Team Leaders, this is the 4th April update highlighting events during the coronavirus pause.  We’ve been discussing whether or not to hold a mentor-specific Meet Up that would focus on keeping teams active during this time.  Please let me know if you think this would be helpful.

Remember, please pass this content on to team members, particularly, with emphasis to graduating seniors.

Virtual Minnesota FRC Best Bot Ever Meet Up #3 RSVP

WHAT: Virtual Minnesota Best Bot Ever Meet Up #3
HOW: Zoom
WHEN: Saturday, April 25 at 1:00 PM (Central time)

Since we can’t compete, we’ll be gathering to celebrate and support each other. Minnesota FRC teams (3018, 4215, 2220, 3883, and 3244) that have not yet been able to compete this season will share with us information about their team, this year’s competition robot, outreach activities, and anything else they would like to share with the community. Please join us to hear about all of the amazing accomplishments of these teams this season. We’ll also get an update from teams making PPE and provide sign-up information for the May 16 Virtual Minnesota FRC Graduation Celebration.

Complete this RSVP on this page ( https://forms.gle/nBgrioxo8dG4UmBPA ).

Please contact Yoji Shimizu at shimi002@umn.edu if you have any questions.

Minnesota FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) 2020 Graduation Celebration

WHAT: Minnesota FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) 2020 Graduation Celebration
HOW: Zoom
WHEN: Saturday, May 16 at 1:00 PM (Central time)

We will be holding a virtual graduation celebration for high school seniors on Minnesota FIRST Robotics Competition teams who will be graduating in 2020. The celebration will feature guest speakers, and an opportunity for seniors throughout the state of Minnesota to share some words of thanks or their favorite FIRST memories with each other (very brief and completely optional!).

If you are a high school senior on a Minnesota FRC team and would like to participate in the Minnesota FRC 2020 Graduation Celebration, please complete this RSVP and we will send you all the information!

If you want to know more before signing up, check out our FAQ at http://bit.ly/mnfrcgraduationFAQ

THE RSVP DEADLINE IS MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020.

Please note that information for family and friends who would like to attend the celebration will be sent out separately.

If you have any questions, please contact Yoji Shimizu at shimi002@umn.edu.

Regional Awards Celebrations and Virtual Showcase

There are 3 shows, East, Central, and West, on the FIRST Twitch channel on April 29th.  The Central US show is at 7pm. Details on all the shows can be found on Frank’s Blog (https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/blog/2020-frc-awards-show ).  The Championship awards show is on May 2nd.  See this page for details (https://www.firstchampionship.org )

Team 2491, Great River School

In case you missed it last week, Team 2491, NoMythic, has started a Slack Workspace, “Minnesota Fighting Covid”, to help organize the efforts teams are putting into supporting their communities.  This community is very active.

In the workspace, there are several channels (and room for more)

Introduction – tell us about your team and what you are up to
Team Update – How are you doing? What are doing?
In The News – stories about FIRST, locally and nationwide
Help – Logistical – requests for materials or resources
Help – Technical – requests of support
PPE Requests – where we can let others know of those in need
Resources – files, links, and advice

The link to join can be found here:
https://join.slack.com/t/mnfightingcovid/shared_invite/zt-dcjt5ad3-hLUzrBbvRtvQiNyJeYs_EQ

Regards, Mark Lawrence
Chairman, MN FIRST Regional Planning Committee