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

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