Connecticut Tournament Registration Now Open!
Teams may now register for the FIRST Tech Challenge Championship Tournament being held at Manchester High School, Manchester, CT on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at http://www.ctfirst.org/ftc_events/2008_CCT_register.html. Cost per team is $225. Twenty teams from across the U.S. have already signed up during the first week. Registrations and payment will be accepted throughout December or until we reach capacity. Registering your FTC team with FIRST does not guarantee that you will be able to compete in a tournament; if intending to compete in Connecticut, don't delay. Sign up today!

Thank You to Our Event Sponsors!
We are grateful for the generous donations of our Championship Tournament sponsors, Hobson Motzer, Inc. of Durham, CT and Manchester High School, Manchester, CT. Their commitment to support the efforts of FIRST is greatly appreciated!

And the Winner Is...
FIRST Tech Challenge teams are eligible to win awards at the first three Championship Tournaments they compete in this season. New award criteria can be found on the FIRST website.

Important Programming Info
Be sure to download the latest version of the Programming Guide - it contains all the information you will need to successfully compete in Quad Quandary. Templates allow your robot to be controlled by the field controller and turned on and off at the appropriate time for the match. Without this template, your team will be unable to compete in the 2007 FIRST Tech Challenge at any competition. The Programming Guide and templates for MPLAB or EasyC are available for download. (Note: If using EasyC you must have at least EasyC v.2 and Master Code v.7 in your robot in order to be allowed to compete.)

Autodesk and FIRSTbase
Autodesk has announced it will open its successful website, FIRSTbase, to FTC teams this season. FIRSTbase will deliver Inventor 3-D prototyping software, training and other resources at no cost to FTC teams. Team leaders will receive an e-mail notification when FIRSTbase is open so keep an eye on your inbox and take advantage of this great resource.

World Championships
The FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship Event will be held April 17-19, 2008. This will be held in conjunction with the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship Event and the FIRST LEGO League World Festival, held at the Georgia Dome and Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The event is a two-day culmination of the 2007 FTC season, where teams compete in the yearly game challenge 'Quad Quandary'. Eligibility criteria to compete at the World Championships has been released by FIRST and can be found here. Also held concurrent with the World Championships is the FIRST Robotics Conference. FIRST is soliciting proposals for conference presentations from teams; more information can be found here. Many volunteers are needed to work at the FTC World Championships. All potential volunteers for Atlanta must register in advance in the Volunteer Information & Matching System (VIMS). Be sure to select the event option for FTC World Championships (coming soon).

Subscribe to This Newsletter
The FTC Connecticut Newsletter will be published throughout the year with tips and announcements about the FTC Connecticut program. If you wish to continue to receive this newsletter, please e-mail us.