District Championship Event Briefing TONIGHT

Tune in for our District Championship Briefing tonight  March 19th 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 Hyatt Regency which is very close to the venue. 

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!

District Event Brief is LIVE

During our coaches chat last Thursday, I covered all the details you need to know regarding competing at FRC events this season. 

This information is extremely helpful and will answer most all of your questions regarding competitions. If you missed the chat, please familiarize yourself with the information below. You can watch the recording or read the slide deck!

I’ve also linked the location of all webinars and coaches chats. If you’ve missed one from the past, you can always find this information on our Webinars page.

Remember, you are responsible not only to know this information but to make sure that your mentors, parents etc. have all of the appropriate information for the events. 

Event Specific Details

All event pages are live, and we’ve got event specific slides posted for weeks 1 events.

• Week 1 events: Posted
• Week 2 events: Will be posted 2-21
• Week 3 events: Will be posted 2-28
• Week 4 events: Will be posted 3-6

To find the event specific pages, click the button below then select the event you’re competing at! 

Remember, you are responsible not only to know this information but to make sure that your mentors, parents etc. have all of the appropriate information for the events. 

Quiet Rooms at Events

We are still looking for quiet room hosts for all of our FRC events this season. 5588 provides a tote that rides on the truck with quiet room supplies.

We ask that our host be willing to set up the quiet room and make sure it is staffed with 2 adults during the period of time that it is open. If you are interested in being a quiet room host, please fill out this form. In the event we get two teams willing to host, we will connect them so they can work together to provide a quiet space for our participants.

Remember, we can only have quiet rooms at events if volunteers sign up to support it. So if this is a tool your team utilitzes at competitions, please consider signing up to host!

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:

• Clackamas – some spots available 
• Glacier Peak 
• Oregon State Fair – many 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!