FTC Blog Volume 9 – Leagues will be posted Friday

FTC Blog Volume 9 – Leagues will be posted Friday

League Assignments should be posted by end of the day Friday, October 13

In order to be placed in a league, you must be registered with FIRST Washington.  

If you do not see your team on the list, it is probably because you have not registered with FIRST Washinton

We are working on posting the league information and will try to have all of that up by Friday evening as well but some leagues may not have info posted until Monday, October 16.

Event communication witll come from your League Coordinator.

FTC Invoices should be sent out no later than Monday, October 16

In order to participate in your league events, you must have secured your FIRST Washington Registration.  

Those that filled out the registration form prior to the grant deadline (September 30) and requested a grant, should see grant funds applied to their invoice.

If you registered after the deadline, you may see some grant funds but you may also be responsible for the full $925.

 

 

FTC Build Day, October 14

As mentioned on our coaches chat, we will be having an FTC build day at our fieldhouse in Kent on Saturday, October 14.  This is an opportunity for teams to bring their robot (or robot parts) and collaborate with other teams while working on their robot.  Additionally, we will have a copmetition field set up for teams to practice on (if they are to that point)  The build day is really an open house format but we are asking teams to register.  Out of respect for our volunteers time, if we don’t have enough interest, we will cancel the build day.

 

Details and sign up is below:

  • Who:  Any rookie or veteran FTC team
  • What:  FTC Build Day
  • When:  October 14, 10 am – 3:00 pm
  • Where:  FIRST Washington Fielhouse 22426

Teams are required to register.  It is important for you to put your arrival time, an estimate for the number of students is just fine.

FTC Coaches Chat – Tuesday, October 17 at 7:00 pm

We will be having our next Coaches Chat next Tuesday at 7:00 pm.  Some of the things we will be talking about on the meeting are:

  •  Leagues
  • Invoices
  • Event Schedule
  • What happens at events

There will also be time for you all to connect and chat about how your season is going so far.

 

FTC Blog Volume 8 – FTC Build day Oct 14th

FTC Blog Volume 8 – FTC Build day Oct 14th

Washing State Public & Tribal Compact Schools

Be sure to log onto your dashboard and fill out your team and payment information.  It is important that this information be filled out by Friday, October 6.

Teams Form:
This is asking you for information related to the team(s) at your school. We are considering additional funding for schools with more than one team registered with FIRST Washington. As a result, we need you to enter the teams you have registered with FIRST Washington and commit to having those teams compete to receive that additional funding.  If you are waiting to complete your payment with firstinspires, and are a rookie team, please enter the temporary number you received when starting your registration.

Payment Information:
This form is asking 3 things:

    • Who your check should made out to (School District or School Building, ASB School Cashier)
    • Address the check should be mailed to
    • Whose Attention the email should be sent to

*** It is your responsibility to know what your district’s policies are regarding receiving grant funds. If you are unsure how to fill out this information, please contact your administration to find out what you should do. WE CANNOT ADVISE YOU ON WHO CHECKS SHOULD ME MADE OUT TO BECAUSE EVERY DISTRICT HAS A DIFFERENT POLICY. ***

To access these forms, the profile user must login and you must click on the square with the school’s name inside of the link that was sent to you. The additional forms will appear there. Please take notice of the fact that it no longer says IN REVIEW and is now blue and says PRE-AWARD INTAKE.

We recognize these are some extra steps but ask for your patience as we work through the process.  This is new for us as well as you and we are learning as we go.

League Assignments should be posted by October 13

It looks like we may have 171 FTC teams participating with us this season which is amazing!!!!

Kevin Emery and I will be working to put all teams into existing leagues (and create some new ones) and we plan to have that info posted on firstwa.org by October 13

 

FTC Build Day, October 14

As mentioned on our coaches chat, we will be having an FTC build day at our fieldhouse in Kent on Saturday, October 14.  This is an opportunity for teams to bring their robot (or robot parts) and collaborate with other teams while working on their robot.  Additionally, we will have a copmetition field set up for teams to practice on (if they are to that point)  The build day is really an open house format but we are asking teams to register.  Out of respect for our volunteers time, if we don’t have enough interest, we will cancel the build day.

 

Details and sign up is below:

  • Who:  Any rookie or veteran FTC team
  • What:  FTC Build Day
  • When:  October 14, 10 am – 3:00 pm
  • Where: FIRST Washington Fieldhouse – 22426 72nd Ave. S. Kent, WA 98032

Teams are required to register.  It is important for you to put your arrival time, an estimate for the number of students is just fine.

FTC Blog Volume 7 – Some important deadlines this week

FTC Blog Volume 7 – Some important deadlines this week

OSPI Grant Closes Friday, September 29

If you are a Washington State Public or Tribal Compact school then you are eligible for the OSPI Grant.

FIRST Washington is now administering this grant and has worked hard to simplify the process as well as make the funding available to schools as soon as possible.

Make sure you fill out the grant application by the Friday deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Register with FIRST Washington by Saturday, Sept 30

There are several reasons you should register your team with FIRST Washington by this Friday

  1. To be sure you get a spot in the league closest to your team
  2. To be eligible to receive funding to lower your FIRST Washington reistration.

To see if your team is registered, follow this link:  https://firstwa.org/ftc-team-status/

If you do not see your team # on this list, than your team is not registered with FIRST Washington.

 

Make both of our lives easier and just do it now so I don’t have to pester you 🙂

FTC Blog Volume 6 – Be sure to attend the Coaches Chat tonight at 7 pm!

FTC Blog Volume 6 – Be sure to attend the Coaches Chat tonight at 7 pm!

FTC Coaches Chat tonight, Sept 19 at 7 pm

We will go over many things in this first coaches chat:

  • Overview of the season
  • Important Dates & Deadlines
  • Registration with both FIRST and FIRST Washington
    • Grants through FIRST
    • FIRST Washington Grants
    • OSPI GrantGrants and funding for teams

I look forward to seeing you all tonight!

Grants for teams

OSPI Grant:  If you are a Washington State Public or Compact Tribal school, there is funding available for you.  The OSPI Grant is open until September 29.  For more information or to apply follow this link: https://firstwa.org/ospi/

FIRST Washington Grant:  When you register your team with FIRST Washington, you can check a box letting us know that you are interested in receiving a FIRST Washington Grant to lower your registration fees.  You can register with FIRST Washington here:  https://firstwa.org/ftc-registration/

FIRST Grants:  There is lots of funding available through firstinspires.  To view grant opportunities here:  https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/team-grants

FTC Blog Volume 5 – Register your team with FIRST and FIRST Washington!

FTC Blog Volume 5 – Register your team with FIRST and FIRST Washington!

FTC Coaches Chat Next Tuesday, Sept 19 at 7 pm

We will go over many things in this first coaches chat:

  • Overview of the season
  • Important Dates & Deadlines
  • Registration with both FIRST and FIRST Washington
  • Grants and funding for teams
    • Grants through FIRST
    • FIRST Washington Grants
    • OSPI Grant

Register your team with FIRST and FIRST Washington

You need to register your team both with FIRST HQ  and FIRST Washington to participate in League events.

-To register with FIRST HQ, go to your dashboard on firstinspires.org

**Remember, to participate in events, you need to have 2 coaches listed on your team.  Both need to have passed their youth protection screening.  Don’t wait, make sure your coaches are through screening now!

You need to register with FIRST Washington by September 30th to be considered for funding to

  • Lower your FIRST Washington registration
  • To be guaranteed a spot in the league closest to you 
  • To receive OSPI funding (if you are a public/tribal school)

Don’t wait, click the button below to do this now!

FTC Blog Volume 4

FTC Blog Volume 4

FIRST Washington Registration is open!

FIRST Washington registration is now open!!

Remember, to participate in Washington, you need to register both with firstinspires and FIRST Washington.

The fee to participate in Washington is $925/team. Remember, we are fundraising on your behalf and do have funds available to teams to lower registration costs. Be sure to check the box that says you would like to be considered for a FIRSTWA grant is you would like access to these funds.

FIRST Washington Registration will close Saturday, September 30. Invoices will be sent out mid October.

Click below to register your team with FIRST Washington!

Breaking news, OSPI & FIRST Washington Agreement!

What’s different? FIRST Washington is now the administrator of the OSPI grant and funds

Who can apply? Any public or tribal school in Washington State can apply

Why should you apply? It will give you access to funding to support your team!

When does the grant open? The grant will open on Sept 15 and close on Sept 29.

We will be holding a meeting on Sept 12 from 7-8:30 pm to talk more about the changes and how they affect you**.

Who should attend this meeting? Any one who currently coaches a public school team or wants to start a team at a Washington State Public or Tribal School

Does it matter which program I am interested in? If you coach or are interested in coaching an FLL Challenge, FTC or FRC team FROM a Washington State Public or Tribal School, then you want to attend this meeting! We will be talking to coaches at all levels for the first part of the meeting and then will break into rooms to answer questions that are more specific to an individual program.

How do I join this meeting? By clicking this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87552498043?pwd=akl2ZmRrQ2taUDdraXVUSjM4ckFrQT09

 

**Please note: This is not a typical coaches meeting, the only people that should attend this meeting are the lead/alternate coaches or school faculty that fills out the Washington State OSPI grant.

2023 FTC Kickoff information-

 

Our FTC kickoff hosts are working hard to make your event great. Please register ASAP if you have not already. Our hosts need to know how many are attending their events!