WPI FIRST Regional

On March 8-10th, 2012 WPI will be hosting a FIRST Regional Tournament featuring 36 teams from all over the world! FIRST is a program designed to inspire high school students to pursue higher education and careers in science, technology, and engineering through hands-on mentorship from people in those fields.

Each team has 6 weeks to build a robot to compete in the same game.  They then ship their robots to regional tournaments all over the world to ally and compete with their peers.  This will be the first year hosting one of these tournaments at WPI and a crowd of 1000 high school students, their mentors, and families are expected to attend.

These events are free and open to the public of all ages.

General Information:

• Event Location:  The event will take place at Harrington Auditorium on the main WPI Campus.  Address is 100 Institute Rd., Worcester, MA 01609.
• Agenda: Public Agenda will be available from the FIRST website soon.
• Parking:
  • Team and spectator parking is available on the streets surrounding WPI and in the WPI Library lot on Thursday & Friday.  Please do not park in other WPI lots on those days.
  • On Saturday, teams and spectators may park in any WPI lots and on the street.
  • BUSES ONLY may park on the opposite side of Institute Road (signed for no parking).  Worcester Police have granted special permission for parking during this event.
  • A map of area parking is available here.
• Food: Outside food is welcome in the venue.  Limited on-site and on-campus food options are available.  We have provided a map of restaurants within walking distance.

Event Information

• Webcast: A webcast link will be posted soon.  We anticipate webcasting all three days of the tournament.
• List of Competitors and other general event information can be found on the FIRST regional event website.
• FIRST will post match results, standings, and awards as they become available.
• In the event of inclement weather, please check the FIRST website (usfirst.org) for any information on delays, etc.  Remember that the safety of your team is paramount!

Information for Teams:

For 2012, we we will be able to offer the following amenities.  Updates will be posted here as opportunities are confirmed:

• Tournament-unique academic scholarships:
  • At least one $10,000 WPI Scholarship will be offered to eligible seniors.  Each team may nominate on senior through the application below.  
  • Student must have already applied for admission to WPI (deadline is 1 Feb) and be capable of meeting WPI admissions criteria.
  • Application must be postmarked by 1 Mar 2012.
  • WPI Regional Scholarship Application
• Team grants to offset travel costs to the event thanks to generous donations by The MathWorks, Inc and WPI.
  • All teams are encouraged to apply and a pool of money will be distributed to teams based on predetermined metrics as well as team needs as demonstrated through the grant application.
  • Teams will be required to provide proof of expenses in order to receive their grant funds as it is designed to be an off-set of travel costs to the event.  
  • Grant amounts typically range from $250 to $2000.  
  • DEADLINE FOR GRANT APPLICATION IS 6 FEB 2012.
  • WPI Regional Team Travel Grant Application

Team Logistics:

• We will post the pit diagram when it is finalized.
  • Pits are likely to be 9' x 9' due to space constraints and to allow us to include a practice area.
  • Some teams have pits which fall under a low ceiling area (9'-10' ceiling height).  These pits will have a larger footprint.  If your team is willing to volunteer for one of these pits, please contact wpirobotics@wpi.edu.
• Discounted hotels for the 2012 event will be made available. Call the hotels directly for booking information.
  
  • Hilton Garden Inn - 35 Major Taylor Blvd, Worcester, MA 01608
    • Info will be posted shortly once it is made available by the hotel.

Friday Night Team Activity

The WPI Regional Planning Committee and the Worcester Sharks are happy to announce "Robotics Night @ the Worcester Sharks" on Friday, March 9th, 2012 at the DCU Center. 

Teams may purchase discounted tickets for their members at $10 each that include a voucher for a hot dog and soda.  The hockey game will feature a robot dropping the ceremonial first puck as well as robotic displays in the lobby area. 

The DCU Center is located next to the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Worcester.  To purchase tickets, contact colleen@wpi.edu directly.