FIRST Robotics Competition
SACRAMENTO REGIONAL
March 23-26, 2022 | Davis, CA
UC DAVIS ARC PAVILLION | Corner of Orchard & LaRue
Countdown!
Day(s)
:
Hour(s)
:
Minute(s)
:
Second(s)
The Sacramento Regional
Dubbed a varsity Sport for the Mind,™ FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology.
Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams of high school students are challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program a robot to go head to head against a field of competitors. It’s as close to “real world” engineering as a student can get.
We are excited to be planning a return to an in-person FIRST Robotics Competition event for the 2021-2022 season!
Our goal is to offer a traditional FIRST Robotics Competition in-person, three-day event. See our COVID-19 Updates below for details.
Watch the Fun!
The Sacramento Regional is a high-energy, high-tech spectator sporting event where teams, professionals and young people together solve an engineering design problem in an intense and competitive way. The program is life-changing, career-molding and a lot of fun.
In a pre-pandemic world, we invite you to experience the excitement of this exciting competition, tour the “pits” to visit with teams and robots, and cheer on your favorite team. In the 2022 season, we invite you to checkout the fun online via our live broadcast on March 25th & March 25th.
No spectators permitted this season.
Teams at the Sacramento Regional will vie for regional awards and a spot at the FIRST Championship which will be help in April in Houston, Texas. The competition is part of FIRST, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology.
THIS YEAR’S CHALLENGE
RAPID REACT
This year’s game, RAPID REACT, is part of the 2021-2022 FIRST season, FIRST FORWARD presented by Qualcomm. Game details will be released in January 2022.
Transportation drives us forward – impacting economies, bridging cultures, and making us all more globally interconnected.
FIRST Robotics Competition teams will be challenged to reimagine the future of safe, high-speed travel and lightning-fast deliveries through innovative engineering, creative thinking, and teamwork in
2022 RAPID REACT presented by The Boeing Company.
Resources for Teams
March 15, 2022
The Sacramento Regional is still closed to the public. However, in light of recent changes to COVID-19 mandates, we will be relaxing the limit of adults that can accompany your team.
We still want teams to encourage their family, friends and fans that are strictly spectators to watch the webcast from home.
Remind those that really want to be at the event, that they can still register as a volunteer. We have many spots to fill! They must be registered through the FIRST website and complete screening to attend as a volunteer.
We do want to invite you to include any parents or others that provide support for you team or individual students (i.e. chaperones, team drivers, those providing food, etc).
IMPORTANT: ALL those associated with your team (students, mentors, and those supporters) MUST be on your team list submitted by the end of this week.
February 28, 2022 – With the FRC season underway (I can hardly believe it!), and the Sacramento Regional approaching (in 24 days!), I want to update you on current COVID-19 protocols for the event.
In order to keep our events as COVID safe as possible, we are not planning to allow any spectators to attend our California Regionals this year. We understand that teams may have some parents who are not registered mentors, but support the team in essential ways, such as transportation, chaperones, or food delivery.
Therefore, we’re asking teams to submit a complete list of people associated with the team who plan to attend no later than one week before the event. We ask that teams keep in mind FIRST’s expected student to adult ratio of 10:1, and apply gracious professionalism in identifying who will be attending. Any teams submitting lists that vary too far from this ratio may be asked to reduce the number of adults attending.
The event will be webcast on Twitch and we will have the link soon that you can share with friends, family and fans of your team that cannot attend. We do also have volunteer roles available for those that want to help with the event! They can sign up on the FIRST website.
Also, all attendees will have to show proof of vaccination OR negative Covid-19 PCR test results within 48 hours of the event (or negative antigen test results within 24 hours.) At this time, the state is not requiring a booster to be considered fully vaccinated, but please be advised that this requirement may change prior to our event. Identification is required for attendees over 18, and we encourage students to bring their own student IDs as well along with proof of vaccination. All information is subject to change depending on state and venue requirements.
Additionally, masks will be required at all times when indoors. Please make sure your team all have masks, and we encourage you to bring extras as backup.
I have provided a link to our current Covid-19 Policy & Plan below. I highly encourage you to share this with all your team members, mentors and parents.
2022 Sacramento COVID Policy and Plan – Feb 17
January 6, 2022 – FIRST California is closely monitoring COVID and its potential impact to the FIRST community. At this point we are moving forward with plans to provide our usual in-person, 3-day competition.
As the pandemic evolves, we are continuing to develop plans on how to best keep our community safe while also offering an impactful FIRST experience. We have not yet determined final policies that may affect spectator attendance or team size limits, though our goal is to not limit team attendance. This will be based on county or venue-specific COVID guidelines leading up the FRC Regional.
Please know we remain committed to delivering our programs to as many students as possible, as safely as possible.
Other plans to ensure a safe event may include implementing modifications such as the use of masks, vaccination and/or negative COVID test, health screening, event scaling, social distancing, event formatting, contract tracing and other precautions as determined by local conditions and regulations.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding as we navigate the year ahead together.
September 16, 2021 – We are excited to be planning a return to an in-person FIRST Robotics Competition event for the 2021-22 season. Our goal is to offer a traditional FIRST Robotics Competition in-person, three-day event.
With a focus on delivering FIRST to students as safely as possible, we will be looking at the ability to implement modifications such as the use of masks, health screening, event scaling, social distancing, event formatting, and other precautions as determined by local conditions and regulations. We will post our plan once we get closer to the start of the event as conditions are changing so frequently.
While we’re looking forward to seeing in-person competition and celebration, we are ready to adjust plans if needed. Plans B and C are in the works should they be needed, which could include shorter, smaller events, and, if needed, remote participation activities like what we did in the 2021 season.
We thank you for your continued support for our mission as we navigate the season together!
Coming Soon.
Coming Soon.
FIRST is not contracting with a hotel booking agency this year for Regionals. Teams that need hotels for their members should book them on their own.
Coming Soon.
Are masks required at the event?
Yes, masks are required to be worn by all while inside the venue. Even though some mask requirements have been relaxed, the California Department of Public Health and the CDC still strongly recommends that masks be worn in mega event settings.
How do team members check-in?
- Teams will need to check in at one of the multiple COVID-19 screening tables located outside the venue to receive an ‘access wristband’. Teams are encouraged to check in as a whole team when possible.
- Each team member will be asked to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination OR a valid negative COVID-19 test result and answer the health screening questions. Individuals 18+ will also be required to show a valid ID.
- Adult team lead mentors will NOT receive wristbands for their entire team, as each person’s vaccination or negative test must be verified individually by event staff. This process is required by the state of California and we appreciate your patience and Gracious Professionalism to get everyone into the venue timely.
As Thursday evening load in is not under the “mega-event” criteria, teams are not required to have a wristband for entry to load-in their pit. However, it is recommended that team members bring vaccine/test proof on Thursday to get their wristbands for the weekend to ease lines on Friday morning.
Times and schedules for each day will be provided as we get closer to the event.
A lead mentor will still need to provide a FIRST team roster, which can be printed from their FIRST Dashboard, to pit administration to receive their team check in packet.
What is needed to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination?
The following are acceptable as proof of vaccination:
- A U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) vaccination card, which includes name of person vaccinated, type of vaccine provided, and date last dose administered, or similar documentation issued by another foreign governmental jurisdiction
- An electronic or printed photo of a vaccination card.
- A personal digital COVID-19 vaccine record issued by the State of California and available by going to https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov or similar documentation issued by another State, local, or foreign governmental jurisdiction.
California residents may show your Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record, which is a QR code widely accepted in the State of California.
What is considered fully vaccinated?
- According to the California Department of Public Health an individual is considered ‘fully vaccinated’ 2 weeks after receiving a single dose of Johnson & Johnson OR two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
- Booster doses are not required to be considered fully vaccinated, at this time, but are recommended as soon as individuals are eligible.
- If you are fully vaccinated, you are not required to provide a negative COVID-19 test.
What type of COVID-19 test and result is needed in place of a full COVID-19 vaccination?
- A COVID-19 test must be done within 1 day for an antigen test or within 2 days for a PCR test before entry to the event. Acceptable proof includes a printed document from a test provider or laboratory, OR an electronic test result displayed on a phone or other device from a test provider or laboratory.
- Negative COVID-19 test information must include the person’s name, type of test performed, and negative test result.
- Self-attestation of an over-the-counter test will not be accepted.
If providing a COVID-19 test in place of proof of vaccination, are test results required each day of the event?
No. Attendance on March 24, March 25 and March 26 meets the criteria for a multi-day “mega-event”, which the California Department of Public health requires negative COVID-19 test only on the first day of attendance. Therefore, the Sacramento Regional is a 3-day mega-event, so attendees providing negative COVID-19 test results must only provide one test result for the whole event. You must present the negative test result upon your arrival.
If providing a COVID-19 test in place of proof of vaccination and unable to provide a negative COVID-19 test, due to recent recovery from COVID-19, what is required?
If you recently recovered from COVID-19, and are unable to test negative, you can provide documentation of recovery from COVID-19 (i.e., your positive COVID-19 viral test results on a sample taken no more than 90 days prior to the event AND a letter from a licensed healthcare provider or a public health official that you are cleared to attend a mega event)
Do I need to show COVID vaccination proof or negative test result onsite at the event or in advance?
Onsite. All attendees (teams and volunteers) must bring your proof of vaccination or negative test result to the event to receive an access wristband for entry. Adults are also required to show a photo ID with their vaccination/test proof.
If you are a volunteer, please DO NOT send vaccination/test proof to your Volunteer Coordinator, as volunteers will also provide vaccine proof or negative test result onsite at the event.
Do participants have to go through COVID-19 Screening each day of the event?
No. COVID-19 screening is only done the first day an induvial comes to the event. Once screened, individuals will receive a plastic wristband that will allow them access to the event for subsequent days. Please encourage your team members to keep their wrist bands on for all days of the event so they do not have to be screened again.
Is there a maximum number of team members and mentors who can attend?
Besides the designated hours for team load-in on Thursday evening and Friday morning, there will be no team member or mentor limit. All team members (youth team members and adult mentors) are allowed to attend the event.
As a reminder, all team members MUST be registered with FIRST and have completed the FIRST Consent and Release Form online.
Can individuals that are not on a team’s FIRST roster attend the event?
Yes, as long as they are associated to the team. The event is not open to the public. Spectators are limited to those that directly support the team at the event (i.e. parents that provide meals, transportation, chaperoning students or those that support the team or individual students). These allowed supporters MUST be included on the team list provided by the lead mentor as being associated with the team. All attendees will be required to check in at the COVID-19 screening table, provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative test, valid ID if over 18 and answer health screening questions, to receive an access wristband, prior to entry.
What is the team pit size and will there be limited number of team members in pits?
Team pit size is 10’x10′. There may be a limited number of team members permitted in your pit which will be determined as COVID-19 guidelines change and posted at the venue.
Can we bring team food to the regional?
No, outside commercially prepared food is not permitted at the ARC Pavilion. Any food that is brought to the Pavilion in commercially prepared packaging will be turned away at the door.
Food for purchase is available at the concessions stands at the event.
Is there a parking fee?
The UC Davis campus charges $12 per day for parking via ParkMobile. You can find out more information about the ParkMobile services here: https://taps.ucdavis.edu/visitor#rates
We encourage teams to carpool and plan to have drop off access for individuals that are just getting dropped off and not parking. Parking passes will not be provided to teams.
I’m a team traveling to the regional, where should my robot be shipped and who is the contact?
Please contact Janet McKinley at jmckinley@firstinspires.org to coordinate this.
Sponsor the Regional!
WAYS TO SPONSOR
SUPPORT THE SACRAMENTO REGIONAL
To discuss sponsorship opportunities and benefits of sponsorship, please contact your Regional Director, Janet McKinley, or fill out the Contact Form below.
For 30 years, FIRST® volunteers have fueled the mission by inspiring millions of young people to reach for the stars. You are part of a global support system we’ve built for students who need a spark of curiosity and encouragement to launch their dreams. Together, we’re inspiring the next generation of innovators, technology leaders, and change-makers here on Earth – and beyond.
Volunteer Opportunities!
Non-Technical and Technical Roles Available
EXAMPLES OF ROLES
APPLY TO VOLUNTEER
- Create an account in the FIRST Dashboard – click here to apply.
- Click the Volunteer Registration tab & choose ‘Volunteer at an Event’.
- Filter events by location/ program and select Sacramento Regional.
- Choose up to five roles and apply.
- Complete your required youth protection background screening (US & Canada).
You will receive an email from your local event coordinator if you are assigned to a volunteer role.
LET’S CONNECT!
SACRAMENTO REGIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA