Local Parent Letter - Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach ...

Intel Oregon FIRST ® LEGO ® League2012 Qualifying TournamentSalmon Creek Elementary School1601 NE 129 th Street, Vancouver, WASaturday, December 1, 2012November 8, 2012Dear Parent/Guardian:The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and the Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach Program(ORTOP) are pleased to invite you to the Intel Oregon FIRST LEGO League 2012 QualifyingTournament, to be held at Salmon Creek Elementary School in Vancouver, WA. For the past 8 to 12weeks, your youngster has been a member of an engineering team designing, building andprogramming a LEGO robot to meet the Senior Solutions: Engaged – Connected – Independent FLChallenge. We hope you will be there to cheer on your youngster's team. The purpose of this letteris to let you know what to expect at the tournament.Your child’s team is:TEAM # __________________TEAM NAME _______________________________________________COACH NAME _______________________________________________________What is an FLL Qualifying Tournament?This is the 12th year for Oregon’s FLL program! This year we have 435 teams participating. Oursuccess has created the need for 24 small tournaments prior to the Championship tournaments. Wecall these “Qualifying Tournaments.” About 30% of teams from each qualifying tournament willadvance to one of the Intel Oregon FIRST LEGO League 2012 Championship Tournamentspresented by Rockwell Collins being held on January 19th and 20th, 2013, at Liberty High School inHillsboro, Oregon.Who can come to the event?The public is welcome to attend the tournament and watch the robot game competition. Please invitefriends, family, teachers and your team’s school principal. No tickets are required. Siblings whoattend must be supervised at all times, and are not allowed in the Judging rooms or Pit Areas.How do I get there?Follow I-5 North. Approximately 7 miles north of the Columbia River, take the NE 134 th Street Exit(Exit 7). Turn right onto NE 134 th Street. Turn right onto NE 20 th Ave/Hwy 99. Turn right onto NE129 th Street. The school is about a 1/4 of a mile up the road, on the left.Or Follow I-205 North. Approximately 10 miles north of Hwy 14, take the NE 134 th Street Exit (Exit36). Turn left onto NE 134 th Street. Turn left onto NE 20 th Ave/Hwy 99. Turn right onto NE 129 thStreet. The school is about a 1/4 of a mile up the road, on the left.Where do I park?Parking is located in the lot beside the school. You can unload your team and equipment in front ofthe building, but do not leave your vehicle parked there. The driver must remain with each vehicleand move to a parking area upon unloading. If you decide to park in the adjoining neighborhood,please do not park in front of any driveways or mailboxes.1

When and where will my youngster's team compete?Your youngster's team will compete in the Robot Performance Competition in the Gym. In thiscompetition, their robot negotiates the Senior Solutions Challenge Field -- the same competitiontable you may have seen at team practice sessions. Your child’s coach will be provided with yourchild’s team schedule of events via email prior to the Tournament. In general, competition begins at9:30 am and ends around 3:00 pm.How long is a Robot Performance round?Each team will have three Robot Performance rounds on the Challenge tables. Each round is2 ½ minutes long. Knowing your child’s team number will help you cheer on the team and know theirschedule.How does the judging process work?In addition to the Robot Performance Competition, each team will have three 10-minute interviewswith panels of judges. These interviews will allow the judges to ask questions about the Project,Core Values and Robot Design aspects of preparing for the tournament. Due to space limitationsand to allow the teams to do their best, guests will not be permitted into the Robot Design or CoreValues judging areas. Parents are permitted to view the Project judging session, but must notinteract with or distract members of the team in any way. Parents must enter and exit the Judgingroom with their team, and will be escorted to the seats set aside for them. In order to allow theteams to do their best with minimum distractions, children not on the team will NOT be allowed in theJudging Rooms.Can I take pictures of the competition?Yes! Flash can be distracting so please do not use your flash while the team is at the competitiontable.Can I stay with my youngster's team?No. The teams will be using the Pit area as a preparation and practice area. The Pit area will belimited to team members, coaches, mentors, and tournament staff. It will be accessible only to thosewearing team ID tags.Where can guests eat lunch?There is a seating area in the Commons, adjacent to the Gym, for both guests and teams to havelunch. We encourage team members to bring sack lunches to avoid delays in their schedule.Concessions – The High School Robotics Team, Skyview Stormbots, will have a concession standat the tournament, and will be selling snacks and coffee all day. Supporting this Concession Standis a great way for us to encourage the continuation of this type of activity.NO FOOD IS ALLOWED OUTSIDE OF THE COMMONS AREA.Do I need to be there all day?No. It's a long day. Opening ceremonies will start at 9:00 am. Closing ceremonies generally begin atabout 3:00 pm. A more definitive schedule will be sent to your team’s coach a few days before thetournament. Check the schedule to find out when your youngster's team is competing and thencome and go as you please. While parents are free to come and go, we expect teams and coachesto stay inside the tournament site for the entire day.How can I help?Please make a point of periodically cleaning up the area around your group during the day. Wehave quite a lot of work to do at the end of the day to tear everything down so the school is back tonormal for Monday morning, so your help with cleaning up your area will be very much appreciated.2

FLL 2012-2013 CONSENT & RELEASE FORM: Please Sign and Return to CoachAttached to this letter is the 2012-2013 FLL Consent & Release Form. FIRST ® LEGO ® Leaguerequires that this form be signed in order for you child to attend a FIRST ® LEGO ® Leaguetournament. Please read, fill in the blanks, sign it and return in to your child’s coach in advance ofthe tournament. The coach is required to present this form at the tournament check-in desk. If a formis not turned in for your child, he or she cannot participate in the tournament.Final ThoughtsIf you have a young guest with you, make sure he or she stays with you at all times. Look out forteams carrying their robots to and from competition areas. Please be polite and cheer for all of theteams participating. More than a competition, this is a fun, educational, learning experience.Your youngster's coach should have FIRST LEGO League Core Values. Ask your youngster to tellyou about his/her involvement on the team and how the team plans to exhibit FLL Core Values at thetournament.We look forward to seeing you at the tournament. Please route any questions through youryoungster's coach.Sincerely,Sandy Kirkpatrick and Morley KnollIntel Oregon FIRST ® LEGO ® League 2012 Qualifying TournamentVancouver Qualifying Tournament Planning CommitteeAttachments:FLL 2012-2013 Consent & Release Form to be signed and returned to the team coachMap to tournament location.3