) Create a virtual pit display
3) Sign up IN ADVANCE for a pit space. We need to know you are coming so we can create a room for you before the event
4) Join at 10am on Saturday 10/31/2020.
In addition, we will have open rooms for general discussions such as: programming, building & machining, electronics, team management and upcoming challenges. There will also be general social rooms to jump into and just chat.
Here is the meeting info, note there is a password for this meeting:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88243152555?pwd=VVBBL0poeVIvRkh3Y3FTL0RsQTFXdz09
Meeting ID: 882 4315 2555
Passcode: 0147
One tap mobile
+12532158782,,88243152555#,,,,,,0#,,0147# US (Tacoma)
+16699006833,,88243152555#,,,,,,0#,,0147# US (San Jose)
Dial by your location
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 882 4315 2555
Passcode: 0147
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbqb4eg64N
PNW FRC Team Meeting Thursday, Nov 5 from 6-8pm hosted by 2046
We have heard from several coaches that they would love to have their students to connect and learn from other teams. A suggestion was made that we schedule a regular meeting date and time with different teams hosting the meeting each week.
As a result of this feedback, In November, we are starting PNW FRC Team Meetings every Thursday from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. 2046, Bear Metal will be hosting our first meeting on November 5th so tune in to see what they have planned! This will be a recurring meeting so the meeting info below will not change from meeting to meeting. You don’t have to attend the entire meeting if you are unable, tune in for as long as you can and connect with members from different teams.
Here is the meeting info, note there is a password for this meeting:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81216485795?pwd=ZjhjTXE2YlA5OTdoZlRlRDVEUVRQUT09
Meeting ID: 812 1648 5795
Passcode: 21238
One tap mobile
+12532158782,,81216485795#,,,,,,0#,,21238# US (Tacoma)
+16699006833,,81216485795#,,,,,,0#,,21238# US (San Jose)
Dial by your location
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
Meeting ID: 812 1648 5795
Passcode: 21238
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kewCYx7vj3
iGrants – close November 2nd (Washington public schools only)
If you are a public school in Washington, it is important you apply for this grant and register this season. There are lots of things you can use those funds for even if you don’t build a robot. Our Legislators will be voting in 2021 on the budget for the next two years and it is important for them to see all of these funds get used!
Keep in mind, that this has to get approved by an admin at your district after it is submitted so don’t wait until the last minute!
FIRST Washington Grant closes November 6
It is more important than ever this year to register and fill this grant out as soon as possible if you want to participate this season. It is our goal to make sure that everyone who wants to participate can, and don’t want money to be a barrier. If you missed the where we discussed fees and why we are charging them, you can find that communication here. Additionally, we have asked teams who are in a stronger financial position to consider donating funds to allow other teams to be able to participate this season and keep the PNW strong. We have already had teams step up, thank you!!!! If you are able to make a donation to support a struggling PNW team, fill in the appropriate section of the FIRST Washington Grant
The grant will close November 6, click here to fill out the FIRST Washington Grant.
Additional Resources added to the FRC Resource page on firstwa.org
Based on feedback from the coaches meeting last Tuesday, I have added a Shared Virtual Team Meeting Info section to our website that has a link to a googlesheet where teams can post their meeting info and platform (Microsoft Teams, Googlemeets etc…) if they are open to having team members from other teams join their meetings. Feel free to enter your team meeting info if you are open to having others join your meeting.
Important Dates and Deadlines
10-31: Virtual Pits 10:00 – 11:30 am
11-2: iGrant closes
11-2: FRC Coaches Chat 7:00 pm
11-5: PNW FRC Team Meeting 7:00 pm hosted by 2046
11-6: FIRST Washington Grant closes
11-6: Equity & Access Grant closes
11-9: New Team Grant closes
11-12: PNW FRC Team Meeting 7:00 pm hosted by 1425
11-16: NASA Grant closes
11-19: PNW FRC Team Meeting 7:00 pm hosted by 2557
Adrienne Rime
Director of Programs
FIRST Washington