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FLL UNEARTHED Blog: Volume 11

by | Nov 4, 2025 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FLL Explore, Newsletter

In this weeks Blog-

Event Assignments for FLL Challenge posted with Update

FLL Explore Event Registration and Locations

Coaches Chat 11/18

Gracious Professionalism

FLL Challenge Participation Rules

Are you Ready?

 

Make sure you read the entire blog!

Season Info

Event Assignments for FLL Challenge!

Event assignments are updated daily for teams that are fully registered and paid. If your assignment does not work for you- PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL ME. I will not be handling any team requests for movement by email. There are two form links on the assignment page, please use the appropriate one for the change you would like to make. I have extended the deadline for closing the form to Friday 11/7. That is the last day to request an event change. 

If you have not yet received your assignment, don’t panic! Please get your registration and payments completed asap!

All teams not registered with FIRST Washington and paid by 11/7 will be dropped and not assigned to an event.

 

There are 100 teams with unpaid FIRST Washington invoices!

FLL Challenge Assignments

FLL Challenge Events-

1st weekend:

Chimacum (Saturday) Chimacum SD– Cancelled

Issaquah (Saturday & Sunday) Beaver Lake MS

Spokane (Saturday & Sunday) Freeman

Wapato (Saturday & Sunday) Wapato HS

Tacoma 1 (Sunday) Bellarmine Prep

Seattle (Saturday & Sunday) Robert Eagle Staff MS

Everett (Saturday & Sunday) Heatherwood MS

2nd Weekend:

Federal Way (Saturday & Sunday)

Snohomish (Saturday & Sunday)

Issaquah (Sunday) Issaquah HS

Oak Harbor (Sunday) Oak Harbor HS

Olympia (Sunday) Jefferson MS

Tacoma 2 (Sunday) Bellarmine Prep

Shoreline CC (Saturday & Sunday)

Event Registration for FLL Explore!

The FLL Explore event registration form is posted on the FIRST Washington website. Teams are only confirmed in an event once they are fully registered and paid with both FIRST Inspires and FIRST Washington. If you have not already done so, and are planning to participate in December, please complete all necessary steps asap.

Explore Event Registration

Snohomish –
Glacier Peak High School
December 6th: 12pm- 3pm

Spokane-
Freeman Middle School
December 6th: 12pm-2pm

Bellevue-
BSD  Steamnasium
December 6th: 9am-11am New!

Yelm- Coming Soon! 

Oak Harbor December 14th

Snohomish –
Glacier Peak High School
March 14th: 12pm- 3pm

Sammamish-
Sammamish High School
March (not confirmed)

Bonney Lake-
Bonney Lake High School
March 7th: 12:45pm-3pm

Cheney-
Eastern Washington University
April 11th

FLL Coaches Chat

Join us for the November Coaches Chat! We will be talking about the upcoming December Qualifier and Festival events! 

18
November
Date: November 18, 2025Time: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

More Info

Please Keep Gracious Professionalism at Heart  

As your team prepares for their competition this 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 your competition is a VOLUNTEER. Maybe you’re running late and you get frustrated with the person running team check in; or the 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! 

FIRST Participation rule reminders for FLL Challenge-

  • All work presented at an official event is the work of the children on the team.
  • A competitive team consists of a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of ten (10) children. Proper adult supervision is required as described in the FIRST® Youth Protection Policy.
  • A team must be registered and fully paid in their national registration system to sign up for official events. Additional regional/local event fees may apply.
  • All team members attending an event are required to participate in the judging session and be present as a team at the Robot Game matches.
  • If a student participates on more than one team, the student must choose which team they will participate on during an event. Students are not allowed to be part of more than one team at any given event.

Competitive Team Awards/Advancement

A competitive team must meet these additional criteria to be eligible for awards and/or advancement at an official event:

  • Teams are only eligible for awards and advancement at their initial qualifying event within each tournament level.
    • For example, teams are only eligible for awards and advancement at the first qualifier they compete in each season.
  • Team members’ work must conform to the parameters and rules outlined in the Challenge overview, Engineering Notebook and Robot Game Rulebook.

Consequences

FIRST® gives authority to volunteers staffing FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge official events to interpret and implement the Participation Rules, guided by global FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge training materials.

  • Teams, coaches, and supporters at official events are expected to demonstrate the Core Values and Gracious Professionalism®.
    • Individuals interfering with, excessively instructing, prompting, or heckling a team or volunteer may be asked to leave.
    • Severe infractions of these rules may result in a team’s dismissal from the event. FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge official event volunteers are provided training to identify and respond to these situations (See FIRST® Youth Protection Policy).
  • Individuals and/or teams who fail to abide by the Participation Rules may be ineligible for awards at a tournament.

Remember- Kids do the Work!

Washington State FLL Challenge Rules and Guidelines

Are you ready?

Check the links below to verify your teams registrations and payments! 

FLL Challenge?

↓↓↓↓↓↓

Click Here to Check!

FLL Explore?

↓↓↓↓↓↓

Click Here to Check!

Important Dates & Deadlines

  • Open Now – FIRST Washington Registration
  • November 18th- Coaches Chat
  • December 6/7 – First weekend of Qualifiers
  • December 13/14 – Second weekend of Qualifiers
  • January 24/25 – Semifinals
  • February  1st – Western WA State

More From FLL

FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 12

by | Nov 3, 2025 | FTC, Newsletter

First round of League Meets began this past weekend 

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 

FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 12

by | Nov 3, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

Third Play Registration is open!

    Right now, we are only allowing 3rd plays at both week 3 events: 

    • SunDome March 19-21 
    • Sammamish March 20-22 

    To help fill our SunDome event, FIRST Washington is offering free 3rd plays at SunDome.   

    Once SunDome and Sammamish have enough teams at their events, we may open up 3rd play options at other events (Oregon State Fair, Glacier Peak & Wilsonville) but we will not open 3rd play options at these events until Sammamish and SunDome have enough teams to be viable events. 

    You may end up on a waitlist when registering for a 3rd play event but I will be checking registrations regularly throughout the week and will move your team into SunDome or Sammamish if you end up on a waitlist for one of those events. 

    Boeing Grant is open! 

    The grant is open October 20 through November 14th or until all funds are exhausted.  If you have a Boeing Mentor, I encourage you all to apply early for 2 reasons: 

    • To ensure you are allocated funding before it runs out (this happened to many of our FRC teams a few years ago) 
    • With the grant opening so late, to ensure your funding has been allocated prior to event registration closing.  When we do invoices, we have to apply grant funding based on how FIRST has applied those funds.  If your Boeing funds don’t show as applied on FIRST’s end when we invoice, they will not show on your FIRST Washington invoice.  You will have to wait until FIRST opens their regrant window and will have to request a regrant to access those funds. 

    Your Boeing Mentor should have access to the grant through an internal system. 

    Next FRC Coaches Chat is Tuesday, November 18 at 7:00 pm 

    Last month, we focused on how to become a 501c3, On this coaches chat we have invited our President, Fred Krug and Development Director, Lila Mowatt to join us and talk about fundraising. 

    We will also go over the invoicing schedule, what will be on the invoices and how they will be sent.   

    Make sure to have 1 adult attend! 

    Click here for the meeting link 

    Important Dates

    FLL UNEARTHED Blog: Volume 10

    by | Oct 29, 2025 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FLL Explore, Newsletter

    In this weeks Blog-

    Event Assignments for FLL Challenge posted

    FLL Explore Event Registration

    Invoices need to be secured ASAP!

    Are you Ready?

     

    Make sure you read the entire blog!

    Season Info

    Event Assignments for FLL Challenge!

    The first round of FLL Challenge event assignments were posted on Friday 10/24 for teams that are fully registered and paid. I am updating this list daily with new teams as I am updated by accounting. If your assignment does not work for you- PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL ME. I will not be handling any team requests for movement by email. There are two form links on the assignment page, please use the appropriate one for the change you would like to make. It is much easier and faster for me this way.

    My goal is to close this form on Sunday 11/2 and post the first updates on 11/3. I realize this is only a few days. If you need a change, please fill out the form asap. If you have not yet received your assignment, don’t panic! Please get your registration and payments completed asap! The event locations are posted below. This is the final event list.

    FLL Challenge Assignments

    FLL Challenge Events-

    1st weekend:

    Chimacum (Saturday) Chimacum SD– Cancelled

    Issaquah (Saturday & Sunday) Beaver Lake MS

    Spokane (Saturday & Sunday) Freeman

    Wapato (Saturday & Sunday) Wapato HS

    Tacoma 1 (Sunday) Bellarmine Prep

    Seattle (Saturday & Sunday) Robert Eagle Staff MS

    Everett (Saturday & Sunday) Heatherwood MS

    2nd Weekend:

    Federal Way (Saturday & Sunday)

    Snohomish (Saturday & Sunday)

    Issaquah (Sunday) Issaquah HS

    Oak Harbor (Sunday) Oak Harbor HS

    Olympia (Sunday) Jefferson MS

    Tacoma 2 (Sunday) Bellarmine Prep

    Shoreline CC (Saturday & Sunday)

    Event Registration for FLL Explore!

    The FLL Explore event registration form is posted on the FIRST Washington website. Teams are only confirmed in an event once they are fully registered and paid with both FIRST Inspires and FIRST Washington. If you have not already done so, and are planning to participate in December, please complete all necessary steps asap.

    Explore Event Registration

    FLL Challenge Teams- All teams wanting to participate in this seasons Qualifiers should be fully registered and paid at this time!

    To participate in FIRST Washington Qualifier events:  

    • You must be registered with FIRST HQ (firstinspires)   
    • You must be registered with FIRST Washington – https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/c5f3e7b49ea6400b823696be6b954a59
    •  Your FIRST Washington Invoice must be secured – As of this morning 534 invoices have been sent out and only 382 teams have secured their invoice. If I cancel events because of the 150 teams that have not paid, that is 5 events! I do not have room for 150 teams in the remaining events if 5 get cancelled!
    • You can secure your FIRST Washington invoice with at check, credit card or PO from your school (if you are a school affiliated team)

    Teams are only assigned to events once this invoice is secured! 

    Are you ready?

    Check the links below to verify your teams registrations and payments! 

    FLL Challenge?

    ↓↓↓↓↓↓

    Click Here to Check!

    FLL Explore?

    ↓↓↓↓↓↓

    Click Here to Check!

    Important Dates & Deadlines

    • Open Now – FIRST Washington Registration
    • December 6/7 – First weekend of Qualifiers
    • December 13/14 – Second weekend of Qualifiers
    • January 24/25 – Semifinals
    • February  1st – Western WA State

    More From FLL

    FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 11

    by | Oct 27, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

    Slides and recording form 10-23 coaches chat are posted 

      If you missed the coaches chat last week or would just like to view the recording or slides, you can find them here:   https://firstwa.org/webinars/  

      Volunteer with FTC! 

      All our Washington FTC events are live and accepting volunteer applications. Register today!  

      Volunteering at your local FTC events is a great way to support your local pipeline of future FRC students.  

      FTC leagues are looking for Scoring Referees, Penalty Referees, Lead Scorekeepers and more!  

      Judging starts at the Interleague level. Interested? Sign up today from your dashboard! 

      FRC Workshops hosted by SOTABots 2557

      The SOTAbots are hosting an FRC Workshop November 15 (Saturday). 

      • The workshop is at IDEA High School: 6701 S. Park Ave, Tacoma, WA 98408 
      • The workshop will be from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM (Though if there are enough teams and sessions, the hours could be extended) 
      • The workshop is free and open to all teams.  
      • If a team would like to teach a lesson (or two) at the workshop, please indicate by using the appropriate link below! 

        We would like teams to let us know if they are attending and how many team members they are planning to bring so we can plan accordingly. 

        Here are some links for the workshop: 

        Use this link to verify your team’s planned attendance: 

      Planed Attendance Link: https://forms.gle/Ey8xbjSvf7r6VD2U7 

        

      Use this link to pre-order lunches (not mandatory, but encouraged): 

      Lunch Link: https://forms.gle/a7tFaL8Vj7to824E6 

        

      Use this link if your team wants to teach a class at the workshop: 

      Presentation Proposal Link https://forms.gle/AXGbsaaz5vrDjf9u7 

      If you have questions, reach out to Rich Williams RWILLI4@Tacoma.K12.Wa.US  

      Boeing Grant is open! 

      The grant is open October 20 through November 14th or until all funds are exhausted.  If you have a Boeing Mentor, I encourage you all to apply early for 2 reasons: 

      • To ensure you are allocated funding before it runs out (this happened to many of our FRC teams a few years ago) 
      • With the grant opening so late, to ensure your funding has been allocated prior to event registration closing.  When we do invoices, we have to apply grant funding based on how FIRST has applied those funds.  If your Boeing funds don’t show as applied on FIRST’s end when we invoice, they will not show on your FIRST Washington invoice.  You will have to wait until FIRST opens their regrant window and will have to request a regrant to access those funds. 

      Your Boeing Mentor should have access to the grant through an internal system. 

      Important Dates

      FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 11

      by | Oct 27, 2025 | FTC, Newsletter

      League Meets begin this weekend 

      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