FTC State is this Saturday! 

Good luck to all teams that are competing at state this weekend!  That is quite an accomplishment and you should be proud! 

We will also be announcing our 4 Dean’s List Finalist as well as our Compass Award winner.   

For those who did not qualify, tune in to watch the action on the stream:  https://ftcwa.live/state 

Reminder of Advocacy Request 

Hi FIRST Washington Community, 

This is a reminder to please take action and contact your state legislators by January 28 if you have not already done so. As shared in our previous message, this outreach should take only a few minutes and involves identifying your legislators, finding their email addresses, and sending three brief emails on behalf of your team. 

Detailed instructions and a sample email were included in the previous email from Fred Krug on January 22nd (You can also find the information on our website here: https://firstwa.org/wa-state-outreach/ ) Your outreach is critical as we work to build a strong case during the current Supplemental Legislative Session to reinstate state funding that directly supports teams across Washington. Hearing directly from students in their districts helps legislators understand the real and immediate impact of this funding on access, equity, and opportunity within our robotics community. 

Important Dates & Deadlines

• 1-31:  State Championship 

Compass Award Submissions 

Each team may submit a mentor for the Compass Award.  For more information on the Compass Award, please see page 48 of the game manual here:  https://ftc-resources.firstinspires.org/ftc/game/manual  

To submit a mentor for the Compass award, please fill out this form by 5:00 pm January 24th.  the winner will be announced at the FTC State Championship competition January 31.  Late submissions will not be accepted. 

All teams are eligible to submit a mentor for the Compass Award, you do not need to be qualified for the State Championship to be considered. 

URGENT Action Alert-Requesting Reinstatement of State Funding for the next Washington FIRST Robotics Season

Hi FIRST Washington Community! 

As most of you recall, our robotics community in Washington lost critical state funding last year, funding that was paired with additional philanthropy to ensure all teams have support purchasing equipment, paying registration fees, and funding travel.   

  The Supplemental Session of the Washington State Legislature is now in session, and we need you to contact your state legislators in the next few days. 

We are building a case to request that funding be reinstated for the coming year and need your team’s help in requesting that your legislators submit the attached budget requests. 

 Please watch for an important communication from FIRST Washington President Fred Krug tomorrow. 

Important Dates & Deadlines

• 1-31:  State Championship 

Asimov and Capek Super Qualifier events are this weekend! 

Whether your team is competing or not, feel free to either tune in to the stream, here are the links: 

Asimov:  https://ftcwa.live/asimov 
Capek: https://ftcwa.live/capek 

If you would like to come watch in person, the events are being held at: 

Tahoma High School 

23499 SE Tahoma Way.  

Maple Valley. WA. 98038 

Good luck this weekend to all those participating!!! 

We need your help! 

We are in dire need of judges for our FLL Semi Finals this weekend in Covington!  For those of you who are not competing (or those who can’t get enough of FIRST and want to volunteer on the day they aren’t competing) please consider signing up to judge either Saturday or Sunday.  We want to give all of our participants a great experience and it takes our entire community to make that happen. 

Thank you all for your support, we could NOT do this without you!!! 

You can either sign up for the event from your dashboard or follow these links to go directly to the event: 

Covington Semi Final Saturday 1-17 

Covington Semi Final Sunday 1-18 

Dean’s List Interview Schedule and Links Released 

FTC Dean’s List interview schedules and meeting links were sent to coaches this week. If you have not already done so, please confirm your student(s) can make their scheduled interview time and forward them their meeting link. For any questions or issues, please reach out to Alida at alidam@firstwa.org. 

Recording of last week’s Coaches Chat is posted online 

You can find the recording and slide deck online here:  https://firstwa.org/webinars/  

Important Dates & Deadlines

• 1-31:  State Championship 

Compass Award Submissions

Each team may submit a mentor for the Compass Award.  For more information on the Compass Award, please see page 53 of the game manual here:  https://ftc-resources.firstinspires.org/ftc/game/manual  

To submit a mentor for the Compass award, please fill out this form by 5:00 pm January 24th.  the winner will be announced at the FTC State Championship competition January 31. 

All teams are eligible to submit a mentor for the Compass Award, you do not need to be qualified for the State Championship to be considered. 

FTC Coaches Chat this Thursday, 1-8 at 7:00 pm 

We will have our next coaches chat this Thursday at 7:00 pm.   

Click here to join the chat on Thursday! 

CTSO Survey – Washington Teams Only

WASHINGTON TEAMS ONLY 

 FIRST Washington is seeking the community’s opinion on whether to pursue approval as a Career-Technical Student Organization (CTSO) with the State of Washington and OSPI. If your school and/or team could be affected by this decision, we invite you to spend a few minutes letting us know how you might be impacted. For any questions, please reach out to Alida (alidam@firstwa.org). 

 https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/7a5a1196d00c45819fdfa2f068014eaa 

Important Dates & Deadlines

• 1-31:  State Championship 

We will not be checking or responding to email during that time.   

We will return emails starting January 5th.   

Have a wonderful holiday and new year!   

Important Dates & Deadlines

• 1-31:  State Championship 

FIRST Washington is seeking the community’s opinion on whether to pursue approval as a Career-Technical Student Organization (CTSO) with the State of Washington and OSPI. If your school and/or team could be affected by this decision, we invite you to spend a few minutes letting us know how you might be impacted. For any questions, please reach out to Alida (alidam@firstwa.org). 

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/7a5a1196d00c45819fdfa2f068014eaa 

Reminder

FIRST Washington’s office is closed for the holidays from 12/24/2025 – 1/2/2026.  If you need any reimbursements from accounting, please get them submitted before 12/24. We will not be responding to emails or processing any reimbursements during this time.

FIRST Washington AI Innovation Video Challenge 

 Did your team explore AI this season? Share your story in a 15–60 second video for the FIRST WA AI Innovation Video Challenge. Top videos will be highlighted across our events and channels. Submit by January 9.  

More info here: https://firstwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/AI-Video-Challenge.pdf 

Important Dates & Deadlines

• 1-31:  State Championship