FRC Blog: Volume 13

Invoices need to be secured by Friday, December 8 

Invoices were sent to the contact listed on the PNW FRC registration on November 17th and need to be secured by Friday, December 8th.   

For those teams who have already secured their invoices, thank you!  If you have not yet secured your invoice, don’t wait until the last minute, secure your PNW FRC registration now!  You will not be allowed to pick up your kickoff kit if your registration is not secured (and every team will receive a kickoff kit, even if you opted out of the drive base and black tote) 

 

Next FRC Coaches Chat is scheduled for Thursday, December 14 at 7:00 pm

We will be focusing on what teams need to do to prepare for kickoff during this coaches chat.  I expect the meeting to be short which will allow for either more time for all of you to connect with each other on Teams or we can close the meeting down and let you all get back to your families and preparations for the holidays. 

To join the meeting click here 

Make sure your team is prepared for kickoff! 

Kickoff is just around the corner and there are several things you need to do to be sure that you are prepared!  I know there has been some confusion because teams can opt out of the black tote and drive base but every team will receive a kickoff kit and needs to plan to pick it up from the kickoff Jan 6.   

Here is what you need to do to make sure you are prepared: 

  1. Secure your PNW FRC Registration so you can pick up your kickoff kit 
  2. If you are attending an event in person: Make sure your students are all registered on your firstinspires dashboard and that their consents have been signed.  You will need to bring a copy of your roster to kickoff and include paper consent forms for anyone who has not signed the electronic consent form. 
  3. Kit pickup:  If you are having someone other than your coach or assistant coach pick up your kickoff kit, you need to fill out a surrogate form.    You can find a link to the surrogate form as well as more information on having a surrogate pick up your kit here.

Sign Up to be an FTC Dean’s List Interviewer!

FTC Dean’s List will be remote this year, so you can interview from anywhere. Even if you’re affiliated with a team, you can be an interviewer. We’ll match you with unaffiliated candiddates. All 21+ volunteers are welcome. 

Provide your availability here! 

FTC Blog: Volume 15

Dean’s List Nominations are due Friday, December 15th 

We will once again be having a remote Dean’s List event in January.  Submissions are due December 15th.   

Each team may nominate 2 students for the Dean’s List awards on their dashboard.  For more information on requirements for the Dean’s List Award or how to nominate your students, click here. 

 

Next FTC Coaches Chat is Tuesday, December 12th at 7:00 pm 

On this coaches chat, we will be focusing on Interleague Championship information.  Here are some of the things we will cover: 

  • High Level Interleague Schedule (Schedule will vary slightly by event 
  • What the day will look like 
  • Judging 
  • Interleague Rankings 

Meeting Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19:meeting_ZjkyNjdlNzctMGMwMS00NGZlLWE2NzctODJiOWQ2Y2Q3YTI4@thread.v2/0?context=%7B%22Tid%22:%22fd3f730b-c68b-4035-8c17-c4422d56c568%22,%22Oid%22:%22c79f662c-e5c1-43d3-b404-7fc29c7380a6%22%7D 

Interleague Event Dates 

We have gone over this in Coaches Chats and posted it in blogs and on our website but I received several questions recently about the Interleauge Events. You can find the dates, locations and which leagues are attending each Interleague on our website here. 

Later this week, teams will receive an email from me with some high level information about their event.  More details will come after the first of the year. 

FRC Blog: Volume 12

FRC Invoices Have been Sent

Invoices were sent from the email account accounting@firstwa.org to the contact listed on your PNW FRC Registration.

If you did not receive an invoice, feel free to email accounting@firstwa.org be sure to include your team number in the email. 

Invoices need to be secured by December 8th. 

FRC Coaches Chat Recording 

The FRC Coaches Chat recording and slides from our last call are live.

If you missed last week’s coaches chat, you, can find the recording and slides here. 

 

Sign Up to Volunteer for FLL! 

Our FLL Challenge events start the first weekend of December and all are in need of Judges, Referees, and more! 

We’ve seen massive growth across all FIRST Washington programs, and FIRST LEGO League Challenge has grown to 391 teams. That’s nearly 100 more teams than last season, and nearly 2,000 students across the state. To accomodate this growth, we’ve got 5 more qualifiers than last season. That means we need 250 more volunteers than usual! 

How to Register: 

  1. Login to yoru Dashboard.
  2. Select Volunteer Registration on your Dashboard.
  3. Then select Event Volunteering.
  4. On Event Filters, pick the program you wish to volunteer with (FLL, FTC, FRC). Or clear all filters to see all events.
  5. Select the event you wish to volunteer at. Under Volunteer Roles, pick the role you wish to fill.
  6. For the Dates Available field select the dates you’re available for. 
  7. Lastly, select the Begin Youth Protection Screening button and follow the prompts to submit your free-of-charge background check.

Sign Up to be an FTC Dean’s List Interviewer!

FTC Dean’s List will be remote this year, so you can interview from anywhere. Even if you’re affiliated with a team, you can be an interviewer. We’ll match you with unaffiliated candiddates. All 21+ volunteers are welcome. 

Provide your availability here! 

FTC Blog: Volume 14

FTC Coaches Chat Tonight! 

Next FTC Coaches Chat is scheduled for tonight, Nov 21 at 7:00 pm.

We will be talking about the Dean’s List submission process and deadlines on our next call 

There will also be an opportunity for coaches to chat so you can get connected with and collaborate with other coaches in Washington. 

The second round of League events are scheduled for the first weekend in December, make sure you are prepared. 

You should receive more detailed information about your event from your league coordinator but you can find the event location here!

Make sure to bring your roster and consent forms to this event (you should bring them to every event you attend).  

Bring your Gracious Professionalism and spend some time talking with teams in the pits and getting to know them! 

 

Join the FTC Referee Call 

The FTC Referee meeting will take place Monday November 27th @ 6:00pm. All Head Referees and Referees participating in League Meet 2 events are encouraged to attend! This is NOT a meeting for coaches or teams to discuss or dispute calls. All calls are FINAL. This is an opportunity for Referees and potential to connect with one another. 

If you’re interested in Refereeing but aren’t assigned to a League yet, join the call anyway and let us know! We’ll get you assigned. 

Sign Up to be an FTC Dean’s List Interviewer! 

FTC Dean’s List will be remote this year, so you can interview from anywhere. Even if iyou’re affiliated with a team, you can be an interviewer. We’ll match you with unaffiliated candiddates. 

Provide your availability here! 

FRC Blog: Volume 11

FRC November 18th Workshop: Cancelled

This workshop has been cancelled due to lack of interest. Thank you SOTAbots for organizing! We hope interest returns for next season.

Our next FRC Coaches Chat will be Thursday, Nov 16 at 7:00pm 

Please try to have one adult attend.  We will have a short agenda for this meeting: 

  • Invoices and payment deadlines 
  • Kickoff 
  • Check in with all of you 

These meetings are a great way to connect with other coaches! 

FRC Invoices

FRC Invoices will go out to the contact listed on the PNW Registration form no later than November 20th.

Your invoice needs to be secured by December 8th to ensure you will be able to pick up your kickoff kit on January 6th.

FIRST Washington is in the process of securing all PNW teams with FIRST right now. You should be able to access FIRST Choice when it opens later this week when it opens.