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FRC Reefscape Blog: Volume 2

by | Aug 28, 2024 | FRC

Boeing Grant is Open

If you have a Boeing mentor, you are eligible to receive the Boeing registration grant.  Please have your Boeing mentor reach out internally to find out how to submit for this grant. 

Bunny Bots in Washington and Oregon this Season!

Now entering its fifteenth year, Bunnybots is a centerpiece of Oregon team’s fall.  It gives members a chance to bond and learn essential skills building a fun, whimsical FRC-class robot before FIRST build season starts.

Rules and registration posted September 1. Register below or email dale@yocum.com with any questions. 

OR Registration

Now, for the first time ever, Bunnybots is expanding to Washington thanks to Panther Robotics 3218 of Bonney Lake!

Rules and registration posted September 1. Register below or email Jason_vander_hoek@sumnersd.org with any questions. 

WA Registration

Important Dates

FTC Into the Deep Blog: Volume 3

by | Aug 27, 2024 | FTC

Please register for Kickoff if you plan to attend!

Please fill out this form to register your team if you plan to attend an in person kickoff (There is schedule information about each kickoff on the form).  It’s important to register if you plan to attend so the event host can send you important information regarding your specific kickoff event.   

As of right now, we only have 1 team registered for the Auburn Kickoff event.  If we don’t get more teams registered by this Friday, August 30th, we may cancel that kickoff event and move the registered team to the Bellevue event. 

Register Here

There were some issues with the blog post last week and many of you may have missed the post, please review the big changes to the event structure to ensure you understand what is changing this season and are prepared. 

Big Changes to the Event Structure this Year

If you missed the meeting on May 28 where we discussed the changes to the schedule and event registration process this season, I strongly encourage you to go look at the slide deck and/or view the webinar.  You can find the links on the firstwa webinar page here:  https://firstwa.org/webinars/  

I am going to go over changes at a high level and important/significant dates.  If you have questions after reading this blog please –

  • Check out the May 28 meeting and slides. 
  • Attend our Sept 17 Coaches Chat where we will be talking about these changes again and answering questions.   

What is changing?

  • The event dates have changed. 
  • League Changes:  League Coordinators will now select two dates between October 26 and November 24 to hold their events. 
  • Interleague Changes:  Interleague events will be spread out during the first three weekends of December rather than all being held the same weekend.   
  • Semi Final layer added:  We will now be advancing teams from Interleague events so Semi Final events to give more teams an opportunity to advance. 
  • State:  Will be held the same time as it has been but will have fewer teams than in prior years. 
  • You will now be able to preference into another league. 

On October 1, leagues will be posted (based on teams registered with FIRST Washington by September 27th so it is imperative that you register your teams by then!!). When leagues are posted, you will see all your event play dates up through your Interleague play in December. 

A preferencing window will open from 10-1 to 10-9 where coaches can preference for a different league. Updated league assignments will be posted on 10-11. 

We will go into this process in more detail on our Sept 17 coaches chat but will not be answering email questions prior to that time. 

Goals with the 2024-25 season changes 

  • Give teams and event hosts more flexibility in scheduling. 
  • Decrease the burden on volunteers and volunteer coordinators. 
  • Improve the scalability of advancement within Washington.

I’m sure many of you have questions after reading this.  Be sure to attend our coaches chat on September 17.  You can find the link to that chat here. 

Boeing Grants are Open

If you have a Boeing mentor, you are eligible to receive the Boeing registration grant.  Please have your Boeing mentor reach out internally to find out how to submit for this grant. 

Important Dates & Deadlines

  • 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 

OSPI Update

by | Aug 23, 2024 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FRC, FTC, Newsletter, Programs

Please Note the Date Change:

The Grant Application Opening Date is now officially Wednesday August 28th. Like last year, it will be a single user login.

For context on the Grant Application Opening will be moved back 48 hours (Originally slated to open August 26th)…

Based on your feedback, we were working with our vendor to improve the user experience for this year.

Unfortunately the solution did not work as well in beta as hoped, so we are reverting back to last year’s system for the current year.
The good news is, if you filled out the application last season, you can use the same login information, and the portal will look and function the same as last year.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, we know you are all busy this time of year and are working to make this process simple to respect your time. If you have questions, be sure to attend our informational webinar on September 10th at 7 pm, or send an email to grants@firstwa.org.

OSPI Page
There are no upcoming events at this time.

FTC Into the Deep Blog: Volume 2

by | Aug 22, 2024 | FTC

There is a lot of information in this blog and over the next several weeks, we will be highlighting a lot of changes to the season and schedule in Washington.  It is critical you read the entire blog. 

Please register for Kickoff if you plan to attend!

Please fill out this form to register your team if you plan to attend an in person kickoff (There is schedule information about each kickoff on the form).  It’s important to register if you plan to attend so the event host can send you important information regarding your specific kickoff event.  It is important for you to register using this form even if the kickoff host knows you are attending. 

Register Here

Big Changes to the Event Structure this Year

If you missed the meeting on May 28 where we discussed the changes to the schedule and event registration process this season, I strongly encourage you to go look at the slide deck and/or view the webinar.  You can find the links on the firstwa webinar page here:  https://firstwa.org/webinars/  

I am going to go over changes at a high level and important/significant dates.  If you have questions after reading this blog please 

  • Check out the May 28 meeting and slides 
  • Attend our Sept 17 Coaches Chat where we will be talking about these changes again and answering questions.   

What is changing? 

  • The event dates have changed 
  • League Changes:  League Coordinators will now select two dates between October 26 and November 24 to hold their events 
  • Interleague Changes:  Interleague events will be spread out during the first three weekends of December rather than all being held the same weekend.   
  • Semi Final layer added:  We will now be advancing teams from Interleague events so Semi Final events to give more teams an opportunity to advance 
  • State:  Will be held the same time as it has been but will have fewer teams than in prior years 
  • You will now be able to preference into another league. 

On October 1, leagues will be posted (based on teams registered with FIRST Washington by September 27th so it is imperative that you register your teams by then!!). When leagues are posted, you will see all your event play dates up through your Interleague play in December. 

A preferencing window will open from 10-1 to 10-9 where coaches can preference for a different league. Updated league assignments will be posted on 10-11 

We will go into this process in more detail on our Sept 17 coaches chat but will not be answering email questions prior to that time. 

Goals with the 2024-25 season changes 

  • Give teams and event hosts more flexibility in scheduling 
  • Decrease the burden on volunteers and volunteer coordinators 
  • Improve the scalability of advancement within Washington  

I’m sure many of you have questions after reading this.  Be sure to attend our coaches chat on September 17.  You can find the link to that chat here. 

Coaches Chat – Tuesday, September 17 at 7:00pm

Because of all the changes this year, we will be having our first Coaches Chat a bit earlier than usual this year. I encourage everyone to have at least one adult in attendance as we talk about important changes (both with FIRST and FIRST Washington) and go over the schedule for the season.

Feel free to share this coaches chat link with any adult you would like to attend.

Coaches Chat

Important Dates & Deadlines

  • 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 Submerged Blog: Volume 2

by | Aug 21, 2024 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FLL Explore

Some Season details and Grant information!

Make sure you read the entire blog!

Season Info

Important OSPI Grant Information- For FLL Challenge teams

If you are a Washington State public school or Tribal Compact school, you are eligible for the OSPI grant! 

We have made a lot of improvements to the grant system for the upcoming year and are excited to share them with you! 

  • The grant will open Wednesday, August 28 and close Friday, Sept 20 (remember, late grants will not be accepted so please make sure your grant is submitted by September 20) 
  • We now have one link to the grant for all 3 programs.  Click here to stay updated and find the application link. 
  • There is now the ability to add collaborators so more than one person can have access to the grant. 
  • If you are interested in using the collaborator function, be sure to attend our OSPI meeting on September 10th at 7 pm.  We will be going over how to set this up in detail on this meeting. 
  • Team #’s and payment info will be entered on the application itself, not after the application has been submitted. 
  • To receive funding, teams must be registered both with FIRST Inspires (which means your registration for the current season with FIRST Inspires must be paid or secured with a PO) and FIRST Washington.  

For those who are new to filling out this grant or have questions, we will be holding an information meeting on Tuesday, September 10th at 7 pm.    Feel free to share this link with any adult you are working with as a coach to fill out our OSPI grant.  This meeting is not for students or parents on your team, and we will only be addressing questions that relate to the OSPI grant (If you have questions about your specific program, please attend your program specific coaches chat.) 

FIRST Washington Registration

 

Registration with FIRST Washington is now open for both FLL Explore and FLL Challenge teams!

  • FIRST Washington runs the FIRST LEGO League Explore and Challenge Events in the state of Washington.
  • FIRST Washington charges an additional fee of $50 for Explore and $350 for Challenge to participate in events, and those fees are set and collected by FIRST Washington.

All teams are required to fill out the FIRST Washington team registration form in order to participate. FIRST WA registration will CLOSE September 27th.

Explore Registration
Challenge Registration

Event Dates

 

Festivals for FLL Explore will take place in December and March. Specific dates to be announce soon!

Qualifiers for FLL Challenge will take place the first two weekends in December- 12/7-12/8 and 12/14-12/15. Locations to be announced soon!

Qualifier Registration process for FLL Challenge may be changing! Tune in to the first coaches chat on September 12th to find out more!

 

 

 

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