Donate

FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 1

by | Jul 2, 2025 | FTC, 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.

FIRST Washington Registration is open!

FIRST Washington registration is now open.  Please take a moment to register if your team plans to participate this year.  

This form also gives you access to the FIRST Washington Registration grants that are used to lower your registration.

Registration form link:  https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/aa05160be9cb49ec94f3b61b272443a1

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

FTC Kickoff Registration is now open! 

Yes, it is that time already.  Time to prepare for FTC Kickoff!!  Once again, we have 5 kickoff locations though there have been some changes in venues for specific areas.  Here is the high level kickoff info: 

 –

Auburn High School 711 E Main St. Auburn, WA 98002 

8:30 am: Doors open 

9:00 am: Game reveal with Q&A and workshops to follow 

12:30 pm: Event ends 

–  

BrickCon 2025! Meydenbauer Center 11100 NE 6th St. Bellevue, WA 98004 

8:30 am: Doors open 

9:00 am: Game reveal with Q&A and workshops to follow 

12:00 pm: Event ends 

–  

Kennewick High School 560 W Sixth Ave, Kennewick, WA 99336 *new location* 

8:30 am: Doors open 

8:30-9:00 am: Ice Breaker/Games to get to know the teams 

9:00 am: Game reveal with Q&A and brainstorming sessions 

– 

Saint Martin’s University 5000 Abbey Way SE Lacey, WA 98503 *new location* 

8:30 am: Doors open 

9:00 am: Game reveal with Q&A and brainstorming sessions to follow 

12:00 pm: Event ends 

–  

Ridgeline High School 20150 E. Country Vista Dr. Liberty Lake, WA 98019 

8:30 am: Doors open 

9:00 am: Game reveal 

10:00 am: Field reveal, rules Q&A 

10:30 am: Workshops 

12:00 pm: Event ends 

– 

Click here to register for a kickoff.  We are looking forward to another great season! 

Important Dates & Deadlines

FTC Blog: OSPI Update

by | May 20, 2025 | FTC

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.

 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.

 

We are reaching out not only to public school teams, but also to our community-based teams. 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

FTC Blog Into the Deep: Volume 17

by | Jan 29, 2025 | FTC, Newsletter

FTC State Championship

Where: Amazon Meeting Center 2031 – 7th Ave. Seattle, WA 98121 

Parking: Parking in the doppler garage is free starting at 7:00 am. 

FTC State is open to all teams to attend.  It can be a great experience for your students to see the top teams compete against each other.   

Amazon requires that everyone who enters the meeting center register.  What does this mean for spectators? 

  • Any one over 18 will need to show ID 
  • If you bring your entire team and have not pre-registered, plan for it to take 15 minutes or so to get everyone registered and badged. 
  • If you are not competing, please wait until after 9:00 am to arrive, prior to that, we want the focus to be getting participating team students, mentors and their families inside the building. 
  • If you are bringing your team as a group, you can fill out an excel spreadsheet to pre register.  You will need to have that spreadsheet to me by noon on Jan 27th so I can pass the info along to Amazon.  Send me an email if you would like a copy of the spreadsheet sent to you to fill out.   

What State Champs LIVE!

Can’t attend the FTC State Championship? No problem! Tune into the event live via our Twitch Stream. 

Watch LIVE!

FTC State Champs Schedule:

11:15 AM  Opening Ceremonies 
11:30 AM – 12:05 PM  Qualification Matches 
12:05 PM – 12:50 PM  Lunch 
12:50 PM – 3:50 PM  Qualification Matches 
4:05 AM  Alliance Selection 
4:30 PM  Playoff Matches & Awards 

Important Dates & Deadlines

FTC Blog Into the Deep: Volume 16

by | Jan 23, 2025 | FTC, Newsletter

Compass Award Submissions due by Friday

All teams are eligible to submit for the Compass award whether they are moving on to the State Championship or not.

For more information on the requirements for submitting for the compass award, see the game manual here:  https://ftc-resources.firstinspires.org/file/ftc/game/manual-06

You can submit for the Compass award via the button below. The deadline for submission is Friday, January 24th.  No late submissions will be accepted.

Compass Award Submission

FTC State Championship

Where: Amazon Meeting Center 2031 – 7th Ave. Seattle, WA 98121 

Parking: Parking in the doppler garage is free starting at 7:00 am. 

FTC State is open to all teams to attend.  It can be a great experience for your students to see the top teams compete against each other.   

Amazon requires that everyone who enters the meeting center register.  What does this mean for spectators? 

  • Any one over 18 will need to show ID 
  • If you bring your entire team and have not pre-registered, plan for it to take 15 minutes or so to get everyone registered and badged. 
  • If you are not competing, please wait until after 9:00 am to arrive, prior to that, we want the focus to be getting participating team students, mentors and their families inside the building. 
  • If you are bringing your team as a group, you can fill out an excel spreadsheet to pre register.  You will need to have that spreadsheet to me by noon on Jan 27th so I can pass the info along to Amazon.  Send me an email if you would like a copy of the spreadsheet sent to you to fill out.   

Important Dates & Deadlines

FTC Into the Deep Blog: Volume 15

by | Jan 7, 2025 | FTC, Newsletter

Semifinal Competitions are This Weekend! 

The Asimov and Capek Semi-Finals will be held at Tahoma High School in Maple Valley this weekend (Jan 11/12).  

The events are open to the public so even if your team is not competing, feel free to stop by and check out the competitions.  

We will also be streaming the competitions.  You can view them via the buttons below: 

Asimov
Capek
There are no upcoming events at this time.
There are no upcoming events at this time.

Compass Award Submissions

All teams are eligible to submit for the Compass award whether they are moving on to the State Championship or not.   

For more information on the requirements for submitting for the compass award, see the game manual here:  https://ftc-resources.firstinspires.org/file/ftc/game/manual-06  

You can submit for the Compass award by filling out this form.  The deadline for submission is Friday, January 24th.  No late submissions will be accepted. 

We Want Your Feedback! 

FIRST Washington strives to support coaches in building sustainable and supported teams. We’d love to hear from you how we’re doing.

Please take time to fill out THIS SURVEY to let us know how this season is going and how you feel about your team’s sustainability. The survey is anonymous and will not collect your name/email or team number. All questions are optional, and any that you complete will help. Thank you for supporting an improved experience for all teams! 

Dean’s List Interviews will take place Remotely via Teams January 13 – 26

Dean’s List nominations are closed! Coaches! If you nominated a student(s), you should have received an email with their interview time(s)/date(s). It’s your responsibility to share that information with your student(s). We are not granted access to contact information for nominees, so it has to come from one of the two primary coaches. 

If you nominated a student(s) and have not received the interview schedule, search your inbox and spam folder for an email from FTC and FRC Program & Mentor Support Alida Mendes McCracken – alidam@firstwa.org.  

 Below are some tips for interviewers to keep in mind. Please do not reach out to your Program Director with questions about Dean’s List! : ) 

  • Interviews will be no less than 6 minutes and no longer than 15 minutes per student
  • Students will be interviewed remotely by a panel of 3 interviewers
  • All students should have 1 adult (coach, mentor, parent, guardian, etc.) present for the interview. They can either be in the physical room with the student, or they can log on to the Teams chat via the remote meeting link. If you are having an adult tune in to the meeting via the link, please only have one adult join. Adding lots of extra attendees to the meeting remotely can slow down the interviewing process.
  • If there is no adult present with the student (either in their room physically or in the Teams meeting remotely) the student cannot be interviewed.

Important Dates & Deadlines