Takeaways from Week 1

Remember, once the pits open at 5 pm, no work can be done on the robot at your shop. If you live close to the venue and choose to not load in right at 5, we expect you to be gracious and professional and stop working on your robot until you arrive at the venue. 

Safety: 

  • We want everyone to have a fun competition but part of that is doing it safely. Make sure you and your team understand the safety rules. If you need a refresher, you can find the safety manual here 
  • If you are wearing glasses and plan to wear side shields, make sure your prescription glasses are safety rated.  
  • Tie long hair back when working on or around the robot so that it doesn’t get in your way or tangled in the robot 
  • Do not charge your batteries at the venue overnight (Even if there is no generator and the pits are powered) It is a safety issue. 

We are working to have a quiet room at each event but are struggling this season. For events that have a quiet room, here are some safety things you need to remember: 

  • Two adults should staff the quiet room so there is never a situation where there is 1 adult and one student in the room together. 
  • The quiet room may not be open at all times (and we don’t necessarily have keys to the facility to lock in when it is not in use) When the quiet room is unattended, no students should be in the quiet room. Coaches please make sure your students understand this. We did have reports last weekend of unattended students in the quiet room and will have to discontinue having it this season if we can’t get them staffed appropriately. 

Event Pages

I have heard reports that there are some issues with some of the schedules on firstinspires.org. The best place to get event information is from the event page on firstwa.org.

You can find event information below –

District Championship Event Briefing

We will be having out District Championship Briefing on Tuesday, March 19 at 7:00 pm. I recommend any team that believes they may qualify for District Championships have an adult attend this meeting. You can find the meeting link on the calender on firstwa.org or clicking the link below:

District Championship Hotel Room Block

We have some exciting news, we have secured hotel rooms at the Crown Plaza which is very close to the venue. Rooms in the robotics block will cost 159/night AND the hotel will provide a free breakfast for up to 4 people per room! To access this block, follow this link: First Robotics 2024 

Remind Your Team to Volunteer!

To see what roles are available at what events, volunteers need to login to their FIRST dashboard (or create one if they’re new). If they can apply for it, that means it’s open!

Volunteer Availability:

  • Oregon State Fair – some spots available
  • Auburn – some spots available
  • SunDome – many spots available! 
  • Bonney Lake – many spots available! 
  • Wilsonville – some spots available
  • Sammamish

Please remind students that all volunteer hours can go towards National Honor Society volunteer requirements and many other volunteer requirements. 

Specifically for adult volunteers, our greatest need is for Judges at Oregon State Fair and SunDome.

Consider signing up to volunteer, or helping recruit local volunteers! Remember, you cannot Judge at an event if you’re affiliated with a competing team, or you are younger than 20 years old.

Questions about available roles? Email Mara at Marak@firstwa.org to learn more!