FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Age Regulations:

RoboCupJunior is targeted for primary and secondary school students. There is no fixed minimum age, but primary students are expected to be able to read (and hence write programs for their robots) on their own, without significant help from adult mentors. Students over age 19 are not allowed on RoboCupJunior teams. The division between the primary and secondary age categories is 14 years old. Teams with all student members age 14 and under are considered primary. Teams with any student member over age 14 must be secondary. Declaration day is the 1st of July.

Transportation

The information about transportation from the airports of Vienna and Graz to the venue and about the transportation within the city of Graz have been updated. Please refer for details to the following link:

http://www.robocup2009.org/122-0-transportation.html

Registration / Check-in at the Venue

Check in time slots for Junior Teams are on Wed. July the 1st from 8:00 - 13:00.

Please note that there are requirements to be able to check in. One important requirement is that all mentors and members of teams read and sign the liability and image release form. For participants under the age of 18, one of their parents or guard has to sign the form. So please prepare the forms soon. Without a signed form, nobody is allowed to enter the venue. Please do not email the form to us. Just bring it with you for the check in.

For further details, refer to:

http://www.robocup2009.org/292-0-check-in.html

Shipping and Customs

The details for the shipping of equipment to Graz and about the customs process have been updated.

For further details on customs:

http://www.robocup2009.org/123-0-cargo-shipping.html

Letters of Invitations

Most of the invitation letters have been issued to confirmed registered team members. We will continue to issue the remaining needed letters for registered with confirmed payment for RCJunior participants until the deadline of June 6, 2009. By then, we will send a final list of all persons who received a letter of invitation viathe Austrian Foreign Ministry to all relevant Austrian embassies. Having your name on this list is a requirement for a successful visa application. Please note that the electronic version of the letter is sufficient for the visa application.

Mexican Flu (aka Swine Flu or H1N1 Virus)

The World Health Organization (WHO) does not recommend any restrictions in travel. In particular, there are no restrictions for traveling to and from Austria. Only passengers coming for Mexico have to be announced to the authorities and will be screened if necessary. Please check updated information on the news and internet.

Electricity

Austria uses 230 Volts AC at 50Hz and the European plug (aka SchuKo or CEE 7/4). We will not be able to provide any power converters nor any adapters. So please note that it is your responsibility to bring the appropriate adapters, which are widely available at airports in particular or in local electricity stores.

Accommodation for Junior Teams

We blocked several inexpensive rooms exclusively for Junior teams. The process for the allocation of these rooms is easy:

1. Once your team is fully and correctly registered, we send you an email with information about our booking system. Fully and correctly means that the team, all mentors, the contact persons, and all students are registered in the right category and the full payment was received.

2. Once you entered your accommodation request in our booking system we find an appropriate option and communicate it to you.

3. Once you accept the option, we book the rooms, and send you a confirmation and detailed information about your accomodaition. Processing each request inevitably requires care and some time.

Note the number of rooms for this option are limited and there is no guarantee to get rooms from this contingent. Requests will be processed in first come  - first server manner. Due to th limited number of rooms this service will end soon.

If you cannot wait for our processing of the assignment of this special inexpensive accommodation for Junior teams, please feel free to use the regular booking of the Graz Tourism Office. Please see:

http://www.robocup2009.org/121-0-accomodation.html

Rules of the House

Please carefully read and adhere to the rules of the hous which can be found at the following link:

Rules of the House

Important phone numbers

Primary Contact RoboCup 2009: +43 664 5564222
Ambulance: +43 144
Police: +43 133
Fire Department: +43 122
Emergency Hospital Graz: +43 316 5050
ÖAMTC -- breakdown service: +43 120

ARBÖ -- breakdown service: +43 123