FTC Blog: Volume 22

by Adrienne Collins | May 14, 2024 | FTC

Some big changes are coming to the event structure for the 2024/25 season!

We are excited to share with you the changes coming to the event structure in Washington next season. Do to that, we will be having a coaches chat. I strongly recommend that you have one adult from your team attend this meeting so you will be prepared for the changes moving forward. Meeting info below:

What: FTC Coaches Chat

When: Tuesday, May 28, 7:00 pm

Meeting link: Join the meeting now

Please fill out our end of year survey

We had a great season last year and are so excited with the growth we saw in FTC. This is the time of year where we reflect on last season and figure out how to do even better next season! Your input is very important to that process. Please take a moment to fill out our end of year survey so we can include your feedback as we look ahead to the 2024/25 season. Click here to access the survey

Some big changes are coming to the event structure for the 2024/25 season!

What: FTC Coaches Chat

When: Tuesday, May 28, 7:00 pm

Meeting link: Join the meeting now

Please fill out our end of year survey

FRC Blog: Volume 20

by Adrienne Collins | Mar 19, 2024 | FRC

District Championship Event Briefing TONIGHT

Tune in for our District Championship Briefing tonight March 19th at 7:00 pm.

I recommend any team that believes they may qualify for District Championships have an adult attend this meeting. You can find the meeting link on the calender on firstwa.org or clicking the link below:

DCMP Event Briefing

District Championship Hotel Room Block

We have some exciting news, we have secured hotel rooms at the Hyatt Regency which is very close to the venue.

We suggest that you book ASAP as we cannot access more rooms at this rate once the block fills up.

Visit the link below to reserve:

Hyatt Regency Portland at the Oregon Convention Center

FTC Blog: Volume 21

by Adrienne Collins | Mar 5, 2024 | FTC

End of year OSPI Reports are due March 31

It is time to login and complete your mandatory year-end report for your FTC OSPI grant award!

The person with access to the report will be the one who created the login and submitted the grant application(s). If you are not the primary applicant, please coordinate with the person who does need to submit the report through the grant portal.

You can log in here: https://webportalapp.com/sp/firstwa_ftc

This report will be due Mar 31, 2024, for all FTC schools.

As a reminder, completion of this report is a requirement for eligibility to receive this grant funding in the 2024-25 school year.

Thank you for your support and for your honest feedback while completing the report.

If you have any questions, need help, or feel like you are not able to meet the due date due to extenuating circumstances please contact grants@firstwa.org.

FRC Blog: Volume 19

by Adrienne Collins | Mar 5, 2024 | FRC

Takeaways from Week 1

Remember, once the pits open at 5 pm, no work can be done on the robot at your shop. If you live close to the venue and choose to not load in right at 5, we expect you to be gracious and professional and stop working on your robot until you arrive at the venue.

Safety:

We want everyone to have a fun competition but part of that is doing it safely. Make sure you and your team understand the safety rules. If you need a refresher, you can find the safety manual here
If you are wearing glasses and plan to wear side shields, make sure your prescription glasses are safety rated.
Tie long hair back when working on or around the robot so that it doesn’t get in your way or tangled in the robot
Do not charge your batteries at the venue overnight (Even if there is no generator and the pits are powered) It is a safety issue.

We are working to have a quiet room at each event but are struggling this season. For events that have a quiet room, here are some safety things you need to remember:

Two adults should staff the quiet room so there is never a situation where there is 1 adult and one student in the room together.
The quiet room may not be open at all times (and we don’t necessarily have keys to the facility to lock in when it is not in use) When the quiet room is unattended, no students should be in the quiet room. Coaches please make sure your students understand this. We did have reports last weekend of unattended students in the quiet room and will have to discontinue having it this season if we can’t get them staffed appropriately.

Event Pages

I have heard reports that there are some issues with some of the schedules on firstinspires.org. The best place to get event information is from the event page on firstwa.org.

You can find event information below –

Upcoming Competitions

District Championship Event Briefing

We will be having out District Championship Briefing on Tuesday, March 19 at 7:00 pm. I recommend any team that believes they may qualify for District Championships have an adult attend this meeting. You can find the meeting link on the calender on firstwa.org or clicking the link below:

DCMP Event Briefing

District Championship Hotel Room Block

We have some exciting news, we have secured hotel rooms at the Crown Plaza which is very close to the venue. Rooms in the robotics block will cost 159/night AND the hotel will provide a free breakfast for up to 4 people per room! To access this block, follow this link: First Robotics 2024

Remind Your Team to Volunteer!

To see what roles are available at what events, volunteers need to login to their FIRST dashboard (or create one if they’re new). If they can apply for it, that means it’s open!

Volunteer Availability:

Oregon State Fair – some spots available
Auburn – some spots available
SunDome – many spots available!
Bonney Lake – many spots available!
Wilsonville – some spots available
Sammamish

Please remind students that all volunteer hours can go towards National Honor Society volunteer requirements and many other volunteer requirements.

Specifically for adult volunteers, our greatest need is for Judges at Oregon State Fair and SunDome.

Consider signing up to volunteer, or helping recruit local volunteers! Remember, you cannot Judge at an event if you’re affiliated with a competing team, or you are younger than 20 years old.

Questions about available roles? Email Mara at Marak@firstwa.org to learn more!

FLL Blog Volume 20

by Jacque Grimm | Feb 20, 2024 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FLL Explore

FLL Blog Volume 20

Important!

For Public and Tribal Compact Schools with

FLL Challenge Teams!

You should have received this email-

Hello!

If you are receiving this email, it is because your school/ FLL team was a recipient of on OSPI grant award in the 2023-24 school year.

It is time for all FLL OSPI grant award recipients to submit their required year-end report through the grant portal. These mandatory reports are due February 29, 2024. Failure to meet the report deadline will result in a loss of eligibility for OSPI funding next season.

To ensure that your school/ team is eligible for this funding next year please coordinate with the person who submitted the grant application this year to get this report submitted by the February 29th deadline!

Please feel free to reach out with any questions that you may have to grants@firstwa.org and we appreciate your time and effort in assisting with this!

Please reach out to your administrator at your school that handles grants to get this sent in asap!

Thank you!!

FLL Explore World Festival Lottery!

I had 4 teams apply to attend World Festival for FLL Explore. After the drawing-

Congratulations team 23521 Little LEGO Tekineer Krew!

FLL Challenge Open Invitationals!

Results for the 4 Open Invitational

spots are below!

I stated in the last blog that the sign ups were open to award winning teams from the Eastern and Western Washington State Championships, and unfortunately I had two teams that did not win awards at state that applied along with 7 award winners. The results by event are below!