4 league are having their 2nd event this coming weekend. 

•  Please read the email from your League Coordinator (Some League events are at a different venue than the last event or may have a slightly different start time)  
• RSVP to your League Coordinator to confirm that you received the information and do plan to attend (It really helps our League Coordinators plan when they hear from you all) 

 If you are not competing this coming weekend, consider signing up as a volunteer for one of the 4 events that are happening! 

Next FTC Coaches Chat November 20 at 7:00 pm   

On this meeting, we will be focusing on the December League Tournaments and how to best be prepared. 

Click here to join the meeting  Please make sure to have one adult from your team attend! 

FLL Challenge Events are Live and Accepting Volunteers!  

We are excited to announce that Washington FLL Challenge UNEARTHED events are live and accepting volunteer applications. We hope you’ll sign up to volunteer and help make this season a success! FLL Qualifiers are scheduled for December 6, 7, 13, and 14. 

In the UNEARTHED challenge, FIRST LEGO League teams will use creative thinking and LEGO technology to uncover the past and discover the future. 

As we dig into the excitement of this year’s FLL Challenge competitions, your support is essential. To ensure all students can participate in a local competition, we will host 27 events around the state of Washington! But these events don’t materialize out of thin air. They require the commitment of over 900 passionate volunteers! 

So don’t hesitate to join the fun! We need help in various roles, from refereeing, judging, scorekeeping, and more. 

Volunteer needs 

• Judges (minimum 18 y.o.) 

• Referees (minimum 16 y.o.) 

• Scorekeepers (minimum 18 y.o./post high school) 

• Field Resetters (minimum 15 y.o.) 

• Queuers (minimum 15 y.o.) 

 Click here to see a list of events: FLL CALENDAR 

Click here to Register for events: REGISTER 

Important Dates & Deadlines

• 11-23:  League Events End 
• 11-20:  FTC Coaches Chat 
• 12-6 & 12-7:  Feynman & Pasteur League Tournaments 
• 12-13 & 12-14:  Curie, Wu, Hawking & Tesla League Tournaments 
• 12-20:  Watt League Tournament 

10 or our 14 events competed this past weekend!  For those who competed, I hope you had a great time and learned a lot, now is the time to take what you learned and apply it to prepare for your second event. 

For those competing this coming weekend, remember come whether you are prepared or not!   

• If your robot isn’t running, you will have tons of support to help you get “wheels on carpet!”   

• You will make great connections and get lots of ideas to help you improve your robot for next time! 

If you are not competing this coming weekend, consider signing up as a volunteer for one of the 4 events that are happening! 

Next FTC Coaches Chat November 20 at 7:00 pm   

On this meeting, we will be focusing on the December League Tournaments and how to best be prepared. 

Click here to join the meeting  Please make sure to have one adult from your team attend! 

Important Dates & Deadlines

• 11-23:  League Events End 
• 11-20:  FTC Coaches Chat 
• 12-6 & 12-7:  Feynman & Pasteur League Tournaments 
• 12-13 & 12-14:  Curie, Wu, Hawking & Tesla League Tournaments 
• 12-20:  Watt League Tournament 

By now, all lead and alternate contacts on your team should have received an email from your League coordinator.  If you have not yet received any communication, feel free to reach out to Kevin Emery (kemery@firstwa.org) or Alida Mandes MacCracken (alidam@firstwa.org) they will get you connected with your league coordinator. 

Many of you are probably not feeling ready for your first event.  This is completely normal!!  No team feels fully prepared for their first event.  Even if you don’t feel you are ready for your first event attend it anyway!!!  You will receive TONS of support from the veteran teams in your league AND your students will leave the event with some great ideas and be inspired to work on the robot to prepare it for the next league meet.    

If for some reason you are unable to attend your event, please email Alida Mendes MacCracken (alidam@firstwa.org) and Kevin Emery (kemery@firstwa.org) so we can work with you to see if we can help you overcome your challenge or let the league coordinator know.   

There is nothing worse than hosting an event where you are missing a team and wondering if you should run the match schedule without that team or hold the event to wait for them so please communicate with us and your League Coordinator if you have any issue attending your first meet. 

Please Keep Gracious Professionalism at Heart  

As your team prepares for their first competition of the season, take a moment to remind your students to keep the spirit of Gracious Professionalism and the FIRST Core Values at the core of everything they do. 

This means competing with integrity, showing respect for others, and offering help when it’s needed, even to your opponents. Strive for excellence not just in your technical performance but also in how you collaborate, problem-solve, and treat every person participating in this competition. So, a few reminders – 

• All match results are final. ***no amount of arguing or pestering will change them 😉 

• There are no video replays of matches. 

• Only students should visit the question box. If a coach/mentor wants to accompany a student as emotional support, that is totally fine! But the student should be asking the questions, NOT the adult. This is a learning opportunity for them, not an opportunity for adults to question match results. 

Remind your students and fellow adults that every single person running you league competition is a VOLUNTEER. Maybe you’re running late and you get frustrated with the person running team check in; or the Head Referee makes a call you don’t personally agree with. Everyone running your competition is donating their time and talents to ensure your students have the best possible experience. 

As Gracious Professionalism teaches us – that doesn’t always mean things will be easy or you will agree with the outcome. But every experience is an opportunity to learn, and it is the responsibility of coaches and mentors to set a strong example for their students. Your team will have a better experience competing if the event your attending is well staffed, by well-trained, enthusiastic volunteers. But it becomes difficult to retain volunteers if they are not treated with respect and kindness by students, or fellow adults.  So, please be intentional with your team and take a moment to remind them of these tenants.  

Lets let this season be about more than just winning—make it about inspiring each other and having fun! 

Important Dates & Deadlines

• 11-23:  League Events End 
• 11-20:  FTC Coaches Chat 
• 12-6 & 12-7:  Feynman & Pasteur League Tournaments 
• 12-13 & 12-14:  Curie, Wu, Hawking & Tesla League Tournaments 
• 12-20:  Watt League Tournament 

To participate in your League events:  

• You must be registered with FIRST HQ (firstinspires)  – I’m happy to report that all teams are registered with FIRST HQ 

• You must be registered with FIRST Washington – I’m also happy to report that all teams are registered with FIRST Washington 

• Your FIRST Washington Invoice must be secured – As of this morning 92 teams still need to secure their invoice. 

• You can secure your FIRST Washington invoice with at check, credit card or PO from your school (if you are a school affiliated team)’ 

You can check your invoice and payment status here:  https://firstwa.org/ftc-registration/ *** Please not, payment status is updated manually once a day.   

Coaches Chat last week  

 If you missed the coaches chat last week, you can find the slide decks here:  https://firstwa.org/webinars/     

Unfortunately, we had technical difficulties so we don’t have a recording of last week’s coaches chat. 

Important Dates & Deadlines

• 11-23:  League Events End 
• 11-20:  FTC Coaches Chat 
• 12-6 & 12-7:  Feynman & Pasteur League Tournaments 
• 12-13 & 12-14:  Curie, Wu, Hawking & Tesla League Tournaments 
• 12-20:  Watt League Tournament 

We will be having our next coaches chat this Thursday at 7:00 pm.  On this chat we will be going over how to make sure you are prepared for your first league event.  

Additionally, our Development team will be giving a fundraising presentation. 

Please make sure to have at least one adult attend the coaches chat!  Click here for the meeting link. 

Final FTC Leagues have been posted 

Just in case you missed last Friday’s communication, Final league assignments have been posted here:  https://firstwa.org/ftc-competition-info/  There is a list by team # as well as by league (you will need to scroll to see the entire list) 

Many of you may have heard from your League Coordinators last Friday.  If you haven’t, you should be hearing from them early this week.  Feel free to email me on Friday if you have not heard from your league coordinator and I will connect you with them. 

Invoicing and payment  

Your team must be registered with both FIRST and FIRST Washington to participate in competitions and your FIRST Washington invoice must be secured.  

We have sent invoices for all of the FTC teams registered with FIRST and FIRST Washington last week.  We will be sending another round of invoices mid-week this week (hopefully our last round)   

You can check your invoice and payment status here:  https://firstwa.org/ftc-registration/  

Important Dates & Deadlines

• 11-23:  League Events End 
• 11-20:  FTC Coaches Chat 
• 12-6 & 12-7:  Feynman & Pasteur League Tournaments 
• 12-13 & 12-14:  Curie, Wu, Hawking & Tesla League Tournaments 
• 12-20:  Watt League Tournament 

You can find your home league assignment on the FIRST Washington site here:  https://firstwa.org/ftc-competition-info/ below the event listings.  It is sorted both by team and by league. 

Your League Tournament and Super Qualifier assignments are also posted in the report but here it is for easy reference:   

Not happy with your league assignment?  No problem!  You can fill out this form to preference into another league.  If you choose this option, here are a few things to note: 

• Leagues pair with League Tournaments and Super Qualifiers.  If you move to a different, league it may also change your League Tournament and Super Qualifier so make sure you understand all of the event dates related to your choices. 

• If you have multiple teams and would like to change leagues, it may be harder to accommodate your request. Please submit the form for all of your teams in one go along with your preferences (the more leagues you can request the better). If we are not able to move all of your teams in a block, we will reach out to you (at the email provided) and see what we can work out. 

***Please note:  If you do not respond, we will opt to not move your teams rather than splitting them up without talking to you first. 

Event preferencing will close at 5 pm October 8.  Any requests submitted after that will not be considered. 

Final league assignments will be posted by the end of the day October 10 

Invoicing and payment timeline 

Your team must be registered with both FIRST and FIRST Washington to participate in competitions. Here is a look at the timeline for invoicing and payment: 

• Invoices went out to teams registered with both FIRST and FIRST Washington last week 

• Invoices were sent to the contact you designated when you filled out the registration form 

• You can check your invoice and payment status here:  https://firstwa.org/ftc-registration/  

• We will send FIRST Washington invoices weekly on Wednesday or Thursday 

• Payment status is updated daily and will be updated by 9 am with payments that came in the prior day. 

• Your registration needs to be secured October 17 (Registration can be secured by check, credit card or PO from your school) 

• Both FIRST HQ and FIRST Washington registration must be secured prior to your first league event. 

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 & Deadlines

• 11-23:  League Events End 
• 11-20:  FTC Coaches Chat 
• 12-6 & 12-7:  Feynman & Pasteur League Tournaments 
• 12-13 & 12-14:  Curie, Wu, Hawking & Tesla League Tournaments 
• 12-20:  Watt League Tournament