Kickoff registration is open!

All teams need to either register for an in person kickoff or select to be a my site.  Here are a few things to note: 

• FIRST is asking for teams to enter a shipping address even if they are registering for an in person kickoff.   This is in case something needs to be shipped to teams after kickoff. 

• If you select MySite, your kickoff kit will not ship to you until after kickoff which means any game piece, etc won’t be received by your team until a week or so after kickoff.  Additionally, there is a charge to have your kit shipped to you.  That charge will be included on your registration invoice. 

Link to last weeks FRC Coaches Chat 

If you missed last week’s coaches chat, you can view the slides and recording here:  https://firstwa.org/webinars/  

Reminder from the Finance Department 

Please make sure your team number is clearly included on ALL donations sent on behalf of your team. This includes checks, volunteer matches, and ACH deposits. 

If for any reason a team number cannot be included, it’s essential that you communicate directly with the Finance Department to ensure proper allocation.(accounting@firstwa.org) 

⚠️ Without a team number, we cannot guarantee that funds will be credited to your team’s booster account. 

Thank you for helping us keep everything organized and accurate! 

Important Dates

Event Preferencing closes at 9 am Thursday 

Event preferencing for you first event  

📖 For full details, check out the FRC Event Preference Guide. 

Don’t miss your chance—make sure your team is event ready before September 25 so you can take advantage of the first preferencing window! 

Not sure if you are event ready?  Click here to see your status. 

****Important****  If you pick an event other than your home event, you may end up on the waitlist once events are posted Thursday afternoon/Friday morning.  This is normal.  I will be working with FIRST to move everyone into events on Friday and Monday.  Please do not email me if you end up on a waitlist, I will not respond to your email. If you are still on a waitlist Tuesday, October 7, you will receive an email from me by the end of the day letting you know what your options are. 

FRC Coaches Chat 

📅 Tonight, September 30 @ 7:00 pm 

At least one adult per team should attend. Topics include: 

• How to preference for events (and when/how you’ll know your placement) 

• Important season dates and deadlines 

• Invoicing timeline and season costs 

To attend this meeting click here —please forward to any adult who should attend. 

Important Dates

Event Preferencing opens Thursday! 

Be Event Ready Before Preferencing Opens 

At the beginning of every season, coaches need to log into their FIRST dashboard to update consent forms and acknowledgements. Make sure you do this early so you don’t get held up when the FIRST Preferencing Window opens later this month. 

To be event ready, both Lead Mentor 1 and 2 must: 

• Sign consent and acknowledgement forms on their dashboard 

• Be current with their Youth Protection Screening (YPP) 

Please note:  FIRST has updated their system and if you haven’t logged in since that update, you will be asked to reset your password.  I recommend doing that earlier this week so that you are prepared when you log in to preference for your first event. 

You will not be able to preference if both Lead 1 and 2 are not current with these requirements. Don’t wait until the last minute—when everyone submits screenings at once, the process takes longer! 

📖 For full details, check out the FRC Event Preference Guide. 

Don’t miss your chance—make sure your team is event ready before September 25 so you can take advantage of the first preferencing window! 

Not sure if you are event ready?  Click here to see your status. 

Events are posted on firstinspires.org

To make it easier, here is the event schedule for 2026: 

FRC Coaches Chat 

📅 Tuesday, September 30 @ 7:00 pm 

At least one adult per team should attend. Topics include: 

• How to preference for events (and when/how you’ll know your placement) 

• Important season dates and deadlines 

To attend this meeting click here —please forward to any adult who should attend. 

Register with FIRST Washington

Please register with FIRST Washington by September 26. This ensures: 

• We know your team plans to participate this season (otherwise we may not have confirmation until after preferencing closes). 

• We have the correct contact information for invoicing. 

• You gain access to FIRST Washington Grants (most funding goes to Washington teams, but some Oregon teams have received funding in past years as well). 

 FIRST Washington Registration Form 

Not sure if you are registered with FIRST Washington?  Click here to see your status 

Important Dates

Make sure you are ready to preference next week! 

Be Event Ready Before Preferencing Opens 

At the beginning of every season, coaches need to log into their FIRST dashboard to update consent forms and acknowledgements. Make sure you do this early so you don’t get held up when the FIRST Preferencing Window opens later this month. 

To be event ready, both Lead Mentor 1 and 2 must: 

• Sign consent and acknowledgement forms on their dashboard 

• Be current with their Youth Protection Screening (YPP) 

You will not be able to preference if both Lead 1 and 2 are not current with these requirements. Don’t wait until the last minute—when everyone submits screenings at once, the process takes longer! 

📖 For full details, check out the FRC Event Preference Guide. 

Don’t miss your chance—make sure your team is event ready before September 26 so you can take advantage of the first preferencing window! 

FRC Coaches Chat

FRC Coaches Chat 

📅 Tuesday, September 30 @ 7:00 pm 

At least one adult per team should attend. Topics include: 

• How to preference for events (and when/how you’ll know your placement) 

• Important season dates and deadlines 

To attend this meeting click here —please forward to any adult who should attend. 

Register with FIRST Washington 

Please register with FIRST Washington by September 26. This ensures: 

• We know your team plans to participate this season (otherwise we may not have confirmation until after preferencing closes). 

• We have the correct contact information for invoicing. 

• You gain access to FIRST Washington Grants (most funding goes to Washington teams, but some Oregon teams have received funding in past years as well). 

 FIRST Washington Registration Form 

Important Dates

Event schedule is posted on firstinspires.org 

Make sure you are event ready so you can preference later this month 

At the beginning of every season, coaches need to log onto their dashboard to update their consent and other acknowledgements.  Make sure you do that early so you don’t get held up when the FIRST Preferencing window opens later this month. 

Events are posted on firstinspires.org

To make it easier, here is the event schedule for 2026: 

FRC Coaches Chat 

Our first FRC coaches chat of the season is schedule for Tuesday, Sept 30 at 7:00 pm.  Please make sure to have one adult attend this meeting.  Here is what we will be discussing (at a high level) on this meeting: 

• How to preference for events (and when/how you know what event you were placed in to) 

• Important dates and deadlines for the season 

To attend this meeting click here 

BunnyBot rules have been posted!

For those teams planning to participate in BunnyBots, you can find the rules here:  https://www.frc3218.org/bunnybots  If you have any questions, reach out to Jason Vander Hoek jason_vander_hoek@sumnersd.org

Important Dates

Block Party has been cancelled

If you are planning to attend an off season event, register now before more events are cancelled due to low attendance! 

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 – event cancelled due to low registration numbers 

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

Annual Bunnybots OR and WA 

2nd Annual Bunnybots WA- hosted by team 3218

• Location: Bonney Lake HS
  
• Contest date: Dec 20th, 7:30 am – 5:00 pm
• 1-day contest
• load in 7:30-9:30
• 1st matches at 10 am
• email jason_vander_hoek@sumnersd.org 

PNW FRC Registration is open! 

PNW FRC registration is open.  For those of you who have already registered, THANK YOU!!  For those who haven’t, 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  

Important Dates