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FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 17

by | Dec 16, 2025 | FTC, Newsletter

CTSO Survey – Public High School School Teams Only

FIRST Washington is seeking the community’s opinion on whether to pursue approval as a Career-Technical Student Organization (CTSO) with the State of Washington and OSPI. If your school and/or team could be affected by this decision, we invite you to spend a few minutes letting us know how you might be impacted. For any questions, please reach out to Alida (alidam@firstwa.org). 

 

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/7a5a1196d00c45819fdfa2f068014eaa 

Reminder

FIRST Washington’s office is closed for the holidays from 12/24/2025 – 1/2/2026.  If you need any reimbursements from accounting, please get them submitted before 12/24. We will not be responding to emails or processing any reimbursements during this time.

FIRST Washington AI Innovation Video Challenge 

 Did your team explore AI this season? Share your story in a 15–60 second video for the FIRST WA AI Innovation Video Challenge. Top videos will be highlighted across our events and channels. Submit by January 9.  

More info here: https://firstwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/AI-Video-Challenge.pdf 

Important Dates & Deadlines

  • 1-31:  State Championship 

FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 17

by | Dec 16, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

Next Coaches Chat will be Tuesday, December 16 at 7:00 pm 

    We are trying a new format for our Coaches Chat this year.  For our December coaches chat, we will have a round table with several coaches (And Stokely) talk about what their team does for kickoff and why it is such an important day (other than for the obvious reason)   

    To attend this meeting, click here  Feel free to forward this link to any adults on your team that you feel need to attend. 

    CTSO Survey – Washington Teams Only

    WASHINGTON TEAMS ONLY 

     FIRST Washington is seeking the community’s opinion on whether to pursue approval as a Career-Technical Student Organization (CTSO) with the State of Washington and OSPI. If your school and/or team could be affected by this decision, we invite you to spend a few minutes letting us know how you might be impacted. For any questions, please reach out to Alida (alidam@firstwa.org). 

     https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/7a5a1196d00c45819fdfa2f068014eaa 

     

    FIRST Washington AI Innovation Video Challenge

    Did your team explore AI this season? Share your story in a 15–60 second video for the FIRST WA AI Innovation Video Challenge. Top videos will be highlighted across our events and channels. Submit by January 9.  

    More info here: https://firstwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/AI-Video-Challenge.pdf 

    Reminder

    FIRST Washington’s office is closed for the holidays from 12/24/2025 – 1/2/2026.  If you need any reimbursements from accounting, please get them submitted before 12/24. We will not be responding to emails or processing any reimbursements during this time.

    Important Dates

    FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 16

    by | Dec 10, 2025 | FTC, Newsletter

    Please talk with your students about Gracious Professionalism and appropriate behavior at events 

    Coaches we need your help.  We had instances at both FLL and FTC events this past weekend where students were very disrespectful toward the venue, hosts and volunteers.  

     

    In an effort to be more proactive, we would appreciate it if you all have a conversation with your students prior to their event where you go over what it means to be Gracious and Professional and how to behave when you are a guest in someone else’s space.   

     

    Most of our participants are outstanding and are not problematic at all but after the incidents this weekend, we thought a reminder would be helpful. 

     

    Urgent!!  Volunteers still needed this weekend! 

    We are still in need of volunteers for our FLL Qualifiers happening in December! We are especially in need of adults to fill judging roles. If you are a coach or mentor, judging at an event other than where your students are competing is an amazing way to learn about the process and how to coach your students on exactly what they need to do in their presentation to judges.  

     

    We also need students in various roles – referee, scorekeeper, queuer, and field reset. This is a great way for students to meet their volunteer hour requirement! Here are the events with the greatest need: 

     

    December 13: Federal Way and Shoreline 

    December 14: Federal Way, Shoreline, Tacoma, Oak Harbor, and Olympia 

     

    If you are able to help, click here to find an event near you: Search Event 

     

    Inclement Weather 

    With Washington FTC and FLL events happening in various regions of the state, we want to provide guidance for all teams traveling to competitions.  

     

    Our events are expected to proceed as planned this weekend. However, we are always monitoring the weather closely. If it is determined that any of these events needs to be canceled, we will update the information no later than 6:30 AM the morning of your event. All participating teams and volunteers will be notified by email as soon as we are able if there is a change in your event status.   

     

    The safety of our teams and volunteers is our top priority at FIRST Washington. Given the geographic diversity of our region and the variability of weather conditions, we rely on coaches, parents, and school districts to make informed decisions about whether to travel. The decision to hold an event or not is made based on the conditions at the venue as well as the host venue’s school policy.  Teams should always prioritize safety and follow their school district’s or team’s safety policies. Coaches are encouraged to assess weather conditions in their area, prioritize participant safety, and adhere to their school district’s policies (if applicable) when deciding whether to attend a scheduled event.  

     

    Please note that in the event of non-attendance, we are unable to provide an alternative option for non-attending teams. Additionally, if an event is canceled due to inclement weather, we may not be able to reschedule. We understand that this may be a difficult decision for some, but we strongly urge all teams to prioritize student safety above all else.  

    In the event your team/you (individual volunteer) are unable to attend, please email the correct contact below –  

      

    • FLL Teams: Email Jacque Grimm at jacqueg@firstwa.org Include your team number in the subject line of the email.  
    • FTC Teams: Email Adrienne Collins at acollins@firstwa.org Include your team number in the subject line of the email.  
    • Volunteers: Email Rhonda McRae at  rhondam@firstwa.org Include your event in the subject line of your email. 

     

    Event Status report:  https://firstwa.org/competitions/  

     

    Dean’s List Nomination Deadline, Monday Dec 15 at 11:59 pm EST 

    Each team can nominate up to 2 students in the 10th or 11th grade as a Dean’s List Semi-Finalist. The deadline to submit this season is December 15th at 11:59 pm EST. Late nominations are not accepted (the portal is thorugh FIRST HQ so Kevin & I don’t have the power to accept late nominations) so don’t wait until the last minute.   

    You can find more information on the process here:  https://www.firstinspires.org/resources/library/ftc/deans-list  

     

    Remote interviews will be held between 1-12 and 1-25.  For more information on that process, please look at the slide deck from our November 20th coaches chat and/or the recording 

     

    Advancement from State has been released 

    Washington has received 16 advancement spots this season 

    • 6 teams from the State Championships will advance to the championship event in Houston 
    • 10 teams from the State Championship will be given the opportunity to advance to premier events. 

    Results from this past weekend’s events

    Our Feynman and Pasteur events happened this past weekend with 8 teams from each event advancing to their respective Super Qualifier.   

    You can find event results here:  https://ftc-events.firstinspires.org/#allevents  Select Washington as the region and it will filter things down to events within our state. 

    Next FTC Coaches Chat is Thursday, January 8th at 7:00 pm

    We will be talking about the up coming Super Qualifiers and State as well as doing a high level debrief on the season and how things went. 

     

    To join this meeting click here 

    Important Dates & Deadlines

    • 1-31:  State Championship 

    FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 16

    by | Dec 9, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

    Urgent!!  Volunteers still needed this weekend! 

      It takes volunteers to run all of our events.  We reach out to FTC and FLL teams during FRC season to recruit volunteers and we now need you all to help us make their events go. 

       

      We are especially in need of adults to fill judging roles. If you are a coach or mentor, judging at an event other than where your students are competing is an amazing way to learn about the process and how to coach your students on exactly what they need to do in their presentation to judges.  

       

      We also need students in various roles – referee, scorekeeper, queuer, and field reset. This is a great way for students to meet their volunteer hour requirement! Here are the events with the greatest need: 

       

      December 13: Federal Way and Shoreline 

      December 14: Federal Way, Shoreline, Tacoma, Oak Harbor, and Olympia 

       

      If you are able to help, click here to find an event near you: Search Event 

      Check the status of your invoice 

      The deadline for securing your invoice is this Friday, December 12.  You can secure your invoice with a PO from your school, check or credit card.  Not sure if your invoice is secured?  You can check the status here:  https://firstwa.org/frc-team-status/ (Please note, this report is updated manually once a day. 

      Your invoice will need to be secured to pick up your kickoff kit on January 10. 

       

      Next Coaches Chat will be Tuesday, December 16 at 7:00 pm

      We are trying a new format for our Coaches Chat this year.  For our December coaches chat, we will have a round table with several coaches (And Stokely) talk about what their team does for kickoff and why it is such an important day (other than for the obvious reason)   

      To attend this meeting, click here  Feel free to forward this link to any adults on your team that you feel need to attend. 

      Important Dates

      FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 15

      by | Dec 2, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

      Urgent!!  Volunteers needed for events the next two weekends! 

        We are still in need of volunteers for our FLL Qualifiers happening in December! We are especially in need of adults to fill judging roles. If you are a coach or mentor, judging at an event other than where your students are competing is an amazing way to learn about the process and how to coach your students on exactly what they need to do in their presentation to judges.  

         

        We also need students in various roles – referee, scorekeeper, queuer, and field reset. This is a great way for students to meet their volunteer hour requirement! Here are the events with the greatest need: 

         

        December 6: Beaver Lake, Everett, Seattle, Spokane, and Wapato 

        December 7: Everett, Seattle, Spokane, and Wapato 

        December 13: Federal Way and Shoreline 

        December 14: Federal Way, Shoreline, Tacoma, Oak Harbor, and Olympia 

         

        If you are able to help, click here to find an event near you: Search Event 

        Invoices have been sent 

        Invoices were sent to the contact listed on the FIRST Washington registration form on Friday, 11-21.  If you did not receive an invoice, please reach out to our finance department at accounting@firstwa.org. 

        Reminder, the deadline to secure your registration is Friday, December 12.  You can secure your registration with a PO or by paying with a check or credit card. 

         

        Slides and recording from the November 18 coaches chat have been posted 

        If you missed the coaches chat (which most of you did because it was VERY lightly attended 😊 ) be sure to check out the slides and recording here:  https://firstwa.org/webinars/  Remember, you are responsible to know this information. 

        Workshops/Quiet Room at events 

        Workshops 

        Workshops are great at events but take extra work.  If you are interested in hosting a workshop, please fill out this form The deadline to submit for a workshop is February 6. 

        Quiet Room 

        We had lots of people asking us about quiet rooms last year.  FIRST Washington is unable to manage quiet room sign ups at events.  Volunteers do need to sign up for the role through their firstinspires dashboard to make sure they have passed youth protection screening.  Many adults enjoy taking a shift in the quiet room to give them a break from the noise and craziness of the event! 

        Please consider hosting the quiet room, we are happy to work with you and give you contact info for the folks to sign up.  Fill out this form if you’re willing to be a quiet room host for an event. 

        Accommodations at events (accessibility not hotel accommodations) 

        In the PNW, we work VERY hard to make sure everyone has a great experience at our events. 

        We are aware of the needs at some of our events, but if you don’t tell us, we may not be aware of your team’s need. Please fill out this form to let us know if your team needs any accommodations. The earlier you fill out the form, the more likely we will be able to accommodate your request. Understand, we may not be able to accommodate everyone’s needs. We are a small organization and venues vary. Please be gracious and kind if we can’t exactly meet your need the way you would like. The earlier you make us aware of a need, the greater chance we may be able to make an accommodation. 

        Important Dates