FIRST Robotics Competition Groton District Event Tomorrow and Sunday!

FIRST Robotics Competition

teams to compete
in Groton, Conn. district qualifier

For more
information, visit:

nefirst.org

@nefirst on Twitter; www.facebook.com/nefirst on Facebook

@ctfirst on Twitter, https://www.facebook.com/ctfirst on Facebook

LIVE EVENT VIDEO STREAM SATURDAY AND SUNDAY: http://new.livestream.com/nefirst/ct-groton



This Saturday and Sunday, March 8 and 9, high school students on 33 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams from
Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts will converge on Fitch High School
in Groton, Conn. to participate in the third of nine district qualifying events
across six New England states.

Teams
will put to the test the science, engineering math, technology and teamwork skills
they’ve acquired in developing customized robots during an intense six-week
“build period” that began on January 5 and culminated in the competition’s ‘pack
and store’ deadline on February 18.

The district
events, which are taking place between February 28 and April 5, are part of a
restructured NE FIRST operating model that’s designed to

afford FRC teams more opportunities to compete and collaborate with other teams
across New England. Top seeded teams from the nine district events will participate
in the NE FIRST Championship, to be
held April 10-12 at Boston University’s Agganis Arena in Boston, Mass.

The 2014 FRC game, AERIAL ASSIST, is played by two
Alliances of three teams each. Alliances compete by trying to score as many
balls in goals as possible during a two-minute and 30-second match. Additional
points are earned by robots working together to score goals, and by throwing
and catching balls over a truss suspended just over five feet above the floor as they move the ball down the field.

FIRST Robotics
Competition Groton District Event Agenda

Saturday, March 8: Competition Day 1

8 a.m. – Pits
Open

10:30 a.m.
Opening Ceremonies

11 a.m.  Qualification
Matches

1 – 2 p.m.  Lunch

2 p.m. - 7 p.m.  Qualification
Matches

8 p.m.  Pits
Close

Saturday, March 9: Competition Day 2

8:00 a.m. –
Pits Open

9 a.m. Opening
Ceremonies

9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.  Qualification
Matches

12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m. Alliance
Selections

1 p.m. -2 p.m. Lunch

2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Final
Rounds

5 p.m. Award
Ceremonies

6:30 p.m. Pits
close

This year, NE FIRST sponsors include presenting sponsor United Technologies (UTC) and regional sponsors Fairchild Semiconductor, BAE

Systems, PTC , ebm-papst Inc. and Texas Instruments.

Northeast Utilities is
the lead sponsor for Connecticut’s Groton, Southington (March 22-23) and
Hartford (March 29-30) district events. Additional Connecticut district event
sponsors are the Peter
and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation, Pfizer, Pyramid Time Systems, Conveyco, the Connecticut Business and Industry
Association and XL
Color.

About NE FIRST and the new New England District Model

Six New England states
(Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire)
have organized into one region to implement a “district model” for
high-school-level FIRST Robotics
Competition (FRC) teams.

Following the success of FRC 
program restructuring in other states (Michigan) and regions (Mid-Atlantic),
the new district model in New England is designed to provide a cost-effective
way for teams to play more, with two qualifying events for one registration
fee; to lower costs by allowing teams to play closer to home; to improve teams’
ability to fundraise and do outreach in their communities, and to reward and
advance teams based on their performance on and off the field.

A new 501(c)(3) not for profit
organization, ingenuityNE™, supports

NE FIRST events across the six New England states.

NE FIRST events resemble the competition structure of high school varsity

athletic leagues. Teams will compete in local tournaments and, based on how a

team does at district qualifying events, they progress to the New England Championship
in Boston April 10-12. Winning teams from the New England Championship qualify
to participate in the FIRST World
Championship, to be held April 23-26 in St. Louis.

About FIRST®

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and
Technology) was founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen to
inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology.
Based in Manchester, NH, the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization designs
programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career
opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, while building
self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills.

With support from
three of every five Fortune 500 companies and more than $16 million in college
scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the following four robotics
programs:

The FIRST® Robotics
Competition (FRC®) for Grades 9-12

The FIRST® Tech Challenge
(FTC®), also for Grades
7-12

The FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) for Grades 4-8

The Junior FIRST® LEGO® League (Jr.FLL®) for Grades K-3

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