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How long is the FIRST® Tech Challenge season?
The FIRST® Tech Challenge season kicks off in September, the competition season begins in November and can last throughout April depending how much your team advances.
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How can I find a FIRST® Tech Challenge team to join?
Washington State has between 100 and 200 FIRST® Tech Challenge teams each year. Teams are formed in schools, community organizations, and neighborhoods. They can be formed by any interested adult willing to facilitate the team logistics.
Within Washington, many FIRST® Tech Challenge teams are formed through schools, so the first place to look for opportunities to join a team is with your child’s school. Generally, the school-based teams are open only to students attending that institution because interest often exceeds capacity. If your child’s school does not currently have a team, you may want to work with a teacher or administrator there to help form a team within the school.
Other Washington teams are formed through community organizations such as 4-H, YMCA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, or Boys & Girls Clubs. Generally, this is only one of many activities that the organization facilitates for its members, but if your child is interested in one of these organizations overall, this might be an avenue to pursue in your local area.
The remaining teams in Washington are formed through homeschool groups, religious organizations or neighborhood groups of friends. While these groups are not specifically closed to other students, they do not usually engage in recruiting members.
Since finding an opportunity with an existing team may be difficult, many experienced coaches and parents advise families new to the program to start their own team. The benefits to your child and for those who have an opportunity to participate are well worth the effort. If you need additional resources or encouragement, contact us at FIRST® Washington.
Search for teams near you.
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Can anyone participate?
Yes! We want to bring our community together to stay strong during this time of need, and this event is our opportunity to do so! We invite all teams, coaches, mentors, and volunteers to join us for this virtual event!
Get Started
For Parents:
As a parent of an older FIRST® participant, the students will register themselves to be on the team through the FIRST® Team Dashboard. The parents also need to create an account to complete the child’s registration. The short registration process will need to be done every year your child is a part of a FIRST® team.
We want to make it as simple as possible to excite the students about their futures, so all you need to do is complete the registration for your child. Parents are welcomed and encouraged to get more involved in their child’s team, but it is not required. If you would like to be involved, contact your child coach.
For Students:
As a student participating in FIRST®, you will need to register as a member of your team on the FIRST® Team Dashboard. Your parents will also need to create an account to complete the registration process. This registration will need to be done every year you are a part of a FIRST® team.
FIRST® Washington has compiled an extensive collection of resources that you can access at any time! We want to help you succeed in any way that we can!
- Adrienne Rime, FTC Program Coordinator
arime@firstwa.org - Erin McCallum, President
erin@firstwa.org
