USO-Status Update

U.S. Open Status

*************************Update as of 5/8/2020***************************

The second batch of refund checks went our May 1st. If you do not receive your check by mid May please let us know.

We will continue to honor requests for refunds through the summer. Any addtional requests will be processed on a monthly basis with the next set of checks going out June 1st.

As a reminder, we must send a refund check. We do not have any way of refunding your credit card. To request a refund be sure to include your team(s) numbers, payee name, mailing address and the tournament (VRC HS, or MS, IQ Elem, or MS, etc) each team was registered for.

Continued best wishes for good heath for you and all your loved ones.

Jim Schulte

CREATE Foundation - President

*************************Update as of 4/9/2020***************************

We are pleased to let you know that the first batch of refund checks were mailed out on April 7th, 2020. Everyone that requested a refund prior to April 1st, 2020 should have already received their check or will receive a check very soon.

If you had requested your refund prior to 4/1/2020 and do not receive your check within the next 3 business days please let us know. If your check is not what you expected please let us know. We will work as quickly as we can to resolve any issues you might encounter.

We would ask all remaining teams to requests during the month of April. Those requests will be processed and send out as a batch in early May, probably no sooner than May 6th. Thank you for your patience

Continued best wishes for good heath for you and all your loved ones.

Jim Schulte

CREATE Foundation - President

*************************Update as of 4/1/2020***************************

All request made through 3/31/2020 are now being processed as a batch. We will still continue to take refund requests and all request made from 4/1/2020 through 4/30/2020 will be processed as a batch on 5/1/2020.

Our goal for this batch of refunds is to send them no later than 4/10/2020. When the checks are sent we will update this web page letting you know the date they were mailed. Thanks for your patience

If you know of anyone that has yet to request a refund please remind them to do so as soon as they can.

Best wishes for good heath for you and all your loved ones.

Jim Schulte

CREATE Foundation - President

*************************Update as of 3/20/2020***************************

Thank you all for providing the information we need to process your refund. We are now going through and verifying all the information and grouping teams for refunds to go on a single check, as you have requested. This process will take some time. Again, we ask for your patience. We hope to start sending checks shortly after 4/10/2020.

There are still a few requests trickling in. If you know of anyone that has yet to request a refund please remind them to do so as soon as they can.

Feel free to check back here every few days as we are committed to keeping you informed regarding the progress of your refund.

All of us at CREATE hope and pray for the good health and safety of all members of your team and loved ones.

Jim Schulte

CREATE Foundation - President

*************************Update as of 3/16/2020***************************

We are now starting to process refunds. Your refund check will be sent NO SOONER than April 10th, 2020. We are responding to each email request for refunds individually so you know we have received your request.

We ask:

For your patience, this will take some time.
You understand that all refunds/questions be done via email. We will not be able to answer questions or take down refund information on the phone.
You understand that at this time we are NOT writing checks. We are organizing all of the request by team group/program so that we will be able to efficiently get you your refund checks after April 10th, and acknowledging receipt of your request.
You understand that ALL refunds MUST be done via check. We have no way to refund your credit card as the credit card payment did not come to us.
Those that received a partial $100 refund contact us and request the maximum refund, as you are also eligible for this refund. Your refund check will be less the $100 already sent.
That you understand that we are working diligently to get you 100% of your fee returned. Our ability to do that will be directly related to organizations that owe us money getting those funds to us.
That your correspondence to us be limited to only critical information. We simply do not have the staff/time to respond to emails requesting t-shirts, memorabilia, etc.
If your email does not contain all of the needed information (Team number(s), tournament registered for (VRC IQ Open or Drone), age group (elem, middle school, high school), payee name, mailing address)) please send another email getting us all this needed information.
That if you hear of anyone who has not gotten a response back from us regarding their request for refund by 3/31/20, please have them contact us. We want to make sure we take care of all teams evenly, equitably.

We thank you in advance for your understanding as we work through this difficult situation. Please remember to check back here, on this web page, for continuing updates.

Best Regards and be safe,

The CREATE Support Team

*************************Update as of 3/12/2020***************************

It is with great sadness that I announce the cancellation of the CREATE U.S. Open Robotics Championship, scheduled for March 30th-April 4th. At this time it is clear that for the safety of all concerned this is the best course of action. It will not be possible to reschedule the event. Logistically and financially this is not possible.

CREATE, as a small non-profit will do everything we can to refund all teams the maximum amount of their registration fee. We ask for your patience and understanding as we work through existing financial commitments; please understand that we already have a large non-recoverable sum spent in preparation of this event and remaining cash collected for this event is below what is possible for a 100% refund. It is impossible to make any promises given the difficult situation we find ourselves in at this time, but we will still endeavor to get as close to 100% refund as possible.

I want to thank all the teams that were registered this year and a special thanks to all those teams that come year after year. We are truly sorry it has come to this. I also want to send my deepest appreciation to all of the wonderful volunteers we have had through the years at the U.S. Open. This is indeed a sad end to a wonderful event and program.

However, I prefer to focus on all the good that has been accomplished these past 12 years. We wish each team the best of luck in the future. We wish for everyone to stay healthy.

Best Regards,

Jim Schulte

CREATE Foundation - President

Refund procedure: To request a refund please send an email to Support@CREATE-Found.org with your team number(s), which tournament you were registered for (VRC, VEXIQ, Drone or Open), age group (Elementary, Middle School or High School) payee name, and mailing address. Please keep checking back at http://create-found.org/USO-StatusUpdate.php for additional information as it becomes available. Please note that no refunds will be processed prior to 4/10/2020. At that time we hope to have a final amount for your refund.

*************************Update as of 3/9/2020*******************************

Share this information with everyone who is traveling with your team!

The current COVID-19 outbreak has created a unique situation in which parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, and school officials have legitimate health concerns. We have had many questions regarding the status of the U.S. Open. We wanted to reach out to all to explain in detail the status of the U.S. Open scheduled from March 30th-April 4th.

We understand and appreciate the concerns regarding this unique situation. The feedback we have gotten, indicates the majority of teams are looking forward to attending and therefore, as of now, our event is moving ahead as planned with teams from the U.S. and Canada.

However, sensible precautions should be taken. We are tracking closely with the CDC guidelines for large events. CREATE is working with our venue hosts to ensure we have anti-bacterial soap and/or hand sanitizer available for ALL to use FREQUENTLY. We are working with them to increase the frequency and thoroughness of the common area cleaning and disinfecting.

There are a number of steps teams can take prior to attending:

If you have any flu like symptoms prior to the event you should not attend.
It is recommended that the elderly should not travel at all on planes or boats at this time, nor attend events with large numbers of people.
Anyone with respiratory issues or compromised immunity systems should not attend.
Bring hand sanitizer with you. Be sure to have your own supply.
Bring disinfectant wipes with you. To wipe down common areas, robots, etc.
Don't touch your face with your hands.

There are a number of steps teams can take while attending the event (or anytime):

Be sure to cough/sneeze into your elbow or preferably into a tissue which should be immediately thrown away.
Be sure to wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds every time you wash.
Use hand sanitizer.
Use disinfectant wipes to clean common area frequently.
If you develop any flu like symptoms while at the event you should self quarantine.
Don't touch your face with your hands.
No handshakes for this event. Instead a "thumbs-up" is recommended.
Use disinfectant wipes to keep your cell phones clean.

It is very important to share this information with ALL team members and ALL members traveling with your group. Each team has a decision to make regarding the event and the health risks involved. We understand if you are not comfortable with attending. However, we want to afford those teams that still want to participate an opportunity to do so. The decision will be left to each team.

We will continue to monitor the CDC, State and Local government agencies for any applicable ban for our event.

Check back to this web page frequently to get updates as they become available.

The CREATE Support Team