FLL Blog Volume 16

by Jacque Grimm | Dec 13, 2023 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FLL Explore

What a great two weekends of FLL Events! I hope everyone that participated had fun!

Between Eastern and Western Washington, there were 14 FLL Challenge events and 3 FLL Explore events!

I made it to 5 FLL Challenge events over the 2 weekends, and it was great to see the teams excitement!

We aren’t done with events yet! There are 4 FLL Challenge Semifinal and 2 State Championship events coming up in January and February! All these events are in need of volunteers.

In March we have the next round of FLL Explore events with 2, one in Western Washington and one in Eastern Washington.

Awards!

Awards are posted on the website!

Awards List

Semifinal Assignments!!

Semifinal assignments are posted to the far right on the award results sheet. The link is in the button above!

All advancing teams have been assigned to a semifinal event. I tried my best to make sure schools were placed together. If you are unable to attend on the day you were assigned, please fill out the form at this link to request a switch. I will do my best to accomidate, but I can only switch teams out of an event if someone wants to switch into that event. Flexibility on location helps make it easier. Please indicate in the notes why the date does not work for your team.

Semifinal Switch Form

FTC Blog: Volume 16

by Adrienne Collins | Dec 12, 2023 | FTC

FTC Coaches Chat is Tonight at 7:00pm

On this coaches chat, we will be focusing on Interleague Championship information. Here are some of the things we will cover:

High Level Interleague Schedule (Schedule will vary slightly by event)
What the day will look like
Judging
Interleague Rankings

Coaches Chat

Dean’s List Nominations are due Friday, December 15th

We will once again be having a remote Dean’s List event in January. Submissions are due December 15th.

Each team may nominate 2 students for the Dean’s List awards on their dashboard. For more information on requirements for the Dean’s List Award or how to nominate your students, click here.

Interleague Event Dates

We have gone over this in Coaches Chats and posted it in blogs and on our website but I received several questions recently about the Interleauge Events. You can find the dates, locations and which leagues are attending each Interleague on our website here.

Later this week, teams will receive an email from me with some high level information about their event. More details will come after the first of the year.

FLL Blog Volume 15

by Jacque Grimm | Dec 6, 2023 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FLL Explore

Our First weekend of events is over! I hope all the teams attending had a fun time and learned a lot! I had a great time at the events I attended watching the teams and checking out what they coould do!

Weekend 2 is coming up! Who’s excited!

There are 6 events this weekend throughout the state. Check the calendar if you’d like to watch one near you!

Calendar

FIRST LEGO League Participation Rules

There seems to be some confusion around the Participation rules for FIRST LEGO League Challenge. I have posted some highlights below, as well as a link to the entire document. This is readily available on FIRST’s website.

General Participation Rules- Some highlights

Teams, coaches, and other supporters must demonstrate the Core Values in their actions and activities.

All work presented at events is the work of the children on the team.

Competitive team Participation Rules- Some highlights

These additional rules apply to teams competing in qualifying events:

All work presented at an official event is the work of the children on the team.
A competitive team consists of a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of ten (10) children. Proper adult supervision is required as described in the FIRST® Youth Protection Policy.
A team must be registered and fully paid in their national registration system to sign up for official events. Additional regional/local event fees may apply.
All team members attending an event are required to participate in the judging session and be present as a team at the Robot Game matches.

Consequences- Some highlights

FIRST® gives authority to volunteers staffing FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge official events to interpret and implement the Participation Rules, guided by global FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge training materials.

Teams, coaches, and supporters at official events are expected to demonstrate the Core values and Gracious Professionalism®.
- Individuals interfering with, excessively instructing, prompting, or heckling a team or volunteer may be asked to leave.
- Severe infractions of these rules may result in a team’s dismissal from the event. FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge official event volunteers are provided training to identify and respond to these situations (See FIRST® Youth Protection Policy).
Individuals and/or teams who fail to abide by the Participation Rules may be ineligible for awards at a tournament.

Participation Rules

Award Results

Coming Soon to the Website!

Awards results page!

I will send out the link as soon as it is up!

Volunteers Needed!

We are still in need of volunteers for our Semifinal and State Championship Events!

If you are interested, or know someone who is, email Mara Kealey at marak@firstwa.org

Event Locations and dates:

Semifinals

2 Events
January 20-21 Cedar Heights Middle School

2 Events
January 20-21 Ballard High School

Eastern State Championship

January 27th, 2024 in Spokane at EWU

Western State Championship

February 4th, 2024 in Seattle at Amazon

FRC Blog: Volume 13

by Adrienne Collins | Dec 6, 2023 | FRC

Invoices need to be secured by Friday, December 8

Invoices were sent to the contact listed on the PNW FRC registration on November 17th and need to be secured by Friday, December 8th.

For those teams who have already secured their invoices, thank you! If you have not yet secured your invoice, don’t wait until the last minute, secure your PNW FRC registration now! You will not be allowed to pick up your kickoff kit if your registration is not secured (and every team will receive a kickoff kit, even if you opted out of the drive base and black tote)

Next FRC Coaches Chat is scheduled for Thursday, December 14 at 7:00 pm

We will be focusing on what teams need to do to prepare for kickoff during this coaches chat. I expect the meeting to be short which will allow for either more time for all of you to connect with each other on Teams or we can close the meeting down and let you all get back to your families and preparations for the holidays.

To join the meeting click here

Make sure your team is prepared for kickoff!

Kickoff is just around the corner and there are several things you need to do to be sure that you are prepared! I know there has been some confusion because teams can opt out of the black tote and drive base but every team will receive a kickoff kit and needs to plan to pick it up from the kickoff Jan 6.

Here is what you need to do to make sure you are prepared:

Secure your PNW FRC Registration so you can pick up your kickoff kit
If you are attending an event in person: Make sure your students are all registered on your firstinspires dashboard and that their consents have been signed. You will need to bring a copy of your roster to kickoff and include paper consent forms for anyone who has not signed the electronic consent form.
Kit pickup: If you are having someone other than your coach or assistant coach pick up your kickoff kit, you need to fill out a surrogate form. You can find a link to the surrogate form as well as more information on having a surrogate pick up your kit here.

Sign Up to be an FTC Dean’s List Interviewer!

FTC Dean’s List will be remote this year, so you can interview from anywhere. Even if you’re affiliated with a team, you can be an interviewer. We’ll match you with unaffiliated candiddates. All 21+ volunteers are welcome.

Provide your availability here!

FTC Blog: Volume 15

by Adrienne Collins | Dec 5, 2023 | FTC