| Question |
Answer |
| What kind of sponsors are we looking for? |
Anybody
that wants to contribute monetarily can. Just refer to the e-mail above
for contacting us on how to get the money to us safely. |
| Where can the deadlines for important items such as shipping the robot, or entering for a certain award, be found? |
Refer
to the resources section of our website. It contains this year's guide
to the game, which includes shipdates and award registration deadlines
as well. |
When does our 'build season' usually start?
How long does it last? |
Build
season starts at 'kick-off' which is in early January, typically the
1st or 2nd weekend of the month. The season runs till ship date, which is on
average 6 weeks after kick-off. |
| What exactly is this kick-off thing??? |
Kick-off
is the day that the FIRST organization takes a deep breath, and risks
their entire reputation to release information regarding the new game
for the competition season. From the information gathered there, teams
like 66 have to plan, design, build, and debug a robot that will play
the game well in their opinion. |
| Where can I watch kick-off? |
You
could goto a high school that has a satellite and watch kick-off
broadcasted live from New Hampshire there. But, you would rather watch
it from your home, which you can. NASA TV has their channel on the web
that you could watch. If you have satellite TV, look on your local
channel listings for channel number and time for kick-off in your area. |
| Is FIRST robotics considered a varsity sport? |
Yup! |
| Where can I find the latest rules? |
Check
the FIRST website. Under their FIRST Robotics Competition section look
for Documents and Updates. There you will find EVERYTHING. Just be sure
to have a PDF Reader to view them. There are also links to the updates.
|
| When and where are competitions held? |
There
are numerous regional competitions held internationally, often held on
college campuses. They take place after ship date, starting in late
late February and going all the way in to early April. Then near the
end of April, the Championship event is held, and for the next several
years, that will be held at the Georgia Dome and Georgia World Congress
Center in Atlanta, GA. |
| What competitions has Team 66 traditionally taken part of? |
The Great Lakes Regional at the Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, MI.
The West Michigan Regional at the Field House on the Campus of Grand
Valley State University in Allendale, MI. (Near Grand Rapids)
The Championship Event.
In 2007 Team 66, instead of going to the West Michigan Regional, will goto the Buckeye Regional down in Cleaveland, OH. |
| How are competitions run? |
Volunteers,
which FIRST constantly looks for on a regular basis, run the
competitions. From there, they are broken into groups of referees,
judges, field crews, and inspectors who just make sure that everything
runs like clockwork. They do an excellent job. |
| Where can I find technical help on any robot related or technology related issue? |
The
main FIRST website, www.usfirst.org may be useful. But for even better
help, check out Team 47's, Chief Delphi's, Forums at
www.chiefdelphi.com. They are the main unofficial forum for FIRST. Many
people are on there that might prove inciteful on your tech related
problems. |
| What defines the role of a mentor? |
The
answer to that covers an entire spectrum of possibilities. But in
short, a mentor's role on a FIRST team is defined as a helper,
director, assistant, adviser, or anything that helps hold a team
together. |