Kickoff - Saturday, January 8, 2011

The Saturday Kickoff marks the beginning of the design and build season. Whether it’s the NASA-televised event  in Manchester, New Hampshire or one of the numerous “local” Kickoffs, teams have the opportunity to meet with others to compare notes, get ideas, make friends, find mentoring teams, pick up the Kit of Parts, and get geared up for the exciting competition season.

On Friday, the Manchester workshops equip teams with knowledge of various dynamics of the season. FIRST also hosts a Founder’s reception, providing mentors with the opportunity to meet Dean, Woodie, and FIRST staff members; listen to motivating speeches; share a tasty buffet; and find out the plans for future program growth. See also, the Founder's Reception and the FIRST Workshops pages for more details.

2010 Kickoff Details

Location:  Southern New Hampshire University
See also directions to SNHU
Manchester Campus (SNHU)
2500 North River Road
Manchester, NH 03106

**Live Kickoff Viewing - Watch the NASA Webcast or check out the NASA TV viewing options

FIRST Consent and Release Form

All persons attending the Kickoff events are required to complete a FIRST Consent and Release form. Attendees under 18 must have a parent or legal guardian's signature on the form. This year FIRST is piloting a system which will allow student team members to complete the form online, and parents or legal guardians may submit an electronic signature. Adult mentors or other non-team members must still submit a signed paper copy of the form. To read more about these options, or to download and print a paper copy of the form, please visit the FIRST Student Team Members System and Consent/Release form web page

Hotel Information

Radisson Hotel Manchester, 700 Elm St. Manchester, NH 03101, reservation # is (888) 201-1718.  The reservation is under “FIRST Kickoff”.

Bus Transportation

There will be one bus from the Radisson Hotel to SNHU on Saturday morning between 8:30-8:45 AM.  This bus will return to the Radison after Kickoff concludes. 

There will be shuttle service from the Radison to the Founder's Reception. In addition, the bus will stop at FIRST Headquarters for one pickup at 5:30 PM for those attending the workshops. 

Other Facts for Teams:

There will be a Kit of Parts (KOP) Receipt available at the Local Kickoff location you selected for kit pickup. It is required that an adult mentor of the team sign and return the KOP receipt to the FIRST crew member handling kit distribution at each Local Kickoff site. Kits will not be released to student members of the team.

• If you have selected to ship your KOP directly to your team's shipping address, and also chose to attend a Kickoff, you will not receive a KOP receipt. The shipping and tracking documentation for these kit shipments will provide proof of receipt.
• Teams that have not paid their initial registration fee of $6,000 will not receive their KOP. If payment has not been received at FIRST by December 4, 2009 please call FIRST Finance at 1-800-871-8326, ext 414 or 415.
• If a team is unable to pickup its KOP at the Local Kickoff selected, an alternate team may do so. The team unable to attend must provide FIRST with an authorized Surrogate Kit Pickup letter, signed by the main or alternate contact, on school or sponsor letterhead that includes the following:1) Your team number and the KOP pickup location; 2) The name and team number of the representative picking up the KOP. All Surrogate Kit Pickup letters must be received at FIRST by January 4, 2010.The letter should be sent or faxed to:

FIRST Attn: FRC Team Support
200 Bedford Street
Manchester, NH 03101
Fax #: 603-666-3907

We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of our 2010 FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff Sponsors 

View the 2009 season Kickoff videos on the Archived Game Documentation page.