Donate

FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 1

by | Jul 2, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

 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

      by | Jun 16, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

      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. 
      Join Meeting

      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! 

      Update Email

      Important Dates

      • June 24th, 7-8PM:  Coaches Chat– Fundraising Brainstorm Continued

      FRC REEFSCAPE Blog: Volume 22

      by | Jun 10, 2025 | FRC

      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.

      Join Meeting

      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 Chat– Fundraising Brainstorm Continued

      FRC Reefscape Blog: Volume 21

      by | May 27, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

      Coaches Chat tonight- OSPI listening and brainstorming session

      I just want to remind coaches about our FRC Coaches Chat tonight at 7:00 pm.  We will be focusing on brainstorming solutions to help make sure all teams can participate even with the loss of the OSPI funds in Washington.  All teams are welcome because  everyone can benefit from fundraising brainstorming whether you are impacted by the OSPI funding cuts or not!
      Also, a reminder, if you have not filled out our Impact Survey related to the OSPI funding cuts, please do that ASAP.  It will help us to figure out how to deploy our resources and help us to be proactive with team support if we understand how this loss of funding affects your ability to participate.
      Click here for the survey link if you did not fill it out last week.
      Join Meeting

      FRC 2025 Season Retrospective Survey – Feedback Wanted

      As we wrap up the 2025 FRC season, we are collecting feedback to better understand your team’s experience. This retrospective survey is an opportunity to let FIRSTWA know what went well, what challenges you faced, what support you need moving forward, and whether you’re interested in hosting events in future years. Please take a few minutes to fill it out by Friday June 6th. Thank you for being part of our community!
       
      Survey link: https://forms.office.com/r/aPWC8EDkWC

      Important Dates

      • May 27th:  Coaches Chat– OSPI listening and brainstorming session

      FRC Blog: OSPI Update

      by | May 20, 2025 | FRC

      2025 – 2026 OSPI FIRST Washington Grant Update

      Action Requested:  After reading the note below, please take a moment to complete this very short [survey] by Friday, May 23 to help us understand the impact of the funding loss—and whether you may need support or be able to offer assistance to others.

       

      Hello Teams,

      Thank you to everyone who reached out to your State Senators and Congress Members, advocating for continued OSPI funding in the new State Budget. Your efforts are deeply appreciated.

      Unfortunately, the current budget being reviewed at the Governor’s office includes no OSPI funding for Teams this upcoming season- meaning that the $1.475 million dollars from OSPI distributed to FIRST Washington teams and events last year is not available for the upcoming season.

      That’s the tough news- but definitely not the end of the story.

      Leadership at FIRST Washington is committed to the following:

      • Maintaining the number of students/teams who engage and participate in the FIRST Washington community and the competitive events hosted during the season- last season this was 10,500 students
      • Maintaining the excellent customer experience levels for Students, Teams, Coaches, Mentors, and Volunteers
      • Identifying what can be done in the short term to replace the OSPI funding 

       

      We are currently assessing all available assets and cost saving measures and have also developed a robust fund-raising strategy for our upcoming Fiscal Year and season.

      Our first immediate step is making an adjustment for the 2025/26 season that will help all teams in the Pacific Northwest.  We will be decoupling the District Championship (DCMP) registration fee from the overall season registration saving teams $1,200 on their season registration fees.  Here’s what that means for your team:

      • Season registration will be $11,800 per team, which includes the $300 increase from FIRST HQ.
      • Teams that qualify for the DCMP will receive a separate invoice for the $4,000 DCMP registration fee.
      • FIRST Washington will allocate some grant funding to assist teams who may struggle with additional DCMP cost.

      Ensuring Teams have the resources needed for another successful season will require an all-hands effort and partnership with the entire FIRST Community- Volunteers, Mentors, Coaches, Schools, Corporate Donors, Foundations, and Individual Donors.

       

      Here are a few next steps:

      1. Let us know if the loss of OSPI funding may prevent your school from participating in FIRST programs next year thorough the survey link above.
      2. Start planning and budgeting now for the 2025–2026 season – explore creative fundraising opportunities over the summer and identify any alternative funding that may be available within your school district- if applicable.
      3. Begin brainstorming ways our community can support one another—sharing fundraising strategies, offering mentorship, or other collaborative efforts.
      4. Attend the webinar on Tuesday, May 27 at 7:00 pm.  Click here to attend

      We are reaching out not only to public school teams, but also to our community-based teams as well as teams in Oregon. Your experiences with self-funding and community support may offer valuable insights for school-based teams facing these new challenges.

      We’ll continue to communicate in the coming weeks as we look for ways to move forward together. We are incredibly grateful to be part of such a dedicated and resilient community.

       

      Thank you for all you do,

      Adrienne Collins,

      Director of Programs, FIRST Washington

      Important Dates

      • May 27th: OSPI listening and brainstorming session

      FRC Blog: Reefscape Volume 20

      by | Mar 18, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

      District Championship/Championship Event Briefing 3-18 at 7:00 pm

      Our District Championship/Championship Event Briefing is scheduled for Tuesday, Mar 18 at 7:00 pm. 

      If you think you may qualify for District Championships, I recommend that you attend this meeting though it will be recorded an posted to our website so if you don’t attend and qualify, you will still be able to access the information. 

      Join Meeting

      Register to Volunteer at DCMP

       

      We are three weeks out and we’re looking forward to an exciting District Championship Event at Eastern Washington University in Cheney April 2 – 5.  

      If you’re planning to volunteer at DCMP but ONLY if your team qualifies, we advise you apply for the role you want and include a note in your application stating your team number, and that your assignment is conditional of your team making it. That will help us get a better understanding of who plans to volunteer. 

      If you have the ability to volunteer whether your team qualifies or not, we highly encourage you to do so! 

      Not sure where to start? Follow the guide below!

      Are you a…. Coach/mentor/parent?

      • Robot Inspector: A great role for anyone interested in learning more about how the robot works, and what regulations have to be met to pass inspection.
      • Judge: A great role to learn more about the judging process! If you’re someone who always thinks “gosh! Why didn’t my team win BLANK award?!” this is a great role for you! Judging allows you to connect with students and fellow volunteers, and teaches you just how many variables go into the judging process. This is still only a two-day time commitment, just like any FRC event (Friday AND Saturday) and you need to include your team affiliation before we can confirm your assignment. 

      Are you a…. Student?

      • Field Reset: This role allows you to be field side and get a front row seat for matches!
      • Audio/Visual Attendant: Are you interested in photography, videography, and have an attention for detail? This role is for you!

      Thanks for all your help this season!

      How to Register
      Register for DCMP

      Competition Photos

      Many teams are asking where to find event photos.  Our volunteer photographers upload them to our flickr account. Please be patient, most of our volunteers have full time jobs so it does take a few days for the photos to get uploaded. 

      Competition Photos

      Important Dates