PLAYMAKERS Coach Email Volume 1- 8/20/20 Welcome to PLAYMAKERS! Additional Info!
Greetings Coaches! Welcome to PLAYMAKERS!
If you are new to this email this is the place where you will find all of the Washington specific FIRST LEGO League Explore information. Coaches and team administrators in the FIRST system for the PLAYMAKERS season will be added weekly. Starting this season, every email from me will be numbered. That number lets you know which update it is, if you miss an update you can find it on our website.
I have 5 items for you today:
- PLAYMAKERS Season Launch Video
- Events this Season
- FIRST LEGO League Jr Re-branding
- Season Materials Questions
- Additional Information from FIRST
PLAYMAKERS Season Launch Video!
Check out the season launch video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgppkHC57xM
Events this Season
We will be holding events this season. As of right now, they will be remote only, and will use FIRST’s Remote Event Hub for teams to interact with volunteers and upload information and videos. I do not yet know exactly how this will work for the Explore Festivals, but as soon as I have that information I will pass it on to you. We are also shifting our traditional season of events to start in January at the earliest to allow teams more time. There is a link to more information on the remote event hub in the last section of this email.
FIRST LEGO League Jr Re-branding!
For those who have not noticed yet, in the spring, FIRST LEGO League Jr and FIRST LEGO League were re-branded to be divisions under the FIRST LEGO League program. They will now be called FIRST LEGO League Explore and FIRST LEGO League Challenge! Expo’s will now also be referred to as Festivals! We are trying our best to update our website in a timely manor to keep things as easy to understand as possible!
Season Materials Questions
I have received a few questions around the amount of materials FIRST is sending to teams the year. They have lowered the amount of physical Engineering Notebooks they are sending to teams, but have added the ability to access these materials online through your dashboard. Once you have registered and paid with FIRST, you will have access to a tab labeled Thinkscape, there you will find resources for coaches from FIRST, LEGO Education and other support areas. You can also access the PDF versions of the Engineering notebook, team meeting guide, and an interactive PDF engineering notebook.
Additional Information from FIRST
FIRST has added additional information around the remote event hub that we will be using this season for our remote events, and access to FIRST@Home. There is a very helpful document available on this page around season guidance for COVID interruptions. Both links are provided below.
https://www.firstinspires.org/covid-19
Teams will be allowed to purchase one additional Explore set this season from their dashboard when they register, or after they have registered, starting the end of august while supplies last!
Useful Contacts
- National Team Registration, Youth Protection, Student Registration, Challenge Information: fllexplore@firstinspires.orgor firstinspires.org
- Tournament Registration & Participation, Local Information, Facebook: Jacqueline Grimm, jacqueg@firstwa.org
- Volunteer Questions: Amy Clapham, amyc@firstwa.org
- Booster Accounts: boosters@firstwa.org
- Invoices and Payments: FIRSTWashington Accounting, accounting@firstwa.org
Jacqueline Grimm
Senior Program Coordinator