For urgent matters, please call or email the Regional Director
Selected “Ask the Regional Director” Q & A:
What is the deadline for the Judges Information/ essays to be input into TIMS? Is this the same as the “regional” program information?
There are 2 deadlines for team info in TIMS:
1. Dec 14 – team profile info for regional program books (data will be exported 12/15/11)- So that’s the team names (including long name with sponsors), nickname, motto, robot name, school/org’n name, location, rookie year.
2. Feb 23 - FIRST deadline for teams to complete the Judges’ Info: ”Team Essays” in TIMS (Note that the word “essay” is misleading – there’s a 250-character max, so it’s really “short-answer”, not “essay”.) While that feels far away, the deadline is RIGHT after the “stop build” date, when everyone has gone “Phew!” and is taking a couple days to get caught up in non-FIRST stuff that was pushed to the side during build… so it’s very easy to miss.
This info is compiled into a “Team Profiles Yearbook”, specific for each regional, and given to the judges there. Each team has a one-page summary that includes a robot photo, basic profile info, and the “Team Essays”.
Last year as a region, Pittsburgh teams did much better, but still, of our local teams’ pages in the Judges’ Team Profiles book for our regional competition, fully half were either blank or obviously outdated, in spite of this being requested as part of the local funding application last year. It’s just difficult to make this a priority at the end of the build period, so I’m working harder this year to make sure it’s done prior to funds being allocated. Note, tho, that there are a few of the entries that the team will likely want to update in Feb (e.g., challenges overcome, most competitive for which awards) in addition to uploading a robot photo.
See this page on USFIRST.org for a list of registration deadlines.
I know FIRST has the dates for the Pgh Regional as [Thu thru Sat]. But isn’t the competition Friday and Saturday only?
Thursday is a set-up and practice day for teams – very valuable for fixing last-minute problems, and scouting out other teams for potential alliance members, beyond setting up the pit, getting the robot inspected, etc. Seeding matches begin on Friday morning after opening ceremonies, and continue on Saturday, followed by final rounds and closing/awards ceremonies on Saturday afternoon.
There will likely be an opportunity to drop off the robot and pit materials on Wed late afternoon or early evening – more info will be sent to teams as we get closer to the competition. Thanks for asking!
Where can I find the agenda/times for the Pittsburgh Regional and other regionals? Thank you.
When final, it will be posted with other info and details on the usfirst.org website, found by searching on “What Events and Teams are in my Area?” http://www.usfirst.org/whatsgoingon
Tentative agenda and details will be posted on the Pittsburgh FIRST website.
If you need further info that is not yet posted, please email me (pdepra@usfirst.org). On the FIRST side of things we’re not always aware of the lead time needed for permissions and team decision-making within your organization. Knowing that the info is needed sooner helps us to be more responsive to your needs and helps our planning process for future years as well. Thanks for asking!
