FIRST Tech Challenge of SoCal/Los Angeles

Title: Programming Workshop Wolf Corp FTC 12525 Time: Jan 16th 3:30-4:30pm (Sat) Zoom Link: https://cpp.zoom.us/j/85116253831... Meeting ID: 851 1625 3831 Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/cobD3q5rMMM Description: Programming workshop for new prospective programmers. Learn to setup android studio, program a simple chassis to move autonomously, and program controller input for driver control. Team Background: Team #12525 Wolf Corp is a 4th year FTC team and 8th year FIRST team based in Walnut High School. Last season, we ranked #1 going into our ILT and were top contenders in our division at LA Regional Championships.

Check out this awesome opportunity! We are team Curiosity #11770, an FTC team from Marlborough School in Los Angeles. We recently launched a microgrant program that would give $500 to one returning SoCal/LA FTC team who has been financially impacted by COVID-19, and we were hoping that you could help us spread the word about the grant in Robot Tuesday newsletters for the next few weeks. More information about the program can be found at http://tiny.cc/curiositycovidmicrogrant and the application is at http://tiny.cc/curiositymgapplication. Teams will be evaluated based on diversity, experience in FTC, and their intended use of grant money if awarded to them. Applications are open until January 15, 2021. If you have any questions about the grant or the program, please let us know!

This Sunday Dec 20th 12/20 one of our LAFTC Teams will be sharing there story and how they have grown their FTC team in different areas and what has made them successful. Alpha Genesis 6436 Time: 1-2pm (PST) 12/20 Zoom Meeting Link: https://cpp.zoom.us/j/84869450053... Zoom Meeting ID: 848 6945 0053 Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/lDdqUa2E2oc Description: In our workshop, we'll be talking about business outreach and how to build a brand, engineering outreach and how we get mentors, and community outreach and advertising. It can be difficult doing this online but we have discovered a few things along the way that we want to share. Background: Alpha Genesis 6436 is an FTC robotics team based in Glen A. Wilson High School. Last year we won Inspire 3 at regionals and had over 100 hours of outreach. We're looking forward to sharing how we are doing outreaches online.

Topic: LAFTC Kickoff Reboot Season Reboot Presentation Dec 5, Saturday 1:00-2:30pm Don't miss a great opportunity! The LA FTC Committee will provide an update from the September Kickoff and share any items that have changed since fall. ... This is a great overview of how to play remote, so whether you missed the September call or just want a refresh of new items, please join! In addition to an overview of how Los Angeles will play remote FTC this year, we will also cover the latest on how we will conduct remote Judging for the Qualifiers in March and hear from a team that played a remote scrimmage to see how it works! Zoom Link https://cpp.zoom.us/j/88025707592 Meeting ID: 880 2570 7592 The zoom call can only hold up to a certain amount of people at one time. Please use the Youtube link if you are not able to join or have multiple people in your household watching Kickoff. Youtube Stream Link: https://youtu.be/t-yRpQuBGvc

Due to this year being mostly remote, we want people to still engage in robotics anyway they can. We will be hosting weekly workshops to cover a wide range of topics. Join our discord server https://discord.gg/RrKMknf to find out the latest news and get resources about anything FTC related. Workshops will be for 1 hour over zoom/youtube live. Links will be posted on date. If you cannot make it, a recording will be posted to our youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/c/Soca...lftc Here is our weekly workshop schedule and topics: 9/20 (Sun 3-4pm) PST Business Entrepreneurship -Amanda Sullivan 9/26 (Sat 1-2pm) PST Advanced CAD (Solid Works) Richard Y. 10/3 (Sat 1-2pm) PST Mechanical Design Process Kenneth W. 10/11 (Sun 1-2pm) PST Git Version Control Software Programming- 542 WHS 10/17 (Sat TBD) PST How to Utilize GIT/Github- Craig (FTC Software Developer) 10/24 (Sat 1-2pm) PST Team Chat/ Discussion - All Teams

SCRIMMAGE #1 Results! LA FTC Teams, Congratulations to our 10 teams who competed remotely in our first Scrimmage! We know this was a challenge for teams to be even close to ready, so an extra high five to the teams for competing even though I’m sure they could have used more time. Look at the scores below you can see teams are learning along the way with the big swings in points from match to match. What a great way to get prepared for the Qualifying Tournament! A shout out... to our top 3 teams for the practice: 5828 E.M.P. Chaos 514 ranking points 13046 Riptide Robotics 358 ranking points 14295 Operation T.A.C. 264 ranking points While you don’t have to post a video some of our teams did and what a great idea! Other teams across the USA were watching the videos and giving some advice (i.e. ‘That looks like a penalty.’). How perfect is this? Other teams point out what you can do differently and since the scores don’t count in Scrimmages, no harm no foul! Correct it for the next Scrimmage! Our next Scrimmage is December 14th 20th. Should your team sign up? ABSOLUTELY! What a great way to iron out the kinks even if your robot isn’t perfect, these points don’t count, so what is the harm? Can you sign up for all the Scrimmages YES! Is there a maximum number of teams allowed in a Scrimmage? NO we can handle everyone since we are remote! All you need to do is pay your FIRST fee ($275.00) and your LAFTC fee ($50.00) and register at the link here for the Scrimmages and you’ll be given access. Below are the ranking points and match scores for the teams who competed in Scrimmage #1. Detailed event information can be found here. https://ftc-events.firstinspires.org/2020/USCALAS1

Here is the youtube link for the workshop at 1:00PM https://youtu.be/0UPOaF06M9o

Topic: Judging Presentations Time: Oct 17, 2020 01:00 PM - 2:00 PM Pacific Time Join Zoom Meeting... https://cpp.zoom.us/j/85752037634 Meeting ID: 857 5203 7634 YouTube link will be posted on Discord and Facebook. Background: Amanda has been a judge for the last 3 years in FTC and is one of the founders of FTC Team 4625 The Kings & Queens. She has judged at ILT tournaments, Super Regionals, and The World Championship in Houston. Judging has always been her favorite part of FTC because that is where you really get to know the teams. Back when she was a student, judging seemed like the scariest thing in the world but also the most exciting. Description: This workshop will focus on how to create a judging routine that highlights the best part of your team. Judging interviews are very short compared to how much information you want to tell the judges and it can be hard to figure out what to say in the moment. Every judging interview is different and the most important skill to learn is to be flexible and adaptable. There will also be sample questions that a judge might ask so you can practice how to interpret and answer the question.

Wondering how to play remote in your garage? Check out this example: https://youtu.be/bcD9HSCYdKk

Topic: GitHub and Version Control Software Time: Oct 11, 2020 12:45 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://cpp.zoom.us/j/89334618685... Meeting ID: 893 3461 8685 YouTube link will be posted on Discord and Facebook. Background: 542 WHS Robotics is a FTC team at Whitney High School. This year will be around our 14th year in First Tech Challenge. We won the control award at regionals last year, and we've been using git for 4 years. We're excited to teach about GitHub and version control software in general! Description: This workshop will focus on how to use version control software to manage your team's code. We will go over what GitHub is, and how to use it effectively and efficiently for robotics.

Topic: Team Share (Working Remotely) Time: Nov 21st (Sat) 1-2pm Join Zoom Meeting https://cpp.zoom.us/j/85101506746... Meeting ID: 851 0150 6746 Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/IeFfprshz3Y This week the weekly workshop will be discussing how teams are meeting remotely across the LA region. Every team has their own way of navigating through the season and will discuss what lessons they have learned. All the teams will bring their knowledge and expertise about FTC and how they are moving forward with the upcoming season. Background: FTC Team 12525 Wolfcorp, 11770 Curiosity, 14925 Operation T.A.C., 6832 Patriotic Robotics, 9432 Blood Sweat & Gears, and 7832 Gear Gurus will be sharing their experiences in a round table discussion. All these teams come from around the LA region and have multiple years of experience.

Here is our weekly workshop for this week. Sat 1-2pm (Oct. 3) Zoom Meeting ID: 852 0970 1766 YouTube link will be posted on Discord and Facebook. ... Mechanical Design Process Description: This workshop will breakdown the process of design and integration. We will discuss the importance of prototyping along with effective strategies that will be applicable to FTC. More importantly, we will review the engineering design process: discussing the good and bad parts (stuff you shouldn’t do) while designing. Towards the end of the workshop, we will discuss potential design tips that could be helpful for your robot. Background: Kenneth is a current UC San Diego student majoring in Aerospace Engineering. His history with FIRST spawns over nine years and is an alumnus of FRC 5857: Walnut Valley Robotics. He is a mentor for several FTC and FRC teams around the world and created an FLL Program in Ghana. Kenneth is extremely passionate about design and prototyping and has worked on creating over 25+ Robots. In his free time, he loves studying Aerodynamics and Aerospace Structures and hopes to join the Aerospace Industry.

Great Resources and Links for the FTC season.

Thank you to those who came to our first weekly workshop. You can find the recording on our youtube channel. Here is the workshop info for this coming week. We will host them over zoom and youtube live. Youtube link will be posted on Discord and Facebook. Video will be posted to our youtube channel if you cannot attend. Meeting ID: 923 0936 0818... Advanced CAD Workshop 9/26 (Sat 1-2pm) PST (Solid Works) Richard Yeong Description: This workshop focuses on building a crank slider with a two-linkage system. Although this may be an unfamiliar component to you, it is commonly analyzed in a traditional college-level Dynamics course. The basis of this component is to demonstrate how rotational motion can be converted into translational motion. Some new features introduced into this workshop include the following: Revolved Boss/Base, Circular Pattern, Relations, and Advanced Mates. Bio: Richard recently completed his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at UC Riverside and will be pursuing a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering at UCLA this upcoming fall. He is an alumnus from FTC Team 542: WHS Robotics, and continues to volunteer and mentor his former team. He has passed the Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate (CSWA) Exam, and has demonstrated his expertise of CAD on a multitude of projects. He aspires to become a Research and Development (R&D) Engineer for either a biotech/robotics company or national laboratory.

Did you miss kickoff or our workshops? We are uploading the videos to our youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/c/Socalftc

Official Game Info

Kickoff is almost here! We will be streaming the first part on youtube at 1PM PST. Link will be live once we start the presentation. Join our discord server to attend the workshops https://discord.gg/RrKMknf

Please Join us for the LAFTC Kickoff 2020-21 on Sept 13th from 1-4pm (pst). We are using a discord server to run workshops. Please have your nickname be your first name and team number. https://discord.gg/RrKMknf

Every year, each region gives out the coveted "Inspire" Banner to the team that best represents FTC overall on and off the field. Each of these teams spent thousands of hours to reach this goal and some even went on to win it at higher levels. Let's honor the last 8 years of inspire winners form the LA championship. Doesn't time fly. 2020-2021 season is ready to begin! @ Monrovia, California

As the 2020-21 season approaches, let's throw it back to the 2015 Cascade Effect Regional Championship. LAFTC used to have this giant photo booth and it made some great photos. All the teams in these photos are still active but may have changed their names. Extra points if you can name them all. #throwback #ftc #firstrobotics #2015 @ Monrovia, California

Come join our LAFTC Discord server! We will be using this to host kickoff this year along with ongoing workshops. Please remember digital etiquette. Have your username be your first name and team number. https://discord.gg/RrKMknf