Hello FTC PA Championship Teams and Volunteers,
Coaches, please share this email with your team members, mentors and parents. This is one of at least two emails you will receive to prepare for the FTC PA Championship.
Congratulations to all 36 Teams that have advanced to the Pennsylvania FTC Championship, Mar 16th and 17th, 2024! We are thrilled and impressed with the caliber of teams that have earned a spot at our biggest and final event this season. It is going to be an awesome experience for teams, volunteers and spectators alike. Link to event to view the teams. Published Agenda change as noted below and in the attachment.
https://www.ftcpenn.org/ftc-events/2023-2024-season/pennsylvania-ftc-championship
For the third year, our Championship is being held at Saucon Valley Middle/Elementary School located in Hellertown, PA, just south of Bethlehem. The Saucon Valley School District houses four (4) FTC Teams under the leadership of Robert Svitilla and Peter Pequeno; 17334 – Panthera Robotica, 18284 Indeterminate Forms, 19831 Panthera Gamma and 24217 Panthera Psi. There is no doubt about the strong presence of FIRST and FTC in the District as a club and within the curriculum. If you have any questions about the breadth and impact of robotics in Saucon Valley, please be sure to meet with Bob and Peter while at the competition.
Agenda:
We have made an Agenda change that we hope teams and volunteers will be pleased with. Please find attached until we update our website. Due to the fact that our matches in the last 6 Qualifiers ran so efficiently, with great credit to the teams, we are able to compress our Sunday schedule so that the entire event will be completed by 3:30PM! This should especially benefit those teams with extended travel distances.
We are also allowing more time for what we feel will be a lower pressure event so we can have fun and celebrate your achievements as the teams compete for the coveted four (4) spots to the 2024 FIRST® Championship, Houston, TX April 17-20, 2024.
Team Lunch Pre-Orders – Saturday and Sunday
Food concessions are provided by the Saucon Valley Foundation for Educational Innovation. Please contribute to this worthwhile organization.
Sandwiches and Wraps: Orders for these items will close Wednesday, March 13th at 10pm.
Pizza: Orders for these items will close by 10pm the night before i.e. 10pm Friday for Saturday pizzas / 10pm on Saturday for Sunday pizzas.
Note: The availability of sandwiches, wraps and pizza will be extremely limited for purchase on the days of the event, so please complete your team’s pre-order on time!
Link to the Pre-Order form:
https://www.svfoundation.net/ftc-pa-state-ecwid-2024/
Team Social:
As you are aware, we are also planning a Saturday evening Team Social from 7:00 – 9:30 PM. There is no additional cost to attend the Social, which we know will be a very special event. Volunteers are welcome as well. Are you ready for this?
We are excited to announce that we have secured the entire National Museum of Industrial History, 602 E 2nd St, Bethlehem, PA 18015 exclusively for our FTC Championship participants! Explore America’s industrial past and take in over 200 artifacts that tell the stories of the 1876 exhibition, iron steel, textiles and much more. Their volunteers will be on hand for working demos as well. Check it out:
But wait, there’s more. We are also hosting a Dance Party with our long time and great friend of FTC PA DJ Tommy Gunn and Thunderkiss Entertainment LLC, who many of you have experienced and already know. Tommy is promising a very special party experience for you all. He simply rocks the house! The Dance Party will be located in a secure heated tent just opposite the entrance to the museum.
https://thunderkissentertainment.com/
Additionally, we are working on arranging for an Ice Cream Social on the premises in the museum lobby. We are hoping to get the details secured in the next couple of days. More to come.
If you would like to attend the Saturday evening Team Social and join in the fun, please register by filling out the form in the following link. For the safety and security of the attending students please note that there must be one adult per ten (1) attending students. Also, please restrict your attendees to competing students, mentors, coaches and parent chaperones at this time. We may need to limit attendees due to facility capacity. If we can open up the invitation to additional family members later, we will let you know in advance. Team Social registration form:
https://forms.gle/UBkevZnT9YnEGSeKA
Promote and Compass Awards:
We are accepting Promote and Compass Award submissions for the State Championship! If you would like to submit either video award to us prior to 12:00 noon Friday, March 15th, 2024 please do so by providing a link for us to access the submission. Please send the link to ftc@pennfirst.org . See Game Manual 1 sections 9.5.8 and 9.5.9 for more specifics.
Video Award Submission: General Guidelines
Promote Award (Optional)
ð Video must follow FIRST branding and design standards.
ð Video cannot be longer than 60 seconds.
ð Video must be of a high quality, as submissions may be used later to promote FIRST.
ð Team must have rights to the music used in the video.
ð Music and permissions must be listed in video credits.
ð Video must have strong production value.
ð Video must be submitted by the deadline.
ð Team must present a thoughtful and impactful video which appeals to the public.
ð Creativity in interpreting the yearly theme is required.
ð Follow video award submission guidelines.
Compass Award (Optional)
A beacon and leader in the journey of the FIRST Tech Challenge.
The Compass Award recognizes an adult coach or mentor who has given outstanding guidance and support to a team throughout the year and demonstrates to the team what it means to be a Gracious Professional. The winner of the Compass Award will be chosen from candidates nominated by FIRST Tech Challenge student team members, via a 40-60 second video submission. The video must highlight how their mentor has helped them become an inspirational team.
We want to hear what sets the mentor apart.
Required criteria for the Compass Award:
ð Video must follow FIRST branding and design standards.
ð Video cannot be longer than 60 seconds.
ð Video must be of a high quality, as submissions may be used later to promote FIRST.
ð Team must have permission from the copyright owners for the music used in the video.
ð Music and permissions must be listed in video credits.
ð Video must be submitted by the deadline.
ð Video highlights the mentor’s contribution to the team and demonstrates what sets the mentor apart
The Compass Award and Promote Award will only be judged at the Pennsylvania FTC Championship Tournament. Winning videos will be submitted to FIRST and used to promote the higher values of FIRST Tech Challenge.
The video must be submitted by the due date and time, 12:00 noon Friday, March 15th, 2024.
Videos must be submitted in AVI, WMV, MOV or better format. Submission through use of a streaming service such as YouTube is not acceptable. Remember the winning video may be shown on a large screen during the awards ceremony. Teams should use the best resolution available for the final version.
Only one video submission per Team will be considered.
Live Stream:
We will be LiveStreaming this event for the pleasure of the family members who may not be able to attend in person.
Link to our channel which will show all streams
https://www.youtube.com/@ftcpenn/streams
Direct link to video for day 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLZEDnQf-YI
Direct link to video for day 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-GaQVP3hqs
We can assure that the 36 registered teams are very excited to compete.
live and in person, so it should be great fun seeing how this season’s
challenge CENTER STAGE plays out in this final PA event of the
season. This will be a two (2) field, single division competition and we
expect to hold to our agenda and schedule for the day.
Please see attached list of PA FTC Championship teams and agenda. More preparatory to come on Monday, however since you have advanced from one of our Qualifiers, you should know the drill.
Congratulations once again and all the best in your preparations.
Tom Zawislak and the Championship planning team.
Pennsylvania FIRST® Robotics
FIRST Tech Challenge® Program Delivery Partner
phone: (302) 383-9925
email: ftc@pennfirst.org
Website: www.FTCPenn.org