FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 13

Second round of League Meets begithis coming weekend! 

4 league are having their 2nd event this coming weekend. 

  •  Please read the email from your League Coordinator (Some League events are at a different venue than the last event or may have a slightly different start time)  
  • RSVP to your League Coordinator to confirm that you received the information and do plan to attend (It really helps our League Coordinators plan when they hear from you all) 

 If you are not competing this coming weekend, consider signing up as a volunteer for one of the 4 events that are happening! 

Next FTC Coaches Chat November 20 at 7:00 pm   

On this meeting, we will be focusing on the December League Tournaments and how to best be prepared. 

Click here to join the meeting  Please make sure to have one adult from your team attend! 

FLL Challenge Events are Live and Accepting Volunteers!  

We are excited to announce that Washington FLL Challenge UNEARTHED events are live and accepting volunteer applications. We hope you’ll sign up to volunteer and help make this season a success! FLL Qualifiers are scheduled for December 6, 7, 13, and 14. 

In the UNEARTHED challengeFIRST LEGO League teams will use creative thinking and LEGO technology to uncover the past and discover the future. 

As we dig into the excitement of this year’s FLL Challenge competitions, your support is essential. To ensure all students can participate in a local competition, we will host 27 events around the state of Washington! But these events don’t materialize out of thin air. They require the commitment of over 900 passionate volunteers! 

So don’t hesitate to join the fun! We need help in various roles, from refereeing, judging, scorekeeping, and more. 

Volunteer needs 

  • Judges (minimum 18 y.o.) 
  • Referees (minimum 16 y.o.) 
  • Scorekeepers (minimum 18 y.o./post high school) 
  • Field Resetters (minimum 15 y.o.) 
  • Queuers (minimum 15 y.o.) 

 Click here to see a list of events: FLL CALENDAR 

Click here to Register for events: REGISTER 

Important Dates & Deadlines

  • 1-8:  January Coaches Chat 
  • 1-12 to 1-25:  Remote Dean’s List Interview Window – Coaches will be emailed in early January re: Dean’s List Interviews 
  • 1-17 & 1-18:  Super Qualifying Tournaments 
  • 1-31:  State Championship 

FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 13

Third Play Registration is open!

    We have had very few teams sign up for a 3rd play this season.  We need teams at SunDome so please consider signing up for a 3rd play at SunDome and we will waive the registration fee!!! 

    You may end up on a waitlist when registering for a 3rd play event but I will be checking registrations regularly throughout the week and will move your team into your event if you end up on the waitlist.  Right now, I am only moving teams into the SunDome and Sammamish events.  Once SunDome has 28 teams, then I will consider 3rd plays at other events.   

    Kickoff and Event Registration Closes Tuesday, November 18! 

    Event and Kickoff Registration closes next Tuesday.  What that means: 

    • Make sure you are registered for the kickoff you plan to attend.   
    • If you are registered as a MySite, make sure you understand what that means 
    • Your kit will ship the week after kickoff 
    • You will be charged shipping (last year we included it on your invoice and that is our hope for this year) 
    • If you want a 3rd play (we need more teams at SunDome) you need to register before next Tuesday 

    You DON’T have to secure your registration by November 18.  FIRST Washington will secure your registration for you and then will send you an invoice for the FIRST and PNW FRC District Fees the week of November 24th. 

    Next FRC Coaches Chat is Tuesday, November 18 at 7:00 pm 

    Last month, we focused on how to become a 501c3, On this coaches chat we have invited our President, Fred Krug and Development Director, Lila Mowatt to join us and talk about fundraising. 

    We will also go over the invoicing schedule, what will be on the invoices and how they will be sent.   

    Make sure to have 1 adult attend! 

    Click here for the meeting link 

    Important Dates

    FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 12

    First round of League Meets began this past weekend 

    10 or our 14 events competed this past weekend!  For those who competed, I hope you had a great time and learned a lot, now is the time to take what you learned and apply it to prepare for your second event. 

     

    For those competing this coming weekend, remember come whether you are prepared or not!   

    • If your robot isn’t running, you will have tons of support to help you get “wheels on carpet!”   
    • You will make great connections and get lots of ideas to help you improve your robot for next time! 

     

    If you are not competing this coming weekend, consider signing up as a volunteer for one of the 4 events that are happening! 

    Next FTC Coaches Chat November 20 at 7:00 pm   

    On this meeting, we will be focusing on the December League Tournaments and how to best be prepared. 

    Click here to join the meeting  Please make sure to have one adult from your team attend! 

    Important Dates & Deadlines

    • 1-8:  January Coaches Chat 
    • 1-12 to 1-25:  Remote Dean’s List Interview Window – Coaches will be emailed in early January re: Dean’s List Interviews 
    • 1-17 & 1-18:  Super Qualifying Tournaments 
    • 1-31:  State Championship 

    FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 12

    Third Play Registration is open!

      Right now, we are only allowing 3rd plays at both week 3 events: 

      • SunDome March 19-21 
      • Sammamish March 20-22 

      To help fill our SunDome event, FIRST Washington is offering free 3rd plays at SunDome.   

      Once SunDome and Sammamish have enough teams at their events, we may open up 3rd play options at other events (Oregon State Fair, Glacier Peak & Wilsonville) but we will not open 3rd play options at these events until Sammamish and SunDome have enough teams to be viable events. 

      You may end up on a waitlist when registering for a 3rd play event but I will be checking registrations regularly throughout the week and will move your team into SunDome or Sammamish if you end up on a waitlist for one of those events. 

      Boeing Grant is open! 

      The grant is open October 20 through November 14th or until all funds are exhausted.  If you have a Boeing Mentor, I encourage you all to apply early for 2 reasons: 

      • To ensure you are allocated funding before it runs out (this happened to many of our FRC teams a few years ago) 
      • With the grant opening so late, to ensure your funding has been allocated prior to event registration closing.  When we do invoices, we have to apply grant funding based on how FIRST has applied those funds.  If your Boeing funds don’t show as applied on FIRST’s end when we invoice, they will not show on your FIRST Washington invoice.  You will have to wait until FIRST opens their regrant window and will have to request a regrant to access those funds. 

      Your Boeing Mentor should have access to the grant through an internal system. 

      Next FRC Coaches Chat is Tuesday, November 18 at 7:00 pm 

      Last month, we focused on how to become a 501c3, On this coaches chat we have invited our President, Fred Krug and Development Director, Lila Mowatt to join us and talk about fundraising. 

      We will also go over the invoicing schedule, what will be on the invoices and how they will be sent.   

      Make sure to have 1 adult attend! 

      Click here for the meeting link 

      Important Dates

      FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 11

      Slides and recording form 10-23 coaches chat are posted 

        If you missed the coaches chat last week or would just like to view the recording or slides, you can find them here:   https://firstwa.org/webinars/  

        Volunteer with FTC! 

        All our Washington FTC events are live and accepting volunteer applications. Register today!  

        Volunteering at your local FTC events is a great way to support your local pipeline of future FRC students.  

        FTC leagues are looking for Scoring Referees, Penalty Referees, Lead Scorekeepers and more!  

        Judging starts at the Interleague level. Interested? Sign up today from your dashboard! 

        FRC Workshops hosted by SOTABots 2557

        The SOTAbots are hosting an FRC Workshop November 15 (Saturday). 

        • The workshop is at IDEA High School: 6701 S. Park Ave, Tacoma, WA 98408 
        • The workshop will be from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM (Though if there are enough teams and sessions, the hours could be extended) 
        • The workshop is free and open to all teams.  
        • If a team would like to teach a lesson (or two) at the workshop, please indicate by using the appropriate link below! 

          We would like teams to let us know if they are attending and how many team members they are planning to bring so we can plan accordingly. 

          Here are some links for the workshop: 

          Use this link to verify your team’s planned attendance: 

        Planed Attendance Link: https://forms.gle/Ey8xbjSvf7r6VD2U7 

          

        Use this link to pre-order lunches (not mandatory, but encouraged): 

        Lunch Link: https://forms.gle/a7tFaL8Vj7to824E6 

          

        Use this link if your team wants to teach a class at the workshop: 

        Presentation Proposal Link https://forms.gle/AXGbsaaz5vrDjf9u7 

        If you have questions, reach out to Rich Williams RWILLI4@Tacoma.K12.Wa.US  

        Boeing Grant is open! 

        The grant is open October 20 through November 14th or until all funds are exhausted.  If you have a Boeing Mentor, I encourage you all to apply early for 2 reasons: 

        • To ensure you are allocated funding before it runs out (this happened to many of our FRC teams a few years ago) 
        • With the grant opening so late, to ensure your funding has been allocated prior to event registration closing.  When we do invoices, we have to apply grant funding based on how FIRST has applied those funds.  If your Boeing funds don’t show as applied on FIRST’s end when we invoice, they will not show on your FIRST Washington invoice.  You will have to wait until FIRST opens their regrant window and will have to request a regrant to access those funds. 

        Your Boeing Mentor should have access to the grant through an internal system. 

        Important Dates