Important OSPI Grant information

If you are a Washington State public school or Tribal Compact school, you are eligible for the OSPI grant! 

We have made a lot of improvements to the grant system for the upcoming year and are excited to share them with you! 

• The grant will open August 28th and close Friday, Sept 20 (remember, late grants will not be accepted so please make sure your grant is submitted by September 20) 
• We now have one link to the grant for all 3 programs.  Click here to stay updated and find the application link. 
• There is now the ability to add collaborators so more than one person can have access to the grant. 
• If you are interested in using the collaborator function, be sure to attend our OSPI meeting on September 10th at 7 pm.  We will be going over how to set this up in detail on this meeting. 
• Team #’s and payment info will be entered on the application itself, not after the application has been submitted. 
• To receive funding, teams must be registered both with FIRST Inspires (which means your registration for the current season with FIRST Inspires must be paid or secured with a PO) and FIRST Washington.  

For those who are new to filling out this grant or have questions, we will be holding an information meeting on Tuesday, September 10th at 7 pm.    Feel free to share this link with any adult you are working with as a coach to fill out our OSPI grant.  This meeting is not for students or parents on your team, and we will only be addressing questions that relate to the OSPI grant (If you have questions about your specific program, please attend your program specific coaches chat.) 

Register for Off-Season Events

We’ve got an exciting calendar of FRC off-season events this year. Don’t wait to register your team! 

As a reminder, off-season events are hosted and run by FRC teams, not FIRST Washington. This means each events participation requirement, fees, and timelines may vary. 

All events will utilize the previous season’s game, CRESCENDO.

If you itend to participate in an event, please sign up ASAP. This helps evnet hosts know how best to prepare for their events.

We will share event volunteer sign up links in next week’s email. 

Event Registration Links: 

• Block Party: Team Registration
• OR Girls’ Generation: Oregon FRC Pre-Season Event Registration Form (tfaforms.com)
• Bordie Blast – Bordie in Show: Bordie Blast – Registration
• WA Girls’ Generation: Washington State FRC Girls’ Generation Registration Form 2024 (google.com)
• Storm Surge: Storm Surge Registration 2024 (google.com)

Important Dates

Eastern WA Coaches: We want to hear from you!

Please complete this form including any support your team may need for this season, or support that you would like to offer other teams this season. Once you complete this form, our Jake will reach out! 

Register for Off-Season Events

We’ve got an exciting calendar of FRC off-season events this year. Don’t wait to register your team! 

As a reminder, off-season events are hosted and run by FRC teams, not FIRST Washington. This means each events participation requirement, fees, and timelines may vary. 

All events will utilize the previous season’s game, CRESCENDO.

We will continue to share registration details for events as they become available.

Event Registration Links: 

• Block Party: Registration link TBD
• OR Girls’ Generation: Oregon FRC Pre-Season Event Registration Form (tfaforms.com)
• Bordie Blast – Bordie in Show: Bordie Blast – Registration
• WA Girls’ Generation: Washington State FRC Girls’ Generation Registration Form 2024 (google.com)
• Storm Surge: Storm Surge Registration 2024 (google.com)

Interested in Bunny Bots? Let us Know!

BunnyBots was developed by Team 1540 Flaming Chickens mentors and alumni and provides a way for FRC teams and new FRC members to gain vital skills before the build season.

For many students, this is their first experience making an FRC-quality robot. Bunny Bots is a light-hearted 1 day contest, focused on team and skill development.  The BunnyBots program aims to develop the technical foundation of rookie members and teach veteran members leadership and project management skills. This program addresses the problem of insufficient rookie training, allowing them to learn machining procedures and design basics to succeed in the intense build season. The game is released in early September, and teams sign up on a first-come, first-served basis. As a training tool, the game rules are loosely based on FRC rules. 

Details: 

• Washington Bunny Bots: Either Sat Dec 14th or Sun Dec 15th (depending on interest level) 
• Oregon Bunny Bots: Dec: 14th 
• Cost: TBA 
• Rules will be posted on or around September 1st, as will finalized costs and registration. 
• Last year’s contest information: https://www.team1540.org/bunnybots 
• Interest survey: https://forms.gle/834G9kvpLj2WcFE49 

Questions? Email 3218 coach Jason Vander Hoek at: Jason_vander_hoek@sumnersd.org

Register for Off-Season Events

We’ve got an exciting calendar of FRC off-season events this year. Don’t wait to register your team! 

As a reminder, off-season events are hosted and run by FRC teams, not FIRST Washington. This means each events participation requirement, fees, and timelines may vary. 

All events will utilize the previous season’s game, CRESCENDO.

We will continue to share registration details for events as they become available.

Event Registration Links: 

• Block Party: Registration link TBD
• OR Girls’ Generation: Oregon FRC Pre-Season Event Registration Form (tfaforms.com)
• Bordie Blast – Bordie in Show: Bordie Blast – Registration
• WA Girls’ Generation: Washington State FRC Girls’ Generation Registration Form 2024 (google.com)
• Storm Surge: Storm Surge Registration 2024 (google.com)

Interested in Bunny Bots? Let us Know!

BunnyBots was developed by Team 1540 Flaming Chickens mentors and alumni and provides a way for FRC teams and new FRC members to gain vital skills before the build season.

For many students, this is their first experience making an FRC-quality robot. Bunny Bots is a light-hearted 1 day contest, focused on team and skill development.  The BunnyBots program aims to develop the technical foundation of rookie members and teach veteran members leadership and project management skills. This program addresses the problem of insufficient rookie training, allowing them to learn machining procedures and design basics to succeed in the intense build season. The game is released in early September, and teams sign up on a first-come, first-served basis. As a training tool, the game rules are loosely based on FRC rules. 

Details: 

• Washington Bunny Bots: Either Sat Dec 14th or Sun Dec 15th (depending on interest level) 
• Oregon Bunny Bots: Dec: 14th 
• Cost: TBA 
• Rules will be posted on or around September 1st, as will finalized costs and registration. 
• Last year’s contest information: https://www.team1540.org/bunnybots 
• Interest survey: https://forms.gle/834G9kvpLj2WcFE49 

Questions? Email 3218 coach Jason Vander Hoek at: Jason_vander_hoek@sumnersd.org

Thank you to all who marched in the Seattle Prdie Parade! 

We had an awesome turnout for our third year participating in Seattle Pride with 12 teams and 3 robots marching!

Thanks to everyone who showed up to celebrate our LGBTQ+ community, and thank you for all that you do every day of the season to support a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our FIRST family.  

Looking for guidance on how you can support LGBTQ+ students and mentors? Check out this FIRST blog post 2022, it’s still helpful today! 

 5 Ways to be a Better Ally this Pride Month (and Every Month) (firstinspires.org)

End of Season Survey 

We had a great FRC CRESCENDO season and are so excited with the growth we saw in 2023-2024.

This is the time of year where we reflect and figure out how to do even better next season!  Your input is very important to that process.  Please take a moment to fill out our end of year survey so we can include your feedback as we look ahead to the 2024/25 season.  Click here to access the survey 

Celebrate Pride! Walk with FRC teams in the 2024 Seattle Pride Parade

We’re thrilled to invite all FRC teams to march together in the Seattle Pride Parade on June 30th.

To participate, make sure to submit your registration by June 10th.

This will be our third season marching in the parade – a huge thanks to Team 1318 for organizing our FRC teams particiation. If you have questions, feel free to contact 1318 mentor Julie Irwin at – Julie3Irwin@gmail.com.

We hope to see you there!

District Championship Event Briefing TONIGHT

Tune in for our District Championship Briefing tonight  March 19th at 7:00 pm.

I recommend any team that believes they may qualify for District Championships have an adult attend this meeting. You can find the meeting link on the calender on firstwa.org or clicking the link below:

District Championship Hotel Room Block

We have some exciting news, we have secured hotel rooms at the Hyatt Regency which is very close to the venue. 

Takeaways from Week 1

Remember, once the pits open at 5 pm, no work can be done on the robot at your shop. If you live close to the venue and choose to not load in right at 5, we expect you to be gracious and professional and stop working on your robot until you arrive at the venue. 

Safety: 

• We want everyone to have a fun competition but part of that is doing it safely. Make sure you and your team understand the safety rules. If you need a refresher, you can find the safety manual here 
• If you are wearing glasses and plan to wear side shields, make sure your prescription glasses are safety rated.  
• Tie long hair back when working on or around the robot so that it doesn’t get in your way or tangled in the robot 
• Do not charge your batteries at the venue overnight (Even if there is no generator and the pits are powered) It is a safety issue. 

We are working to have a quiet room at each event but are struggling this season. For events that have a quiet room, here are some safety things you need to remember: 

• Two adults should staff the quiet room so there is never a situation where there is 1 adult and one student in the room together. 
• The quiet room may not be open at all times (and we don’t necessarily have keys to the facility to lock in when it is not in use) When the quiet room is unattended, no students should be in the quiet room. Coaches please make sure your students understand this. We did have reports last weekend of unattended students in the quiet room and will have to discontinue having it this season if we can’t get them staffed appropriately. 

Event Pages

I have heard reports that there are some issues with some of the schedules on firstinspires.org. The best place to get event information is from the event page on firstwa.org.

You can find event information below –

District Championship Event Briefing

We will be having out District Championship Briefing on Tuesday, March 19 at 7:00 pm. I recommend any team that believes they may qualify for District Championships have an adult attend this meeting. You can find the meeting link on the calender on firstwa.org or clicking the link below:

District Championship Hotel Room Block

We have some exciting news, we have secured hotel rooms at the Crown Plaza which is very close to the venue. Rooms in the robotics block will cost 159/night AND the hotel will provide a free breakfast for up to 4 people per room! To access this block, follow this link: First Robotics 2024 

Remind Your Team to Volunteer!

To see what roles are available at what events, volunteers need to login to their FIRST dashboard (or create one if they’re new). If they can apply for it, that means it’s open!

Volunteer Availability:

• Oregon State Fair – some spots available
• Auburn – some spots available
• SunDome – many spots available! 
• Bonney Lake – many spots available! 
• Wilsonville – some spots available
• Sammamish

Please remind students that all volunteer hours can go towards National Honor Society volunteer requirements and many other volunteer requirements. 

Specifically for adult volunteers, our greatest need is for Judges at Oregon State Fair and SunDome.

Consider signing up to volunteer, or helping recruit local volunteers! Remember, you cannot Judge at an event if you’re affiliated with a competing team, or you are younger than 20 years old.

Questions about available roles? Email Mara at Marak@firstwa.org to learn more!