If there are any teams that are division 1 that want to compete up into division 2, please note the following:

Division 1 teams are allowed to compete up into Division 2 (but division 2 teams are not allowed to compete down in division 1).  If you would like to do this, please send me an email here so that I can have that information when I do assignments.  I would need this email before midnight on the 10th.

All tournaments initially have both divisions (some may become single division if not enough teams from one of the divisions select and are assigned there - usually only happens at 1 or 2 events).  The types of awards and percentage of teams advancing to the championship tournament and wining awards are the same for both divisions at each event.

While the division 1 teams are allowed to complete up, this only happens very rarely (only about once every 1-2 years do we have a team ask for it) and there really isn't an advantage to it so it is not something I recommend.  If you compete up at the regional tournament, you will also be required to compete up at the championship tournament if you end up qualifying.  We cannot have teams switching back and forth. 

Thanks,
Karen
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [VADCFLL-L] Reminder to complete VA-DC FLL registrations by
midnight, October 10th
From: Brittany Rose <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Mon, October 05, 2015 6:17 pm
To: <[log in to unmask]>

Karen,

If there are any division 1 teams that would like to compete up as division 2, by when does that decision have to be made and how should that be communicated to VA/DC FLL?

Many thanks for all of your hard work!
Brittany

On Oct 5, 2015, at 5:51 PM, Karen Berger wrote:

Teams,
Just a friendly reminder that the tournament registration is open and will close at midnight on October 10th.

For all teams, please make sure ALL changes are in the system by midnight on the 10th.  After that time you WILL NOT be able to log back in and make any changes.  Please make sure ALL team members are listed (with correct birthdays) so that we purchase enough supplies and have have teams in the correct divisions.

If you plan to compete and have green check marks in the VA-DC FLL registration system for both "paid" and "complete" - you're good to go.  Congratulations and we'll announce the tournament assignments in mid-October.

If you plan to compete and are missing a green check mark for "paid" in the VA-DC FLL registration system, please make sure that payments have been received by the 10th (really the 9th since the 10th is a Saturday).  Details for the payment methods are below and on the website.  If you paid in the last day or so, don't panic, it has to be manually updated so it can take a day or so.  If you paid more than a few days ago and are still not listed as paid, please contact [log in to unmask] (do not reply to me - I have no way to check this information).

If you plan to compete and are missing a check mark for "complete" in the VA-DC FLL registration system, please make sure that you complete the registration (there are three pages - team info, team member info and tournament preferences) by October 10th.  You will NOT be able to complete it after this date.  If you entered all of the information and still don't see the check mark, it may be because you only have 1 or 2 students registered.  Please make sure that ALL team members are in the system by the close of registration.  If you only have 2 members on your team, please let me know.

If you plan to compete and have not started the VA-DC FLL registration yet, please do so ASAP and for sure by the 10th (if you have no idea what green check marks I'm talking about, this is probably you)!  Information about how to register in the VA-DC FLL system (this is different than the national, TIMS system) is in the email below and on the website.

If you do not plan to complete, please log into the system and indicate this on the 1st page or email me directly to let me know.  This will save all of us (volunteers) time tracking down the ~150 teams that have not yet completed the VA-DC FLL registrations.

Thanks, and if you have any questions, please contact [log in to unmask].  We look forward to seeing you all in November!

Karen
--------------
Karen Berger
VA-DC FLL Regional Tournament Coordinator

--------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to the 2015 FLL season - Trash Trek!  We have information about the VA-DC FLL Regional Registration process that everyone (including returning coaches) should read below.
 
We will be collecting a VA-DC FLL Regional Registration Fee.  There will be NO separate regional tournament registration fee.  The VA-DC FLL Regional Registration fee will cover services available to VA-DC FLL teams including team development, coach support and planning for regional qualifying tournaments.  Teams registered with the VA-DC FLL Region can sign up for one (1) regional qualifying tournament.  Details about payment options are noted below and on our website at www.va-dcfll.org.   Coaches will also receive reminder emails during the registration process.  There is a Frequently Asked Questions link on the registration page that will be able to answer most questions associated with the registration process.
  
VA-DC FLL REGIONAL REGISTRATION PROCESS:
To help expedite this registration process, VA-DC FLL teams can start this registration process now.  Go to http://www.va-dcfll.org/teams/start-register-a-team/ and go to Part 3.  There are 4 steps and a confirmation email will be sent after the completion of each step.
1.      Enter FLL team information (team name, national FLL team number, coach contact info, etc.).  FLL team MUST be registered with FIRST for the 2015 Trash Trek season before registering with the VA-DC FLL Region.  FIRST will issue the FLL team number.  To register with FIRST, go to: https://my.usfirst.org/fll/tims/site.lasso
2.      Pay the $100 VA-DC FLL Regional Registration Fee (due by 10/10/2015).  Make sure to use your FLL National Registration number.  Options for payment include:
a.       Credit card online payment: An additional $2.50 credit card processing fee will be charged with this option.  Go to: https://commerce.cashnet.com/cashneti/selfserve/storeentrance.aspx?client=JMU_PROD&SID=VADCFLL& (select the $100 Regional Registration option)
b.      Pay by check: Send a check for $100 to the address below. Be sure to include your team number on the check so that it can be correctly credited. Multiple payments may be included in the same check, but each team numbers must be indicated.
c.       Pay by purchase order: Purchase orders are acceptable from any VA or DC school system. Send your purchase order to the address below. Be sure to include your team number on the PO so that it can be correctly credited. Multiple payments may be included in the same PO, but each team numbers must be indicated. Mailing address for check and P.O. payments:
VA-DC FLL                    
James Madison University
800 S. Main, MSC 0305
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
3.      Enter team member information (team member name, date of birth, etc.). Date of birth determines the team’s VA-DC FLL division – please be accurate and complete
4.      Regional Qualifying Tournament Preference Selection (pick 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice). This final step (selection of tournaments) will not be available until October 1st.  Assignments are based on a first-come, first-serve basis based on tournament selection so starting registration now will not guarantee you preference but does give you ample time collect team member information ahead of time.
You will be able to come back and make updates/changes as needed until the end of the registration period on October 10th.  We will send out reminders when we get close to the opening of the regional tournament selection portion.
 
Below are important notes about the registration process…
·         FIRST has implemented a child protection policy and requires background checks and other safeguards.  More information is available on the US FIRST website or by contacting [log in to unmask].
·         WHAT WILL COACHES NEED TO BE ABLE TO REGISTER FOR A TOURNAMENT?
o   Your national FLL team number as provided by FIRST.
o   Contact information for the coach.
o   Team member details including name, gender, date of birth (for assignment of age division), whether or not the team member has participated in FLL before.
o   Top three choices (in order) for tournament sites (this part will not open until 10/1/2015)
·         OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT REGISTRATION…
o   Because we know that a number of you are managers and/or coaches for more than one team, you will have the option to register multiple teams and list different coaches for each team.  If you register more than one team then you will be responsible for any updates to each team that you register or you will need to share your log in information with individual managers to do so themselves.
o   Please be aware that cookies must be enabled on your computer in order to use the registration system.  If this poses a problem in your school or place of business, you will need to use another computer or have someone else register for you.
o   Any manager/coach email addresses provided will be automatically added to the email list from which administrative messages will be sent.
o   There may be a delay of up to 1 week between when you register you team with USFIRST and when you are able to start the registration process as we normally update our registration server once a week.  We will make sure that all registered teams have been added prior to the start of official regional tournament registration on October 1st.
 
A SPECIAL NOTE TO TEAMS REGISTERED WITH FIRST BUT DO NOT PLAN TO PARTICIPATE IN A VA-DC FLL REGIONAL TOURNAMENT.
Even if you don't plan to register a team for a VA-DC FLL regional tournament this season, please log in and make note of that so that we don't have to contact you separately (there will be a clear place to indicate this on the first page).  This will help save time for our very busy volunteers who would otherwise have to follow up directly with any unregistered teams.
 
If you have any questions, please send them to [log in to unmask].  Thank you for all that you do and we look forward to an exciting FLL season!

To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE your settings, please visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or leave the list".
VADCFLL administrative announcements are sent via VADCFLL-ANNOUNCEMENTS-L. Visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-announcements-l.html to subscribe.


To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE your settings, please visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or leave the list".
VADCFLL administrative announcements are sent via VADCFLL-ANNOUNCEMENTS-L. Visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-announcements-l.html to subscribe.

To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE your settings, please visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or leave the list".
VADCFLL administrative announcements are sent via VADCFLL-ANNOUNCEMENTS-L. Visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-announcements-l.html to subscribe.