Code of Conduct

The REC Foundation considers the positive, respectful, and ethical conduct of teams to be an essential component of the competition. Participants are expected to behave in a respectful and professional manner, and to operate as student-centered teams with limited adult assistance. This includes all students, teachers, coaches, mentors, parents, and spectators associated with a team.

For more details, please refer to the REC Foundation Code of Conduct and Student-Centered Policy. If you have concerns about compliance with the Code of Conduct, please speak to the Event Partner during the event.

Agenda

Friday 

5:00 Doors Open

Early bird check-in, Inspections, and Skills and Practice Fields open.  Pits will be open

9:00 Doors Close

Saturday

7:30 Doors Open

8:00 Check-in and inspection open, Skills and Practice Fields open

8:30 Opening Ceremony and Drivers Meeting

9:15 Qualification matches begin

12:15 Lunch (Skills Closed)

1:30 Qualification matches resume (Be at queuing tables at 1:15) Skills Open

6:35 Qualification matches end, Skills Closed

7:00 Doors / Pits closed

Sunday

7:30 Doors Open

8:00 Skills and Practice Fields Open

9:00 Qualifications matches resume

11:20 Qualifications matched end / Skills End 

11:30 Alliance selection

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Elimination matches begin / Some Awards will be presented between matches

3:00 Elimination matches end

3:30 Guest speaker / Awards presentation continues

4:00 Closing Ceremony

4:30 Doors close

Volunteer

Volunteers are very important to making events successful. We greatly appreciate anyone who is able to attend  the event to help it run smoothly. There will be more information posted closer to the event. In the meantime, any volunteer queries can be sent to Lori Westphal at [email protected].

Emergency/Bad Weather Policy

Hurricane season ends in Florida on November 30. And since it doesn't snow here, we do not anticipate any weather preventing this event from occurring. 

Refund and Payment Policies

Refunds will only be issued if the event is cancelled due to weather or health-related orders from the relevant local and state agencies for Orlando, FL. Due to fixed costs for this Signature event, any refunds will be allocated after all event expenses have been taken care of.

If the Event Partner cancels the event: 

Refunds will be given to teams per the above statement. Refunds will not include the $5 processing fee assessed by Robot Events for processing.

If a Coach/Mentor completes registration for the event then chooses to withdraw or not attend:

Registrations will not be refunded for teams that register but choose not to come. Any team unpaid by payment due date (November 15, 2024) will be removed from the registered team list without notification.

Date: 13-Dec-2024 - 15-Dec-2024

Travel Info

Event Location: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at the Entrance to Universal Orlando

A limited number of special rate rooms will be available at DoubleTree Hotel, Orlando, Florida: 5780 Major Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819. A link to the discounted room rate will be sent in an email after your team has registered for Sunshine Showdown. 

This hotel is at the entrance to Universal Studios Orlando. Casual rooms feature flat-screen TVs and Wi-Fi, as well as coffeemakers and custom-designed beds. Some rooms offer views over Universal Studios. Suites add separate living areas. There are 2 casual American restaurants, along with a breakfast eatery, and a Starbucks. There's also an outdoor pool and a fitness center. The DoubleTree is a Universal Orlando Partner Hotel, a short walk to Universal Orlando CityWalk, Universal Studios Florida, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and Universal’s Island of Adventure. Universal’s Volcano Bay, the Orlando International Premium Outlets, and the Mall at Millenia are within two miles.

The Orlando International Airport is the closest airport to the Sunshine Showdown Signature event at 18 miles away, but Tampa and Sanford airports are also possible options. 

Webcast

This event will be webcast. A link will be posted before the start of the event. 

Judging Format

For Sunshine Showdown, team interviews will be conducted in-person at the event. Engineering notebooks will be submitted digitally for evaluation via a link uploaded within the "My Account" panel of the team contact on RobotEvents. The Submission Deadline for your Engineering Notebook is 11:59PM on 11/29/2024. 

 Our judges are members of the business and educational community from the Central Florida area. They will be conducting interviews throughout the day Saturday and Sunday morning.

Signature Event Early Bird Policy

• All Signature Events will have a specific Early Bird Registration that is independent of all local/regional Early Bird systems
  • Each team starts the season with three (3) opportunities to register during the Signature Event Early-Bird period
    • An opportunity is taken away each time the team registers for a Signature Event, whether during the Signature Event Early-Bird period or Standard period
    • A Signature Event Early-Bird opportunity is not taken away if a team registers for a tournament hosted by their school or organization (where the team’s coach is the Event Partner)
  • Early Bird Registration will open 16 weeks before the event at 12:00PM EST
    • Note: Modifications to this may be made for events in August and September
  • Standard Registration will open 14 weeks before the event at 12:00PM EST
  • An Event Partner may register their own teams to their Signature Event during Signature Event Early Bird Registration no matter how many other Signature Events they are already registered for  
    • The Event Partner must be the Primary Contact for the teams they are registering

Waitlist

0 teams are on the waitlist for this event.