Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 17:01:15 -0500
Subject: VEX Robotics Competition Feb/Mar Update
Greetings Team,
Please read below for:
- Team and event update for the current season
- The webcast of the Championship of the Americas this weekend
- Information for all qualified teams planning to attend the VEX Robotics World Championship
- Information to sign up as a Volunteer for the VEX Robotics World Championship
- Online Design Challenge update (still one week left to submit free entries)
General Team and Event Update:
Much has happened since our last update. There are now over 1300 official VEX Robotics Teams that have competed in over 90 tournaments around the world in the 2008/2009 competition season. Just in the past few weeks we’ve had incredible events in New Zealand, Colombia, Mexico and various cities around the United States. As we approach the end of the 2008/2009 season, there are still a number of events coming up before the World Championship in Dallas April 30 - May 2. This upcoming weekend will see over 250 teams competing in tournaments in Nebraska, New Jersey, Maryland, California, Connecticut and Colombia. Good luck to all the teams playing this weekend!
Championship of the Americas Webcast:
We’ve got great news for everyone who loves to watch events and see what teams in other areas have done with their robots. NASA will be webcasting the Championship of the Americas competition this Friday and Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska. The event, hosted by the CREATE Foundation will have almost 100 teams playing in a number of different tournaments (the normal middle/high school tournament, a middle school only tournament, an elementary school tournament and their Magbot Mayhem game for teams of any/all ages). You can visit robotevents.com and the Championship of the Americas event page http://robotevents.com/event.php?eid=786 to view the event schedule and find the link to the NASA webcast.
World Championship Registration and Payment information:
We are very excited to announce there are now over 200 teams registered for the VEX Robotics World Championship next month in Dallas.
. If your team is registered and paid for the World Championship, you’re good to go - see you in Dallas!
. If your team is currently registered for the VEX World Championship next month in Dallas but has NOT made your entry fee payment yet, make sure to get it submitted by the payment deadline - next Friday, April 10th.
. Teams qualifying at events this weekend will have until the 10th to register and pay.
. We do have a number of teams on the waiting list for the World Championship looking for the chance to participate, so if your team is registered and will not be able to attend, PLEASE let us know now so we can extend an invitation to a waiting team.
We are thrilled that so many incredible teams from around the world will be able to participate in Dallas and we know it’s going to an amazing event. We will be sending out a number of updates to all registered World Championship teams next week covering various items such as specific Awards information, the Team Party, the Pit Layout, the schedule, robot shipping and more.
World Championship Volunteers:
With so many teams now competing in the World Championship, we need as many passionate volunteers as we can get. If you are with a team participating in the World Championship or just plan to come out to watch and partake in the festivities, let us know if you’d like to volunteer to help at the event. Some volunteers positions are needed for only a half day, some are needed for one full day and some are needed for the full three days - we’ll work with any interested volunteers who are with competing teams to assign them to roles that fit their availability. Just click the “register by clicking here” link on the VEX Robotics World Championship event page http://robotevents.com/event.php?eid=1201 to sign up as a volunteer.
Many thanks in advance to all the volunteers who will help make this event such a great experience for hundreds of teams and thousands of students!
Online Design Challenges:
There is still one week left for participants to enter submissions for the new Online Design Challenges at Robotevents.com. A number of entries have already been posted and voting will open on April 9th. You can view the entries and get more information on the three different challenges at the Online Design Challenge Web Page. http://forum.robotevents.com/design/
That’s it for this update. Thanks again to every team for helping to make this VEX Robotics Competition season such a great success. We can’t wait for the World Championship!
Best regards,
VEX Robotics Competition