Hawaii FIRST Robotics Announces FLL CHallenge Awards

Marc Asano

This year teams across Hawaii participated in a largely virtual season. The 2020-21 FLL Challenge theme, RePLAY, challenged teams to think of new ways to play and move. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 18 teams signed up to participate this year. Each team used the FIRST Core Values to design a robot to complete missions, and develop an innovation project that identified and solved a problem for the community. Each team presented its project to judges and competed in the robot game.

On March 6, 2021, Hawaii FIRST Robotics held a virtual awards ceremony to announce this year’s awardees.

Coach’s Award: Spencer Williams, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol: Bill and the Ciphers, Independent Team (Team 39908)

Robot Performance: Tech Squad, Independent Team (Team 51535)

Robot Design : Robo-Rangers, Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii (Team 51507)

Innovation Project: Honubots, Kailua Elementary School (Team 16871)

Core Values: P.L.A.E., Holomua Elementary School (Team 2365)

Champion’s Runner-Up: Fast Fooders, Independent Team (Team 51563)

Champion’s 1st Place: HMS Robotics, Hongwanji Mission School (Team 6898)

HMS Robotics will represent the Hawaii Region at the FIRST World Festival in July.

Congratulations to all the coaches and students who participated during this challenging season! See you next year!

2020-2021 FLL Challenge Virtual Awards Ceremony

Aloha FLL Explore Coaches/Mentors!

Mari

Thank you for your patience as we have endured this most unusual FIRST Robotics season.  As promised, we will be hosting a virtual Hawaii State Expo on Saturday, March 6, 2021. While the current circumstances prevent us from celebrating in person, we still hope it will be a day for our Hawaii FLL Explore teams to celebrate and share the results of their hard work and creative efforts.  During the virtual Expo, teams will have the opportunity to present their models and answer questions from reviewers.


If you have an FLL Explore team registered with FIRST for the 2020-2021 season and would like to join the Hawaii State Expo, please complete our Form no later than February 19, 2021 so we know how many teams and students plan to participate on March 6th.

https://forms.gle/23g4yHZfG53Z5NX38

There is no additional fee to participate in the Expo.  We may need additional information from you on the FIRST Remote Event Hub in the coming weeks as soon as we get more instruction from FIRST.  In the meantime, please register your team through the link above, and submit any questions you have on the Form.


Thank you for your dedication to our youngest FIRST teams!

Sign up for FTC Remote League meets

Peter

Aloha Hawai’i FTC teams,

Follow this link to register your team to participate in Hawai’i League Meets. One form must be completed for each team.

All currently scheduled Hawaii FTC events will be held remotely. Also, teams are encouraged to participate in as many League meets as they are able. A team’s top ten (10) Matches from all previous league meets determine their rank when entering the League Tournament at the end of the season. Since traveling between islands is not required this year, the past season’s ranking method is not being used.

Teams have a full week to complete a Remote League Meet which consists of 6 scored matches. Remote Meets begin on Sunday and end on Saturday of that week. If you sign up for an event, you are expected to submit scores for that event by 11:50pm on Saturday of that week. Failure to submit scores will be considered a no show and result in a score of zero.

HAWAII REGISTRATION FEES WAIVED: To encourage and support teams during the pandemic, Hawaii FIRST Robotics has waived all Hawaii registration fees.

If you need help or have questions, visit Hawaii FTC Updates https://hawaiifirstrobotics.orgfirst-tech-challenge/ or email us at [email protected].

Mahalo, and good luck throughout the season!

Team Grant Awardees announced for the 2020-21 Game Changers Season!

Marc Asano

Hawaiian Electric (@hawaiianelectric) and Hawai`i FIRST Robotics are excited to announce the recipients of the 2020-2021 Game Changers Season Team Grant to support both returning and new First Lego League Challenge and Explore teams with national registration and equipment.  We are so very proud of all our teams persevering and working hard to invent a whole new way to do robotics.  Congratulations to the following teams:

FLL Challenge: Holomua 1- Team 2364 from Holomua Elementary School 
FLL Challenge: Holomua 2- Team 2365 from Holomua Elementary School
FLL Challenge: Holomua 3- Team 2366 from Holomua Elementary School
FLL Challenge: Holomua 4- Team 2367 from Holomua elementary School
FLL Challenge: Knights- Team 2585 from Saint Joseph Parish School 
FLL Challenge: All Stars- Team 3523 from Mililani Middle School
FLL Challenge: Bright Bodacious Blazers- Team 3524 from Mililani Middle School
FLL Challenge: HMS Robotics- Team 6898 from Hongwanji Mission School
FLL Challenge: The Honubots- Team 16871 from Kailua Elementary School
FLL Challenge: Waiheʻe Robo Warriors- Team 28108 from Waiheʻe Elementary School
FLL Challenge: Guardians of the Galaxy- Team 39908 a Home School Group
FLL Challenge: Palamatrons- Team 45134 from Honolulu Community Action Program, Inc. 
FLL Challenge: Alaka’i O Hunua- Team 50055 from NSBE JR 
FLL Challenge: Robogirls- Team 50889
FLL Challenge: Seahorse Robotics- Team 51065 from Waianae Elementary
FLL Challenge: Robo-Rangers- Team 51507 from O-Bots Foundation
FLL Challenge: Tech Squad- Team 51535
FLL Challenge: Earl’s Team- Team 51563
FLL Challenge: SAS WARRI0RS- Team 51700 from St Anthony’s School Kailua
FLL Challenge: Warwick- Team 51701 from BSA Pack 388
FLL Explore: HMS Dolphins 1- Team 1675 from Hongwanji Mission School
FLL Explore: Kipapa Cougar Cubs 2- Team 7789 from Kipapa Elementary
FLL Explore: Palamatrons- Team 19432 from Honolulu Community Action Program, Inc. 
FLL Explore: Delightful Dragon Unicorn Friends – Team 19470
FLL Explore: Block Rockers- Team 19651 from St Catherine’s School
FLL Explore: Warwick- Team 21597 from BSA Pack 388
FLL Explore: Akamai Keiki- Team 22260 from NSBE JR 
FLL Explore: Wili Wili 1- Team 23585
FLL Explore: Robo Saints A – Team 23688 from Saint Patrick School
FLL Explore: Robo Saints B- Team 23689 from Saint Patrick School
FLL Explore: 3 Sargent Boys- Team 23826 a Home School Group

Remote Season webinars for FTC teams

Peter

FIRST Tech Challenge is offering a series of webinars for Teams to provide support and answer questions about our upcoming remote season. Teams may register for the November Team webinars below. Note, registration requires a Team number.

You can find the archive for all Team webinar recordings here.

Hawaii FTC update nov. 3, 2020

Peter

Aloha Teams, 

We hope your FTC season is progressing well.  We have several important updates for you today.  But first, let’s address a question that may be concerning you. 

Is it too late to start a FTC team and participate fully in the season?

No, it is definitely not too late.  In fact, it’s entirely possible given our expanded season, for a team to start as late as January and still enjoy the full season experience. To us, “full participation” means competing in three League Meets, one League Tournament, and/or Championship. Participation in the Championship is not mandatory, however, your team’s award earning prospects will be greatly diminished by missing the event. 

Good news! No registration fees for Hawaii Teams!

Hawaii FIRST Robotics® has officially waived the $120 Hawaii team registration fee.  It’s our way of supporting all the hard work you do when learning new skills and making the world a better place.   

Great News!! FREE RevRobotics Control Hub for Hawaii Teams

Our stellar sponsor, Hitachi Hawaii, has graciously provided Hawaii FIRST Robotics with funding to support each team’s effort this season. Thanks to Hitachi’s generous support, each registered Hawaii team participating in the Ultimate Goal Hawaii season will receive a new RevRobotics Control Hub, a $300 value.  Click here to request yours.

Expanded Hawaii Season Calendar (link)

To accommodate the various scheduling requirements of our teams, we have added many new events to the season.  Beginning this month, teams may participate in weekly league events stretching to the end of February. March will include a League Tournament in which all teams may participate, as well as the Ultimate Goal Championship event. Note, all Hawaii events will be held remotely (online) and teams will have a one week period in which to complete the required matches and submit scores for each event.

Scoring Software release expected in late November

The official FIRST FTC Scoring Software is anticipated to be released by the time our first League event begins on Nov. 29.  If the software is not released in time, teams may decide to forego that week’d event OR use paper scoresheets. Paper/pencil scores should be submitted directly to your FTC Partners. 

Are you missing information?

If you missed the Official FIRST FTC Kickoff or the Hawaii FTC Kickoff, you may be missing key season information your team will need. Please review the kickoffs (links above) and then visit the FTC Team Management Resources page for official game manuals, grant opportunities, and practical help with setting up your remote league events. 

That’s for now. Send us an email when you have questions or need help. Until next time, keep up the good work. We wish you all the best.

Your FTC Partners,

Aaron, Blake, and Jenny

Grant Opportunity for FIRST LEGO League Explore and Challenge teams (Now closed)

Marc Asano

(Now Closed)

Aloha!  We have an amazing grant opportunity to share with you. All new and returning Hawai`i FIRST LEGO League Explore and Challenge teams are eligible for a generous grant from Hawaiian Electric (O’ahu, Maui County, and Hawai’i Island) as well as Hawai`i FIRST Robotics (Kauai). We have the following grants available to reimburse teams in part for registration, equipment, and kits:

     FLL Explore Teams (grades 2-4, formerly known as FLL Jr.)
          Returning Teams $100
          New Teams $300

     FLL Challenge Teams (grades 4-8, formerly known as FLL)
          Returning Teams $300
          New Teams $500

Fill out the Google Form below to apply for the grant. If you have trouble viewing the application form, you may access the application through this link: https://forms.gle/yeJic9vDS2qZALJH7

Funding is limited so please submit your applications as soon as possible!  Deadline – November 6, 2020 @ 11:59 pm HST or until funds run out.

FLL Explore (FORMERLY FLL jr.) Update

Marc Asano

Aloha!
Whether you are stoked, hopeful, or curious about the upcoming FLL Explore “Playmakers” season, we wanted to share information to help you and your teams navigate these challenging conditions.  We are sending this email to everyone on last season’s mailing list in case you are still considering a Jr. team this season and in case any information here can help you with your remote learning plans.  Future eblasts for this season will be sent to coaches with a registered 2020-2021 FLL Explore team or anyone who responds to our survey.  Since there is so much information in this email, we created a Google site with virtual classrooms for you to explore with the following links. 
You can access our 2020 Google site here:https://sites.google.com/view/hawaii-fll-explore-2020/home

Coaches’ Room

  • **FLL Guide for COVID Interruptions: helpful guide for FLL meetings and implementing other remote learning**
  • FIRST @ Home: remote STEM activities & projects
  • LEGO Ed: education plans
  • Star Wars Force for Change landing page
  • **FIRST Mentor Network: NEW interactive platform that helps teams and mentors find each other**

Teacher’s Room

  • FIRST Curriculum for Educators: national standards alignment and curriculum information
  • FIRST Professional Development: register for professional development classes
  • QR Code for FIRST Educators landing page

FIRST Room

  • FLL Explore Kick Off Video
  • FLL Discover Kick Off Video
  • PLAYMAKERS Challenge and Season landing page
  • FLL Explore Class Pack information
  • FLL Discovery Class and School Pack Information

Virtual Events Room (coming later this season)

  • Hawaii FLL Explore Kick Off:  Saturday, 11/14/20
  • Hawaii FLL Explore Expo:  Saturday, 3/6/21 (additional dates may be added if needed)
  • Please note that these dates are tentative as we are coordinating with other FIRST program levels, but our current plan is to have a virtual Kick Off in November 2020 and virtual Expo in March 2021.

If you would like remain on our mailing list, please be sure to respond to our HFR Explore survey which will remain open for a couple more weeks here:
https://forms.gle/P7J5nYiGKLnzxWe68


Thank you again for all your dedication to our youngest FIRST participants in Hawaii!

Aloha teams,

Mari

Booz Allen Hamilton and Hawaiʻi FIRST® Robotics are thrilled to support the following teams in their efforts to increase Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in their team, their community and beyond. We wish them all the best in the new FIRST® season and look forward to hearing about their journeys. Congratulations to these teams:

  • FIRST LEGO League Junior Team #7789, Kipapa Cougar Cubs II, Kipapa Elementary School
  • FIRST Tech Challenge Team #11165 O-Bots
  • FIRST Robotics Competition Team #3008, Team Magma, Kalani High School
Hawaii FIRST Robotics and Booz | Allen | Hamilton