FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 1

Good Afternoon Teams! I hope you are enjoying your summer! 

This blog contains lots of information, so be sure to read the entire thing. 

Job Opportunities with FIRST Washington
We have 3 new job listings with FIRST Washington:
  • Event Manager
  • Volunteer Manager
  • Marketing and Communications Manager
If you are interested in joining our amazing team, click here to access the job postings and apply!  Feel free to share this information with anyone in your network who might be interested in working for FIRST Washington.

FIRST Washington Registration is open!

FIRST Washington registration is now open.  Please take a moment to register if your team plans to participate this year.  

This form also gives you access to the FIRST Washington Registration grants that are used to lower your registration.

Registration form link:  https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/aa05160be9cb49ec94f3b61b272443a1

Attention FIRST Washington Class of 2025!

We want to celebrate you!  Please fill out the following survey so that we can share your successes with our community of supporters: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/d38e9ac9af0c48a4863aef810cdd26a4

FTC Kickoff Registration is now open! 

Yes, it is that time already.  Time to prepare for FTC Kickoff!!  Once again, we have 5 kickoff locations though there have been some changes in venues for specific areas.  Here is the high level kickoff info: 

 –

Auburn High School 711 E Main St. Auburn, WA 98002 

8:30 am: Doors open 

9:00 am: Game reveal with Q&A and workshops to follow 

12:30 pm: Event ends 

–  

BrickCon 2025! Meydenbauer Center 11100 NE 6th St. Bellevue, WA 98004 

8:30 am: Doors open 

9:00 am: Game reveal with Q&A and workshops to follow 

12:00 pm: Event ends 

–  

Kennewick High School 560 W Sixth Ave, Kennewick, WA 99336 *new location

8:30 am: Doors open 

8:30-9:00 am: Ice Breaker/Games to get to know the teams 

9:00 am: Game reveal with Q&A and brainstorming sessions 

– 

Saint Martin’s University 5000 Abbey Way SE Lacey, WA 98503 *new location

8:30 am: Doors open 

9:00 am: Game reveal with Q&A and brainstorming sessions to follow 

12:00 pm: Event ends 

–  

Ridgeline High School 20150 E. Country Vista Dr. Liberty Lake, WA 98019 

8:30 am: Doors open 

9:00 am: Game reveal 

10:00 am: Field reveal, rules Q&A 

10:30 am: Workshops 

12:00 pm: Event ends 

– 

Click here to register for a kickoff.  We are looking forward to another great season! 

Important Dates & Deadlines

FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 1

 Good Afternoon Teams! I hope you are enjoying your summer! 

This blog contains lots of information, so be sure to read the entire thing. 

    Job Opportunities with FIRST Washington

    We have 3 new job listings with FIRST Washington:

    • Event Manager
    • Volunteer Manager
    • Marketing and Communications Manager

    If you are interested in joining our amazing team, click here to access the job postings and apply!  Feel free to share this information with anyone in your network who might be interested in working for FIRST Washington.

      PNW FRC Registration is open! 

      PNW FRC registration is now open.  Please take a moment to register if your team plans to participate this year.  For FRC teams, this is the best way for us to know you plan to participate prior to when team preferencing ends the beginning of October. 

      This form also gives you access to the FIRST Washington Registration grants that are used to lower your registration. 

      Just a reminder that the District Championship fees have been decoupled from the season registration fees so the season registration fee is now $11,800.  Teams that qualify for District Championship will be charged an additional $4000.  We hope to have some funding available to defray the District Championship registration grants. 

      Registration form link:  https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/3913797ab2d24190ae51da675f49b3b5  

      Attention FIRST Washington Class of 2025!

      We want to celebrate you!  Please fill out the following survey so that we can share your successes with our community of supporters: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/d38e9ac9af0c48a4863aef810cdd26a4

      Next FRC Coaches Chat scheduled for 7:00 pm Thursday, 8-21 

      Based on feedback the two coaches chats we had this summer, we will be having a coaches chat in August that focuses specifically on becoming a 501c3.  Emil Anderson from 2928 will be presenting and will be joined by some other FRC teams that have gone through the process of becoming a 501c3 

      Unlike our other two coaches chats, we will record and post this meeting but I believe much of the value is gained by participating so I strongly recommend you plan to attend if interested.  

      Click here for the meeting link. 

      Booster Policy Update 

      We have revised our Booster policy as of June 30, 2025 and it will be effective as of July, 1,2025. 

        Please review and sign off on the current booster policy here: CLICK HERE TO ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT 

       *Please also note that effective July 1,2025 the link to our team donation page has been updated: 

       https://www.aplos.com/aws/give/WAFIRSTBoosters/TeamDonationForm 

       Going forward please share this link with anyone who wants to donate directly to your team! 

       Please feel free to reach out to us at accounting@firstwa.org with any questions! 

       

      Off-Season Event Registration 

      Looking for a fun way to have new members experience an event, try out a new mechanism, or network with other teams? Register to attend an off-season event this fall! 

      Off-season events are hosted and run by individual FRC teams, not FIRST Washington. This means each event’s participation requirement(s), fees, and timelines may vary. All events will utilize the Reefscape game. 

       –

      Block Party hosted by Team 2910 – Sept 6 & 7 

       Location: Mill Creek, WA 

      Fee: $400 (additional $100 for a second robot if space permits) 

      Register for Block Party 

      For questions, contact Steve Kaneb at steve.kaneb@gmail.com 

      Oregon Girls’ Generation / FIRST Chance hosted by Team 1425 – Oct 4 & 5 

      Oregon Girls’ Gen is a girl-focused event, run as a one-day competition. Oregon FIRST Chance is a one-day event for all students and aimed at providing an opportunity for students new to FRC to attend a pre-season event. 

      Location: Wilsonville High School in Wilsonville, OR 

      Registration information coming soon! 

      For questions, contact Tom Sommerville Jr at tom.sommerville@gmail.com 

      Uplift Challenge hosted by Teams 4125 and 8532 – Oct 10 & 11 

      Save the date for the Uplift Challenge! This off-season event is open to teams in schools of 500 students and below. Teams in small schools have unique challenges and strengths. This is a chance for us to come together, share ideas, learn about new resources- and of course, have an-off season competition. 

      Location: Umatilla, OR 

      Fee: $100 

      Register for Uplift Challenge 

      For questions, contact Heidi Sipe at sipeh@umatillasd.org 

      –  

      2025 Bordie Blast: Bordie at Sea hosted by Team 2412 – Oct 11 & 12 

      Load-in Friday Oct 10th 

      Location: Sammamish High School in Bellevue, WA 

      Fee: $300 (additional $100 for a second robot if space permits) 

      Register for Bordie at Sea 

      Volunteer sign-up form 

      Event Website 

      For questions, contact Kim Herzog at HerzogK@bsd405.org 

      – 

      Washington Girls’ Generation hosted by Team 2046 – Oct 18 & 19 

      The goal for Girls’ Generation is to provide an inclusive experience for underrepresented communities in STEM. In that spirit, we welcome all to participate. 

      Optional load-in Friday Oct 17th 

      Location: Tahoma Senior High School in Maple Valley, WA 

      Fee: $300 

      Register for WA Girls’ Gen 

      Volunteer sign-up form 

      Event Website 

      For questions, contact Darren Collins at dcollins@tahomasd.us 

      –  

      StormSurge hosted by Teams 2811 and 9567 – Oct 25 

      Location: Skyview High School in Vancouver, WA 

      Fee: $250 (one robot), $350 (two robots) 

      Register for StormSurge 

      For questions, contact Luke Glassett at lukeglassett@gmail.com

       

      Important Dates

      FRC REEFSCAPE Blog: Volume 23

      Good morning teams!  I know most of you have either just started or are getting ready to start your summer break. I hope you all have a fantastic summer break!

      I have 2 things for you this morning:

       

      1. A reminder of our coaches chat next Tuesday 6/24 at 7:00 pm.  Once again, this meeting will have a focus on fundraising brainstorming and sharing of challenges and successes. 

      2. Please make sure we have an email address that you will be checking over the summer, we want to make sure you receive any important communications that we send out! 

      Important Dates

      • June 24th, 7-8PM:  Coaches ChatFundraising Brainstorm Continued

      FRC REEFSCAPE Blog: Volume 22

      FRC Coaches Chat – Fundraising Brainstorm continued

      As a follow-up to our May 27th Coaches Chat, we will be continuing our discussion on team fundraising ideas to support teams with the loss of the OSPI funds on Tuesday June 24th from 7-8PM. All teams are welcome to join whether or not you are impacted by the OSPI cuts! Thoughts on fundraising in the following specific situations will be especially helpful:

      1. Rural teams
      2. Small teams
      3. ≥75% low-income teams
      4. Teams in saturated areas (many competing robotics teams and/or other activities)

      Ideas from our first session can be found on the FIRSTWA website. It is accessible via the Resources page.

      If you are interested in sharing your team marketing materials with other teams, please fill out this form.

      Off-Season Event Registration

      Looking for a fun way to have new members experience an event, try out a new mechanism, or network with other teams? Register to attend an off-season event this fall!

      Off-season events are hosted and run by individual FRC teams, not FIRST Washington. This means each event’s participation requirement(s), fees, and timelines may vary. All events will utilize the Reefscape game.

      Block Party hosted by Team 2910 – Sept 6 & 7

      Location: Mill Creek, WA

      Fee: $400 (additional $100 for a second robot if space permits)

      Register for Block Party

      For questions, contact Steve Kaneb at steve.kaneb@gmail.com

       

      Oregon Girls’ Generation / FIRST Chance hosted by Team 1425 – Oct 4 & 5

      Oregon Girls’ Gen is a girl-focused event, run as a one-day competition. Oregon FIRST Chance is a one-day event for all students and aimed at providing an opportunity for students new to FRC to attend a pre-season event.

      Location: Wilsonville High School in Wilsonville, OR

      Registration information coming soon!

      For questions, contact Tom Sommerville Jr at tom.sommerville@gmail.com

       

      Uplift Challenge hosted by Teams 4125 and 8532 – Oct 10 & 11

      Save the date for the Uplift Challenge! This off-season event is open to teams in schools of 500 students and below. Teams in small schools have unique challenges and strengths. This is a chance for us to come together, share ideas, learn about new resources- and of course, have an-off season competition.

      Location: Umatilla, OR

      Fee: $100

      Register for Uplift Challenge

      For questions, contact Heidi Sipe at sipeh@umatillasd.org

       

      2025 Bordie Blast: Bordie at Sea hosted by Team 2412 – Oct 11 & 12

      Load-in Friday Oct 10th

      Location: Sammamish High School in Bellevue, WA

      Fee: $300 (additional $100 for a second robot if space permits)

      Register for Bordie at Sea

      Volunteer sign-up form

      Event Website

      For questions, contact Kim Herzog at HerzogK@bsd405.org

       

      Washington Girls’ Generation hosted by Team 2046 – Oct 18 & 19

      The goal for Girls’ Generation is to provide an inclusive experience for underrepresented communities in STEM. In that spirit, we welcome all to participate.

      Optional load-in Friday Oct 17th

      Location: Tahoma Senior High School in Maple Valley, WA

      Fee: $300

      Register for WA Girls’ Gen

      Volunteer sign-up form

      Event Website

      For questions, contact Darren Collins at dcollins@tahomasd.us

       

      StormSurge hosted by Teams 2811 and 9567 – Oct 25

      Location: Skyview High School in Vancouver, WA

      Fee: $250 (one robot), $350 (two robots)

      Register for StormSurge

      For questions, contact Luke Glassett at lukeglassett@gmail.com

      Celebrate Pride 2025!

      All FRC teams are invited to march together in the annual Seattle Pride Parade on June 29th. This will be our fourth season marching together – a special thank you to FRC Team 1318 for organizing!

      Use the QR code below or this link to register by June 15th: https://forms.gle/WhkH3KnZHqgT8U2w7

      You can reach out to 1318 mentor Julie Irwin with any questions: Julie3Irwin@gmail.com

      2025 Season Retrospective Survey – Time Extended

      If you have not already done so, please take a few minutes to fill out our end of season survey. We’ve extended the open date through Saturday June 14th. We would love to hear what went well, what challenges you faced, and what support you need moving forward. Special thanks to those of you who have already shared feedback!

      Important Dates

      • June 24th, 7-8PM:  Coaches ChatFundraising Brainstorm Continued