We Need Your Help!

Coaches, you need to turn in your roster and paper consent forms for any student/mentor who hasn’t signed and electronic consent form at every single event you attend. 

I’m rather disappointed in how many of our veteran teams did not come prepared with their rosters at our week one events.  This is understandable if you are a rookie team but it is unacceptable for a veteran team.  When you do this, you cause our volunteers to work harder because they go out of their way to ensure your team is able to participate in the event – Yes, that is true!

If your team does not bring a printed roster, we cannot let your team participate. That is not just a FIRST Washington rule, it’s a FIRST Inspires rule that we are all REQUIRED to follow.

From week 2 on, please come prepared.  I will be asking our Pit Admin folks not to print rosters for unprepared teams unless they are rookies.  If you forget your roster, you are welcome to visit a FedEx, Kinkos, your hotel, or a local library (or some other local business that allows printing) so that you can get your roster printed. 

If you are having issues getting your roster printed or need help, feel free to reach out to me and I will be happy to work with you (to the extent that I can) or connect you with folks at FIRST that can help you. 

Lets make sure our volunteers can focus on the important work of making a great event for your hard working students, and not spend their time trying to find a way to print your roster for you. 

Register as an Event Volunteer

It’s not too late to register as an event volunteer this season.

Volunteering at an event is a GREAT way to learn more about the program and peak behind the curtain.

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: ONLY at an event your team is NOT competing at – 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.

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!

If you go to apply for an event and you can’t find the role you want to fulfill, it means it’s full! Our greatest needs events right now are Bonney Lake and SunDome – the Week 3 slump is real!

Lastly, we are accepting volunteers for the District Championship in Cheney, WA this year! Don’t hesitate to apply. But if your attendance is dependent on your team making it, please add a comment in your application so we are aware of that.

Thanks for all your help this season!

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. 

Week 1 Events Are Behind Us!

Our week 1 events are behind us and as a whole, they went VERY well! I want to thank the coaches and students for their part in the events running smoothly.

The competition field is a bit messy for loading robots on and off the field, students followed directions and very quickly fell into a rhythm that allowed us to do that efficiently and stay on time.

With the big changes to alliance selection, it has the potential to be very messy. I was at alliance selection for both events and from everything I saw, our alliance groups were on time, prepared, (mostly) knew what they were supposed to do and did an excellent job of following directions. In the PNW, alliance selection was absolutely painless (which was not the case everywhere) and that is in large part because of all of you so THANK YOU!!

Important Dates

District Event Briefing: 2/13 at 7:00 pm

Our District Event Briefing is scheduled for next Thursday, Feb 13 at 7:00 pm. We will be going over the general details for all of our district events so it is important that you have one adult attend. We will be working to ensure the links on the calendar match the links that we are sending out so we don’t have the confusion that we had on our last meeting.

Week 1 Events are Around the Corner! 

Week 1 Events: Oregon State Fair & Glacier Peak 

The information for the week 1 events will be posted on the event here by the end of the day Wednesday, Feb 12.

Additionally, the link and information will be emailed to the lead and alternate contact on the team. Make sure you look through this information and share it with your mentors and parents.

Reminder: Student Volunteers Need to Submit YPPs once they turn 18

OWe have many awesome FRC students who enjoy volunteering at FRC events. Please remind your students that they are required to submit a Youth Protection Policy bacakground check (YPP) once they turn 18 years old. Even if they are still a high school student, it is a FIRST Inspires policy for all adults.

For these students, it will be their first time ever submitting the background check, so they may need help! Please check in with your 18 y.o. students who intend to volunteer and walk them through the process.

1. Login to your FIRST Inspires account ( https://www.firstinspires.org/ )
2. Then select the “Hello, NAME!” dropdown menu and then select Acknowledgement forms. This tab will list all outstanding paperwork that’s needed.
3. Then select Youth Protection Policy Screening and use the US user guide for step-by-step instructions for submitting.

Important Dates

Workshop Request and Quiet Room Deadline is THIS FRIDAY!

I know many teams enjoy hosting workshops at events.  As of right now, only 2 teams have signed up to host a workshop.  The deadline for submitting a workshop request is this Friday, February 7th. So if your team is interested in hosting a workshop, make sure to sign up and submit your slide prior to the deadline! Complete the form via the button below:

Quiet Room

The Quiet Room has been a popular and welcome addition to our events.  We are hoping to continue offering quiet rooms at our events but need help from all of you.  We need to change how our quiet rooms are staff to ensure that the volunteers have gone through youth protection screening so they will now need to sign up as a quiet room volunteer through their dashboard.  The Volunteer Coordinator for the event(s) your team signs up to host, will communicate with your point person to share contact information for the people that volunteer for that role (they should be the people your team is recruiting).  As of right now, we have only had one team sign up to be a quiet room host. Especially with the additional layer of coordination, we will be unable to allow quiet room hosts to sign up at the last minute so please be sure to sign up before the deadline if you are interested in hosting/coordinating the quiet room at one of our events. Complete the form via the button below:

Both forms will close Friday, February 7th and we will not accept submissions after the deadline. 

Event Accommodation Form

This is likely the last time I will send this out in a blog.  Just a reminder, if you have participants on your team that need accommodations, please submit your request via the button below.

We are a small staff. The later you make the accommodation request, the more difficult it is for us to meet your participants needs.  It is important to us that all participants get the best experience possible, but we cannot help your team if we are unaware of accommodation needs! It is extremely difficult to make venue changes when an event has already started, so help us help you! 

Examples of Accommodations: 

• Mobility differences – Maybe your have a mentor that uses a wheelchair or crutches, and you want to confirm the best way for them to navigate the venue.
• Hearing differences – Maybe you have a students who utilize cochlear implants, or students that utilizes an interpreter, and you’d like to discuss how we can better support them! 

We cannot always provide the exact solutions requested, but we will have a better chance of providing support if we know ahead of time!

*The examples above are broad generalizations.

We try to use person-first language, and make general examples so coaches and mentors are more likely to identify that they need to complete this form. We understand that everyone’s abilities are personal and will vary. It is always our intent to refer to individuals as they identify. We thank you for your understanding and hope this form helps us make events more inclusive for all! 

District Event Briefing 2-13 at 7:00 PM

Our District Event Briefing is scheduled for next Thursday, Feb 13 at 7:00 pm.  We will be going over the general details for all of our district events so it is important that you have one adult attend.  

We will be working to ensure the links on the calendar match the links that we are sending out so we don’t have the confusion that we had on our last meeting.

Important Dates

Coaches Chat Recording is Live

You can watch the recording or read the slides from the January Coaches Chat here:

Workshop Request and Quiet Room Deadline is Fast Approaching!

I know many teams enjoy hosting workshops at events.  As of right now, only 1 team has signed up to host a workshop.  The deadline for submitting a workshop request is next Friday so if your team is interested in hosting a workshop, make sure to sign up and submit your slide prior to the deadline! Complete the form via the button below:

Quiet Room

The Quiet Room has been a popular and welcome addition to our events.  We are hoping to continue offering quiet rooms at our events but need help from all of you.  We need to change how our quiet rooms are staff to ensure that the volunteers have gone through youth protection screening so they will now need to sign up as a quiet room volunteer through their dashboard.  The Volunteer Coordinator for the event(s) your team signs up to host, will communicate with your point person to share contact information for the people that volunteer for that role (they should be the people your team is recruiting).  As of right now, we have only had one team sign up to be a quiet room host. Especially with the additional layer of coordination, we will be unable to allow quiet room hosts to sign up at the last minute so please be sure to sign up before the deadline if you are interested in hosting/coordinating the quiet room at one of our events. Complete the form via the button below:

Both forms will close Friday, February 7th and we will not accept submissions after the deadline. 

Event Accommodation Form

This is likely the last time I will send this out in a blog.  Just a reminder, if you have participants on your team that need accommodations, please submit your request via the button below.

We are a small staff. The later you make the accommodation request, the more difficult it is for us to meet your participants needs.  It is important to us that all participants get the best experience possible, but we cannot help your team if we are unaware of accommodation needs! It is extremely difficult to make venue changes when an event has already started, so help us help you! 

Examples of Accommodations: 

• Mobility differences – Maybe your have a mentor that uses a wheelchair or crutches, and you want to confirm the best way for them to navigate the venue.
• Hearing differences – Maybe you have a students who utilize cochlear implants, or students that utilizes an interpreter, and you’d like to discuss how we can better support them! 

We cannot always provide the exact solutions requested, but we will have a better chance of providing support if we know ahead of time!

*The examples above are broad generalizations.

We try to use person-first language, and make general examples so coaches and mentors are more likely to identify that they need to complete this form. We understand that everyone’s abilities are personal and will vary. It is always our intent to refer to individuals as they identify. We thank you for your understanding and hope this form helps us make events more inclusive for all! 

Important Dates

Join the Coaches Chat Tonight at 7:00 pm

The coaches chat is tonight Thursday, January 16th  at 7:00 pm.  Coaches Chats are an opportunity for us to share important information with all of you as well as help you connect with other coaches.  We recommend each team have one coach attend.

During this meeting we will be checking in to see how the build season is going as well as talking about workshops/accommodations/quiet room at events.  This is not the district event briefing, that is in February.

Menstrual Equity

What is Menstrual Equity? 
Menstrual Equity refers to the idea that everyone should be provided access to affordable menstrual hygiene products. M.E. FIRST aims to provide everybody with free pads and tampons at FRC competitions to remove financial barriers related to menstruation.  
 
How to Help? 
Your team can help with this project by signing up as an M.E. FIRST Ambassador to assist in providing menstrual products at your events this season. This includes placing menstrual products in the bathrooms and making care packages for teams to keep with them throughout the event.  

2980 M.E. Ambassador Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdoIRaq-9bk 
If you’re interested please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/NiHepUUbpJP1niZi8 
If you have any questions, please reach out to 2980m.e@gmail.com. 

FIRST Force Scrimmage

Get Your Game On!

The FIRST Force Scrimmage is returning to Corvallis High School in Corvallis, Oregon on Sunday, February 16.  This is a great event to meet teams and their new robots before week 1.  Your team will also have a chance to practice a match as a part of an alliance, test and tune your robot, try out your scouting system, and have a lot of fun.

The cost for the scrimmage is $100.00 per team with fee waivers for 2024 and 2025 rookie teams.  Teams from Oregon and Washington are welcome.  See the links below for registration and details.  The member teams of FIRST Force hope to see you there!

• Registration
• Scrimmage Details

Important Dates