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FLL Submerged Blog: Volume 17

by | Jan 6, 2025 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FLL Explore

In this weeks Blog-

Western Semifinal and Eastern State Assignments!

 Reminders!

FLL Coaches Chat

Make sure you read the entire blog!

Season Info

Advancement Assignments!!

Sorry for the delay, I needed the two weeks off 🙂

I did my best to keep Saturday Qualifier teams to Saturday and Sunday Qualifier teams to Sunday. A few were moved around due to location and availability. 

FLL Advancement

If you would like to apply to switch your date or location- you can fill out this form. I will do my best to accommodate as many teams as I can, but the only way I can switch a team in is if another wants to move out. It is first come first served, as long as I have a compatible swap. I will not be taking requests through email. If you email me a request I will not reply.

This form will be open until the end of the day Friday 1/10

Semifinal form

 

Please Remember-

ALL teams moving on to the next set of events (Semifinals or State) are required to turn in a printed roster from your FIRST Inspires dashboard and paper copies of any consent forms for students or adults not listed electronically. NO EXCEPTIONS! If you come without one, we will direct you to go find a place to print it and come back. There are not printers on site for you to use. We will not check in your team without it. This is your responsibility!

You also must have ALL student participants listed on your FIRST Inspires roster with either a green check mark, or have paper copies of their consent form signed by a parent or guardian.

The max number of student participants allowed by FIRST on an FLL Challenge team is 10. If you have more than 10 listed, you will not be eligible to win awards or advance. If you did it at the qualifier and no one caught it, I would advise you fix your rosters now 🙂

 

FLL Challenge Coaches Chat

Join us 1/14/25 for the next Coaches Chat!

We will be talking about-

  • Semifinals
  • State
  • Beyond

This will be our last coaches chat of the season! We will be answering robot game questions as long as Head Referee Kevin is in attendance! 

 

There are no upcoming events at this time.

Eastern Washington State

Eastern Washington State is January 18th in Spokane at St. Georges School. Info will be coming out from the event hosts soon. 

Western Washington State

Western Washington State will be February 2nd in Seattle at the Amazon Meeting Center. Teams that advance from the semifinals to state will receive info the following week.

Whats After State?

One team from each state championship will advance to the World Festival in Houston, Texas in April.

Teams will also have the oportunity to advance to one of the FLL open events. This year I have-

Greece- 1 spot

Massachusetts- 2 spots

California- 2 spots

Florida- 2 spots- updated! 1 additional spot!

New Jersey- 3 spots

 

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FLL Submerged Blog: Volume 16

by | Dec 19, 2024 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FLL Explore

In this weeks Blog-

You did it! Now What?

 

 

Make sure you read the entire blog!

Season Info

You did it!!

Congratulations to all the teams that competed this season! 

No matter the outcome, you should be proud of your teams! They worked hard, learned new information and new skills! 

They look to you as coaches and mentors to support them, win or lose, and be a postitive influence in their lives. They could not do it without you! 

Take time to celebrate what they have done, and take some much needed rest over the holidays! 

 

What’s next?

Teams advancing from the Qualifiers in Western Washington head to the semifinals, from Eastern Washington to the Eastern WA state championship. 

Semifinals are January 18th-19th in Seattle and Kent/Covington. Eastern WA state is January 18th in Spokane. 

Look for more details in the coming weeks! 

 

Please Remember-

ALL teams moving on to the next set of events (Semifinals or State) are required to turn in a printed roster from your FIRST Inspires dashboard and paper copies of any consent forms for students or adults not listed electronically. NO EXCEPTIONS. If you come without one, we will direct you to go find a place to print it and come back. There are not printers on site for you to use. We will not check in your team without it. This is your responsibility!

 

Semifinals!

Western Washington Semifinals – January 18th-19th. 

Teams advancing will be assigned to an event and a day just like in the Qualifiers. There is no additional fee. 

In the past, teams that have attended events from Seattle north have gone to Seattle, teams that attended events from Seattle south attended in Kent/Covington. 

If you competed in a Saturday Qualifier, there is a high likelyhodd you will be assigned a Saturday Semifinal, if you competed in a Sunday Qualifier, there is a high likelyhood you will compete in a Sunday Semifinal. 

There will be a schedule coming out, most likely over the Christmas break. I will be including a form similar to the day switch form for the Qualifiers. *Please note- I can only move a team if a team is moving out of the event/day you want to switch into. There are no extra spots available. 

DO NOT email me requests for days/locations for your team. I will not respond. I will only take requests using the form. 

Eastern Washington State

Eastern Washington State is January 18th in Spokane. Info will be coming out from the event hosts soon. 

Western Washington State

Western Washington State will be February 2nd in Seattle. Teams that advance from the semifinals to state will receive info the following week.

Whats After State?

One team from each state championship will advance to the World Festival in Houston, Texas in April.

Teams will also have the oportunity to advance to one of the FLL open events. This year I have-

Greece- 1 spot

Massachusetts- 2 spots

California- 2 spots

Florida- 1 spot

New Jersey- 3 spots

 

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FRC Reefscape Blog: Volume 12 

by | Dec 17, 2024 | FRC, Newsletter

REMINDER: the coaches chat for next Thursday (Dec 19) has been cancelled 

Since our November Coaches meeting got pushed into December, we are cancelling this coaches chat. 

You can view the recording and slides from the 12-5 coaches chat here 

Make sure you are ready for kickoff 

Make sure your PNW FRC Registration is secured before next Friday if you have not yet secured it.  You will not be able to pick up your kickoff kit if your registration is not secured 

  1. Print your team roster to take to your kickoff event 
    • All students and mentors in attendance should be listed on the roster and have their online consent forms signed 
    • If someone has not signed their consent form online, you need to bring a paper copy 
    • If someone is not listed on your roster, you will need to handwrite them on the roster and include a paper consent form 
  2. Who is allowed to pick up your kickoff kit? 
    • Lead 1 or 2 mentor for the team with photo ID  
    • Any mentor on the team over 18 (you may log in to your FIRST Dashboard as proof) with photo ID  
    • The person over 18 that is listed on the Surrogate Kit Pick-up Letter with photo ID 
  3. Surrogate Kit Pick-Up
    • If a team is unable to pick up its Kickoff Kit at the local kickoff selected, an alternate team may be designated to do so. The team unable to attend must be registered to pick up their Kickoff Kit at the local kickoff AND provide FIRST with an authorized surrogate kit pick-up letter, submitted/signed by the lead coach/mentor 1 or 2 or team administrator: 1) Your team number 2) the Kickoff location 3) the name and team number (if applicable) of the surrogate picking up the Kickoff Kit. All surrogate kit pickup letters must be received at FIRST by December 31, 2024. 

Team 360’s 9th Annual Community Strategy Session

Join The Revolution on Sunday, January 6, 2025, at Bellarmine Preparatory School for a day of collaboration and strategic planning. This year, we’ll be strategizing with local FRC teams over the much-anticipated release of the 2025 FIRST Robotics Competition game, Reefscape!

Get ready for a productive session focused on developing strategies and solutions for an exciting season ahead. 

The session will be led by 360 alumni and mentor Jake Dusek, who will guide us through the process and bring invaluable insight to the discussion. 

Time: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM 
Location: Bellarmine Preparatory School 

Don’t Miss Out: 

✅ RSVP Now! Email business@frc360.com to let us know how many people you’re bringing. 
 ✅ Be Prepared: Review the rules, bring your iPad or laptop, and be ready to take notes and share ideas. 
 ✅ Bring a Snack: Share a snack with the group and help keep the energy flowing! 

We look forward to working together and making the 2025 season a success! 

 

Thank YOU for supporting your fellow FIRST Programs!

Thank you to all the FRC teams, students, coaches, mentors and parents who volunteered to support FLL Challenge and FTC competitions this season. Whether you were a Judge, a Referee, a Field Resetter… or maybe a coffee runner for a busy Site Host, attepmting to solve a power outage (yes, this did happen at multiple events!) – Your time and care was an integeral piece to making a memorable experience for our students. 

We could not support all these new teams without YOU! We had 55 FLL Challenge and FTC competitions in Between October – December… And we’ve got 10 more Semifinals and Championship events in the new year.

As we continue to see team growth in FLL and FTC, we try to grow our event volunteer base alongside so all these awesome new teams can have an amazing experience when they get to competitions.

If your team is looking for community outreach initatives, its not too late! Consider signing up to support an FLL Challenge or FTC event near you!

You can always reach out to us if you want more guidence about how to help out. Email Mara Kealey at marak@firstwa.org.

Volunteer Roles Needed: (both programs)

  • Referees
  • Judges
  • Queuers
  • Field Resetters
  • Scorekeepers
How to Register
There are no upcoming events at this time.
There are no upcoming events at this time.

Important Dates

  • December 19:  FRC Coaches Chat This will be cancelled since the Nov coaches chat was pushed into December 
  • January 4:  FRC Kickoff!! (Remember, FIRST Washington registration must be secured to pick up your kit!) 

FTC Into the Deep Blog: Volume 14

by | Dec 12, 2024 | FTC, Newsletter

Reminders to teams participating this weekend 

Coaches should be receiving emails with specifics on your Interleauge event, but I wanted to give some general reminders here:

  • You must bring your team roster and signed consent forms to your Interleague. These are required by FIRST HQ for every event that your team attends. The events will not have the ability to print these for you so you must print them off ahead of time and turn them in when you check in your team.
  • Please bring safety glasses for your students, mentors and spectators. Safety glasses should be worn around the field area as well as in the pits.
  • Bring an extension cord and power strip so your team can tie into the power available in the pit area.
  • Reminder, this is an all day event where judging happens in the morning. You may want to tell spectators come either when matches start or after lunchtime, there won’t be much for them to see in the morning.
  • Please do not arrive early. You will not be allowed to enter the building early even if the weather is bad. Our volunteers are busy getting the event set up and ready for you – they have a very limited window to prep the venue, so please give them the time and space they need! 

Next FTC Coaches Chat, Tuesday, December 17 at 7:00 pm 

Our next coaches chat is scheduled for Tuesday, December 17th at 7:00 pm.  Coaches chats are an opportunity for use to share important information with all of you as well as help you connect with other coaches.  We recommend each team have one coach attend.  Click here for meeting link. 

There are no upcoming events at this time.

Last Call – Dean’s List Nominations are Due December 15th 

We will once again be having remote Dean’s List Interviews in January (More info on the Interview window will be sent to coaches after submissions close in December)

Lead and Alternate Coaches can nominate their students from their firstinspires dashboard until December 15th.

Don’t wait until the last minute, get your nominations in today.

Nomination Guide

After Your Season is Over? Volunteer at Events!

For many of you, your competition season will end after your Interleague event. But that doesn’t need to be the end of your FIRST. A fantastic way to improve your team is to volunteer at an event!

If you are a coach, judging at an event (for any program) can help you understand the judging process and how to direct your students to be stronger in the judging room.

Students can learn a lot from watching other robots and connecting with students from other teams.

We have 3 events after the first of the year. 2 Semi Final events in Maple Valley (Jan 11 & 12) and State in Seattle (Feb 1) Please consider signing up as a volunteer to support those events!

If there is an FLL or FTC event in your school district and your team isn’t already supporting it, please consider mobilizing your team to help out! We understand this time of year is busy, but many of our FLL and FTC hosts depend on fellow FIRST teams to help fulfill volunteer roles.

You can always reach out to us if you want more guidence about how to help out. Email Mara Kealey at marak@firstwa.org.

Volunteer Roles Needed: FTC

  • Judges
  • Scoring Referees
  • Queuers
  • Field Resetters
  • Scorekeepers

Volunteer Roles Needed: FLL

  • Judges
  • Referees
  • Queuers
  • Field Resetters
  • Scorekeepers
How to Register
There are no upcoming events at this time.
There are no upcoming events at this time.

Important Dates & Deadlines

 

FLL Submerged Blog: Volume 15

by | Dec 11, 2024 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FLL Explore

In this weeks Blog-

Events are here! 

One weekend down, one to go!

How to print a roster

Note – For teams competing this weekend and going forward!

Fundraising for Your Team!

Next weeks blog we will talk about Semifinals and State! 

Make sure you read the entire blog!

Season Info

One weekend down one to go!!

Congratulations to the teams that competed last weekend! 

I will be running around this weekend stopping in at events to see what your teams have done! Make sure to celebrate how hard they have worked and how much they learned no mater the outcome.

This day is all about them!

 

How to Print a Roster!

Every season I get questions from coaches right before events asking how to print their roster! A team roster is required at every event you attend.

If your students are not listed on your roster electronically, you still have to turn one in! You need to hand write their names on and attach a paper consent form signed by a parent or guardian for every event you attend.

Paper Consent Forms

Where do I find my roster?

Your team roster is located on your FIRST Inspires dashboard! You must have 2 coaches assigned to your team that have passed FIRST’s YPP (Youth Protection Program) screening to print!

You can folow a step by step here-

How to Print a Roster

For teams competing this weekend and going forward!

For those teams who are competing this weekend and in the future, it may be worthwhile to have your team review the challenge prompt and make sure that the problem it is trying to solve meets the criteria:
“Identify and research a problem that relates to exploring the oceans.”
In other words, it is not sufficient for the problem to simply relate to the ocean; it must relate to exploring the ocean.
There were a significant number of teams that had amazing projects that only related to the ocean, but not Exploring the Ocean.
In previous seasons FIRST has kept the Challenge topic very broad. This year they seem to have narrowed the focus – which was asked for quite a bit over the last few years. 
Challenge Overview

Fundraising for your team

Many of you have booster accounts with us and either have fundraising links set up (through give lively, benevity, etc…)  It is imperative that you make sure your team number gets put on any and all donations we receive whether by check or electronically.  We support over 1000 teams and many of them have booster accounts.  We have No way of knowing a donation from James Smith should go to your team unless they tell us your team number (not your team name or school name or coach name or mentor name or student name or parent name – hopefully you are getting the point) We are a VERY small staff that must do many different tasks to support all teams in the PNW and Washington and when we have to take time to chase down donations, it prevents us from doing other things we need to do to support all of you!   

If your team number is not listed on your donation, you are at risk of those funds not being deposited into your booster account because we just have no way of knowing how to contact the donor or who the funds are for.  Please help us help you by making sure your instructions to your sponsors are clear when it comes to making donations to your FIRST Washington booster account. 

 

 

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