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FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 9

by | Oct 14, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

Second round of preferencing opens at 9 am Thursday 

    To preference for your second event, both coaches must have passed youth protection screening and signed consents so if you were able to preference during the first round (which all of you were!) Do not change coaches unless your new coach is through screening.   

    A few things to note about your second round of preferencing: 

    • Teams are no longer guaranteed their home event.  If you did not pick your home event during the first round of preferencing, you are no longer guaranteed space at that event. 
    • Just like the first round of preferencing, the window will close next Thursday at 9 am.  You can pick your preferences any time during that window.  I recommend that you make sure you have entered your preferences by Wednesday evening. 

      Next FRC Coaches Chat, 7 PM Thursday, October 23 

      Our next coaches chat is scheduled next Thursday, October 24 at 7:00 pm.  Please make sure to have one coach attend if possible. 

      Click here for the meeting link. 

      Important Dates

      FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 9

      by | Oct 13, 2025 | FTC, Newsletter

      Coaches Chat this Thursday (10-16) at 7:00 pm 

      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

      • 10-16:  FTC Coaches Chat 
      • 11-1:  League Events Start 
      • 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 

       

      FLL UNEARTHED Blog: Volume 7

      by | Oct 7, 2025 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FLL Explore, Newsletter

      In this weeks Blog-

      Registration info!

      Invoices

      Are you Registered?

      Reminder From Finance

      Make sure you read the entire blog!

      Season Info

      Registration Info!

      Reminder- Registration in Washington is a 2 step process! 

      1. Register your team with FIRST Inspires (Team registration fee, Challenge set, Robot- if needed)

      Right now we only have 584 Challenge teams registered and paid with FIRST Inspires.

      2. Register your team with FIRST Washington (Event participation fee- $350)

      Right now we only have 479 Challenge teams registered with FIRST Washington.

      458 Challenge teams have completed both registrations! You guys are doing great! 

      Both of these registrations are required to participate in Washington for both Explore and Challenge. If you plan to participate in FLL Challenge events this season, please make sure both of these registrations are completed asap! 

      Registration and information-

      Challenge– https://firstwa.org/challenge-registration/

      Explore– https://firstwa.org/explore-registration/

       

      Are you registered?

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

      FLL Challenge?

      ↓↓↓↓↓↓

      Click Here to Check!

      FLL Explore?

      ↓↓↓↓↓↓

      Click Here to Check!

      Invoices

      Invoices for the FIRST Washington FLL Challenge ($350) and FLL Explore ($50) have started to go out.

      The first round of FLL Challenge invoices went out on Friday, the first round of FLL Explore invoices should go out this week.

      They will be emailed out to the person you listed on your FIRST Washington registration under “person who should receive FIRST Washington invoice”

      Invoices are sent out once a week, and payments are updated daily. Check the link above to see your teams status. We have also included the date your invoices were sent- if you are unable to find it and you have a date it was sent, please check any spam or junk folders for an email from ‘accounting@firstwa.org’

      Thanks for your patience!

      A 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

      • Open Now – FIRST Washington Registration
      • 10/3 – Invoices begin go out
      • 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 8

      by | Oct 6, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

      Kickoff registration is open!

        All teams need to either register for an in person kickoff or select to be a my site.  Here are a few things to note: 

        • FIRST is asking for teams to enter a shipping address even if they are registering for an in person kickoff.   This is in case something needs to be shipped to teams after kickoff. 
        • If you select MySite, your kickoff kit will not ship to you until after kickoff which means any game piece, etc won’t be received by your team until a week or so after kickoff.  Additionally, there is a charge to have your kit shipped to you.  That charge will be included on your registration invoice. 

          Link to last weeks FRC Coaches Chat 

          If you missed last week’s coaches chat, you can view the slides and recording here:  https://firstwa.org/webinars/  

          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

            FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 8

            by | Oct 6, 2025 | FTC, Newsletter

            FTC League Preferencing Window will close 10-8 

            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:   

            League 

            League Tournament 

            Super Qualifier 

            Agnesi 

            Curie 

            Asimov 

            Bardeen 

            Feynman 

            Asimov 

            Brattain 

            Tesla 

            Capek 

            Giblett 

            Watt 

            Asimov 

            Hopper 

            Curie 

            Asimov 

            Knuth 

            Pasteur 

            Capek 

            Lamarr 

            Feynman 

            Asimov 

            Lovelace 

            Watt 

            Asimov 

            Maxwell 

            Hawking 

            Capek 

            Noddack 

            Wu 

            Asimov 

            Ritchie 

            Pasteur 

            Capek 

            Salk 

            Wu 

            Asimov 

            Spencer 

            Tesla 

            Capek 

            Turing 

            Hawking 

            Capek 

            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 
            • 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

            • 10-16:  FTC Coaches Chat 
            • 11-1:  League Events Start 
            • 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 

             

            FLL UNEARTHED Blog: Volume 6

            by | Sep 30, 2025 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FLL Explore, Newsletter

            In this weeks Blog-

            Registration info!

            Invoices

            Event Info

            Coaches Chat Recording

            Make sure you read the entire blog!

            Season Info

            Registration Info!- closes end of September!

            Reminder- Registration in Washington is a 2 step process! 

            1. Register your team with FIRST Inspires (Team registration fee, Challenge set, Robot- if needed)

            Right now we only have 522 as of 9/24 Challenge teams registered and paid with FIRST Inspires.

            2. Register your team with FIRST Washington (Event participation fee- $350)

            Right now we only have 389 Challenge teams registered with FIRST Washington.

            Only 351 Challenge teams have completed both registrations! That means only 351 teams are ready to attend an event this season! Last season we had 482 that participated!

            Both of these registrations are required to participate in Washington for both Explore and Challenge. Please register asap!

            Registration and information-

            Challenge– https://firstwa.org/challenge-registration/

            Explore– https://firstwa.org/explore-registration/

             

            Are you registered?

            If you have recently registered with FIRST Inspires (after 9/24) this will not reflect that. FIRST Inspires report we use to verify registration has been down since 9/24. They hope to have it fixed soon! 

            FLL Challenge?

            ↓↓↓↓↓↓

            Click Here to Check!

            FLL Explore?

            ↓↓↓↓↓↓

            Click Here to Check!

            Invoices

            Invoices for the FIRST Washington FLL Challenge ($350) and FLL Explore ($50) fees go out in early October. They will be emailed out to the person you listed on your FIRST Washington registration under “person who should receive FIRST Washington invoice”

            Thanks for your patience!

            Event Info

            FLL Challenge- 

            Overview-

            • Teams are assigned events based on location.
            • Once a team has paid their FIRST Washington fee and they have been assigned an event, if they would like to change events there will be an opt out form to fill out to request another event.
            • Teams will then be placed on a waitlist and moved into that event after all teams have been placed or after a certain date, whichever comes first, if there is still space.
            • If there is not space in the event they chose, they may move back into their original event, space permitting, or be assigned to an event with available space.

             

            Challenge Registration- Details- Make sure you read!

            • Teams will no longer be filling out a registration survey- YAY
            • Teams will still need to be paid to see their placement- invoices will go out soon to those that filled out the FIRST Washington registration. If you did not fill it out, you will not receive an invoice and will not be placed or able to participate until you do.
            • Teams will be assigned a home venue/event that is within 50 miles
            • The 50 miles is point to point distance, not driving distance
            • This is based on Venue Zipcode and Team Zipcode
            • Teams have the ability to opt out of their home event using the opt out form and go on a waitlist. Teams may only ask to opt out by filling out the form- no email communication will be accepted.
            • Waitlist teams are not guaranteed a spot in the event they choose, or a spot in the event they opted out of.
            • Waitlist teams are placed on a first come first served basis in the event they choose if there is available space, and will be notified after the placement window closes if there is space in the event they chose.
            • If there is not space- they can move back to their home event, space permitting, or move into an event with available space, but there is no guarantee an event with available space will be within 50 miles
            • Teams requesting to change the day of the week only and not the venue they are competing at will have a seperate form to fill out. Make sure you pay attention to which form you need! 

            FLL Explore- 

            Overview-

            • Teams fill out an event registration form
            • You can choose 2 event preferences from a list. Please make sure both locations and dates work for you! 
            • Once teams have-
              • Registered with FIRST
              • Registered with FIRST Washington
              • Paid the FIRST Washington invoice ($50)
              • Filled out the event registration
            • Teams will be placed in one of their 2 event preferences.
            • Events are in December and March, teams may choose 1.

            Event Venues

            I am still in the process of getting all the event venues secured. As soon as I have a schedule I will get it out to you all! 

            FLL Coaches Chat

            To view the recording and slides from last weeks coaches chat click here

            Important Dates & Deadlines

            • Open Now – FIRST Washington Registration
            • Early October – Invoices go out
            • 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