Competition Info Letter 2023

6570 Students and Families, As our various teams have been working hard to get the team, code, and bot ready our upcoming tournaments, I wanted to write an informational letter to let families know what to expect as we transition into competition season. Firstly, our current teams (Programming, Build, and Communications) will be reorganizing into roles for competitions, such as pit team, scouts, team spokespersons, etc. We try our best to get kids into the roles they are excited about. There is a survey that enumerates the different roles needed at competitions that will be shared via TEAMSNAP that explains what is expected of each role. Each robotics team competes at 2 district events in hope to qualify to states. Our competitions are as follows: March 2nd-4th is at Spring Arbor University in Jackson, and March 9th-11th will be at Mason High School outside of Lansing. The format for robotics tournaments look like this: Thursday After School (until 9:30pm): Check-In Team loads up robot and everything needed for competition and heads to the event. Thursday is for robot weigh-in and inspection, pit setup, scouting other teams' robots before matches begin. Friday All Day (8:00am-9:30pm, approx): Qualification Matches. Teams are randomly pitted with and against other teams to try and earn as many ranking points as possible. 60 matches are run throughout the day (each team only runs 9-10), during which scouting teams take stats on all robots at the event, pit team performs maintenance and emergency repairs on the robot to keep it up and running. Saturday All Day (8:00am-7:00pm approx.) Finish Quals, Playoffs, and Awards The last 20 qualification matches are run just like on Friday. Top 8 teams then select their partner teams to take into the playoffs, which are held in a double-elimination style. After the playoffs conclude, there is an award ceremony where winners are recognized and other awards are distributed. These are long days, and we ask a lot of our students. Parents are welcome (and encouraged!) to come and see these massive events. Each competition hosts 40 different schools, and the scale of the event can be staggering for first time members and families. If you can’t make it out physically, the matches are also livestreamed. We’ll publish the livestream link when we get to the event; but be aware that there is a lot more going on at these events beyond the matches! We are dedicated to making sure our kids are set up for success at these events, and we will need some help to ensure that everything runs smoothly. We have people working on providing meals for the students on Fridays and Saturdays, and ask for families to pay $25 per student to cover these costs for each event ($50 to cover both). If your student has special dietary concerns, please let us know so we can plan accordingly. In addition to the meals, concessions are available for students during the competition, and like last year we are looking for donations of snacks and water to keep the kids charged up during these long days. Keep an eye on teamsnap for what kinds of snacks are needed at each event. Since our first competition is at Jackson (approximately 1 hour’s drive from WHS), we will be carpooling the students up each day. This makes for early mornings and late evenings, and if you are able and willing to help transport kids, watch teamsnap for information and signups. Our second competition is the furthest away from WHS that we’ve gone before. Since our Lansing event is about 90 minutes away in good traffic, we’ve elected to reserve rooms at a nearby hotel for our students. We will be staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites East Lansing; 2200 Hampton Pl, Okemos MI 48864. Students will stay in Suites that room up to 6. The cost per student is $50 to cover both Thursday and Friday nights. Coaches and Mentors will also be staying at the hotel to supervise and make sure students get to sleep and wake up on time to be successful each day. We ask the students to pack light since we will have to pack up and head out before the pits open on Saturday. As with our food costs, we are very sensitive to families for whom these expenses are onerous. If these costs present a hardship, please don’t hesitate to communicate with either Coach Gapp or Coach Welling. One of the goals of our booster organization is to ensure that all students can take part in these events, and we can help. Please let us know by the 25th whether or not your student will be joining us at the hotel. We’d like the $50 for food and $50 for hotel costs also by Feb. 25th. Please make checks payable to Whiteford Robotics Boosters. As mentioned before, keep an eye on TEAMSNAP for specific information as we get closer to the events. Have your students fill out the competition interest survey by Monday the 13th so we can start tryouts for the drive team and start allocating our talent. Thank you all! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns! Coach Welling