LA/SoCal FIRST® Tech Challenge Championship Tournament – Saturday, April 24, 2021
WELCOME TEAMS! The LA/SoCal Committee looks forward to your participation in the upcoming LA/SoCal FIRST® Tech Challenge (LAFTC) Championship Tournament! Below is some additional information to help you prepare. Please read to the end of the document as there is helpful information for you.
EVENT
This is an unprecedented year with COVID and social distancing. The LAFTC Championship is remote. You will be competing from your home or safe school area and uploading your scores to the cloud. Judging Interviews and Pit Interviews will be conducted over video and the Awards Ceremony will also be via video.
We will be running a 36-team one-division tournament. All the judging categories (including Compass and Promote videos) will be awarded, and Dean’s List Finalists will be recognized.
There will be no Alliance selection or playoffs due to remote play. Ranking will be based on the total score (i.e. Ranking Points) of each team from highest to lowest. (Due to the remote event format, all scores count; no matches will be dropped.) Total score is the sum of the six Match Play scores you submit. There will not be a Finalist Alliance or a Winning Alliance, just teams ranked in order of Ranking Points.
Due to conditions created by the ongoing pandemic, FIRST is unable to host the World Championship as planned and has made the decision to cancel the 2021 FIRST World Championship events in Houston and Detroit.
PAYMENT
The fee for the LAFTC Championship is $75.00 and can be paid through Cvent at this link: These fees cover the administrative costs, trophies, and shipping.
TIMELINE
A Remote Championship runs over a 7-day period instead of just one day. Here is the timeline:
Day 0: April 17, 2021 (Saturday) 1pm-2pm – Mandatory Drivers Meeting and Overall Event Structure Call
All teams must call in for this session. In this meeting we will review how to submit robot scores; how to submit your Engineering Portfolio, Control, and Feedback Request Form; how to call into your Team Interview and Pit Interviews; and your judging times. The Zoom link to attend the Mandatory Driver’s Meeting is here. Please check in a few minutes before 1pm and rename yourself as follows: “team # – first name”.
Day 0: April 17, 2021 (Saturday) 11:59pm – Promote and Compass Videos Due
Submit your Compass and Promote nominations by midnight. Please provide your YouTube video link here. You can submit the same videos as from the QT, or create new ones.
Day 1-7: April 18, 2021 (Sunday) 7am to April 24, 2021 (Saturday) 3pm – Window to Submit Your Team’s 6 Robot Scores
Scores can be submitted starting Day 1, Sunday, April 18 beginning at 7am, and no later than Day 7, Saturday, April 24 ending at 3pm. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE to upload scores. There is a hard stop at 3pm. No exceptions. If your robot fails and you have waited until the last day to submit scores, you have no back up plan.
Also note – if for any reason you cannot work / compete on a certain day in that window, plan for evening Match Play so as not to leave all competitive play for the last day.
Day 6: April 23, 2021 (Friday) 5pm – Engineering Portfolio, Control, and Feedback Request Form Due
Engineering Portfolios are required for most judged awards and will need to be submitted through the FIRST Scoring System. Also, if you are submitting for the Control Award, a document of your autonomous operation will need to be uploaded. Lastly, if you want team feedback, you will need to submit the online form. Upload no later than 5pm Friday (you can upload any time during the week and even multiple times – the latest revision will be kept for the judges.) You can submit the same Engineering Portfolio and Control Form as from the QT, or you can upload revised documents.
Day 7: April 24, 2021 (Saturday) – Judging Day and Awards Ceremony
Event day details:
08:00 AM – 10:30 AM Remote Judging – Team interviews
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Lunch break
12:30 PM – 04:30 PM Remote Judging – Pit interviews
03:00 PM All robot performance scores are due
06:00 PM – 06:30 PM Awards Ceremony
INSPECTION
Teams are on the honor system to assure the robot meets the Robot and Field Inspection criteria on the self-check lists. Forms will not be collected or submitted to the event.
SCORING
Performance scores will be submitted by the Lead Mentor through the FIRST Scoring System. It is up to the team to referee themselves. For referee or robot questions, please go to the FIRST FORUM to receive an official response (https://ftcforum.firstinspires.org/). No videos of performance play are required.
Read the team guide on how to upload your scores here: FTC Scoring – Team Guide. You may also find it helpful to watch these four tutorials that walk teams through the scoring process for remote events: Remote Event Part 1, Remote Event Part 2, Remote Event Part 3, Remote Event Demonstration. This information can also be found on the LAFTC Website: www.FIRSTtechSoCal.org.
JUDGING
Judging will be conducted over laptop or phone via Zoom. Each team member will need a laptop or phone with camera access.
Team Interviews – Morning – There will be 2 judges in each panel. Interview times will start at 8:00am and end by 10:30am. Interviews run 10 minutes per team and judges will have time between interviews to discuss portfolios and their interview notes. Teams will be pre-assigned a timeslot and Zoom link, which will be visible to the mentor on the FIRST Dashboard on Day 0 of the event. Do not miss your timeslot. All your team members are encouraged (but not required) to attend the judging interview. Just remember the time slot is 10 minutes so manage your time appropriately. A team can, but is not required to, have up to a 5-minute rehearsed presentation to share with the judges. This would be part of your 10-minute interview. If you do not want to give a practiced presentation, the judges will ask questions as they have in the past during the 10 minutes. Please bring your robot to the interview.
Pit Interviews: Afternoon – Teams will be pre-assigned a 30-minute time slot and Zoom link, which will be visible to the mentor on the FIRST Dashboard on Day 0 of the event. Do not miss your timeslot. During this period, judges may be popping in and out of your Zoom room to ask more detailed questions about specific topics. There will always be at least two judges in the virtual room with each team. Note – questions asked by the judges during this time may be related to ANY award – please be sure to have knowledgeable team members in the room during this time slot. Please stay the full 30 minutes as judges may come back! This is a virtual version of the pit interviews at traditional events.
Mentors can log into the Zoom room for the Judging Interviews and/or the Pit Interviews, but only to view the process, not to interact. Please keep your camera off and stay muted.
AWARD CEREMONY
We will hold a Remote Award Ceremony at the end of the day (expected to be at 6:00 pm) to share the recipients of the judged and performance awards and 4 Deans Award Finalists. Trophies for the top awards will be mailed to the Lead Mentor.
REMINDER OF KEY DATES AND TIMES
| April 17, 2021 (Saturday) 1pm | Mandatory Drivers Meeting Day 0 at 1pm Review pre-assigned Judging and Pit Interview schedules |
| April 17, 2021 (Saturday) 11:59pm | Compass and Promote submittals due before midnight |
| April 23, 2021 (Friday) 5pm | Engineering Portfolio, Control, and Feedback Request Form due by 5pm |
| April 24, 2021 (Saturday) 8:00am – 10:30am 12:30pm – 4:30pm | Competition Day!!! Morning – Presentation Judging Interview Afternoon – Follow Up (Pit) Judging Interview |
| April 24, 2021 (Saturday) 3pm | All robot performance scores due by 3pm |
| April 24, 2021 (Saturday) 6:00pm – 6:30pm | Award Ceremony |
TEAMS COMPETING IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP
| Team # | Team Name |
| 542 | WHS Robotics |
| 3526 | Marlbots |
| 4348 | RoboKnights |
| 5828 | E.M.P. Chaos |
| 5921 | La Canada Engineering Club |
| 6282 | Simi Valley Robotics |
| 6325 | Aluminati |
| 6436 | AlphaGenesis |
| 7460 | Thunder |
| 7767 | Blueprints |
| 8039 | iBotz |
| 9040 | STEAMpunks Alpha |
| 9220 | Rancho Rebel Robotics |
| 9432 | Blood, Sweat, & Gears |
| 9894 | RoboLions |
| 11770 | Curiosity |
| 12525 | Wolf Corp. FTC |
| 12675 | Hermit Social Club |
| 12765 | Phoenix |
| 12861 | RoboHeroes |
| 13046 | Riptide Robotics |
| 13171 | Polyisoprene Mallards |
| 13277 | STEAMpunks Bravo |
| 13303 | Ad Hoc Bots |
| 14295 | Operation T.A.C. (Technology and Character) |
| 14531 | The 2nd Rebellion |
| 14921 | AlphaOmega |
| 15091 | aztec.exe |
| 15157 | IFC |
| 15303 | Space Rocks |
| 17600 | MoVal Robotics |
| 18253 | Beach Bots |
| 18354 | CyberToad |
| 18818 | Souper Crew |
| 18819 | T-Bird TECH |
| 19198 | Team |
Thank you,
Theresa Klemme and Patrick Brophy
Program Delivery Partners, LAFTC
