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FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 5

by | Sep 15, 2025 | FTC, Newsletter

Get registered with FIRST and FIRST Washington ASAP!

Register Now! 

You must be registered with FIRST and FIRST Washington to be placed in your home league. 

As of Monday morning, we have: 

  • 112 teams registered with FIRST 
  • 81 teams registered with FIRST Washington 

Last season, 181 teams participated. That means less than half of you are currently fully registered. 

Register with FIRST Washington here:
 FTC Washington Registration Form 

Register with FIRST (national): 
 From your firstinspires.org dashboard. Note: you will need to pay your registration fee when registering with FIRST. 

You do not need to pay at the time of registration with FIRST Washington—we will invoice teams the first week of October. 

Bonus: The FIRST Washington registration form also gives you access to grants that reduce your registration cost. 

Help us help you—register today so we can get league assignments out on time! 

 

Check Your Registration Status 

Not sure if you are registered? Check here:
 FTC Team Status 

Please note: this report is updated manually every morning and may take up to 24 hours to reflect new registrations.

FTC Event Schedule 

You can find League Events, League Tournaments (formerly Interleagues), and Super Qualifiers (formerly Semi-Finals) here: 
 FTC Competition Info 

Important notes on leagues: 

  • Home League assignments will be posted no later than Wednesday, October 1. 
  • The entire event track (league, tournament, and super qualifier) will be posted at that time. 
  • Teams from the same school will be in the same home league. 
  • The League Preferencing Window will open Oct 1–Oct 8. 
  • Final league assignments will be posted by October 10. 
  • If you have multiple teams, we cannot guarantee all will remain together if you preference into a different league. 

FTC Coaches Chat 

📅 Thursday, September 18 @ 7:00 pm 

At least one adult from your team should attend. Topics include: 

  • Key deadlines 
  • Dates for leagues, tournaments, semi-finals, and state 
  • How league registration works 
  • How to move to a different league 

To log into the meeting click here  Feel free to forward this link to any adult on your team that you would like to attend. 

 

Important Dates & Deadlines

  • 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 

FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 4

by | Sep 2, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

Event schedule is posted on firstinspires.org 

    Make sure you are event ready so you can preference later this month 

    At the beginning of every season, coaches need to log onto their dashboard to update their consent and other acknowledgements.  Make sure you do that early so you don’t get held up when the FIRST Preferencing window opens later this month. 

     

     

      Events are posted on firstinspires.org

       

      To make it easier, here is the event schedule for 2026: 

      Week 1       
      3/5/2026  3/7/2026  Oregon State Fairgrounds 
      3/6/2026  3/8/2026  Bonney Lake 
      Week 2       
      3/13/2026  3/15/2026  Wilsonville 
      3/13/2026  3/15/2026  Glacier Peak 
      Week 3       
      3/19/2026  3/21/2026  SunDome 
      3/20/2026  3/22/2026  Sammamish 
      Week 4       
      3/26/2026  3/28/2026  Clackamas Academy 
      3/27/2026  3/29/2026  Auburn 
      Week 6       
      4/8/2026  4/11/2026  DCMP, Cheney, WA 

      FRC Coaches Chat 

      Our first FRC coaches chat of the season is schedule for Tuesday, Sept 30 at 7:00 pm.  Please make sure to have one adult attend this meeting.  Here is what we will be discussing (at a high level) on this meeting: 

      • How to preference for events (and when/how you know what event you were placed in to) 
      • Important dates and deadlines for the season 

      To attend this meeting click here 

      BunnyBot rules have been posted!

       

      For those teams planning to participate in BunnyBots, you can find the rules here:  https://www.frc3218.org/bunnybots  If you have any questions, reach out to Jason Vander Hoek jason_vander_hoek@sumnersd.org

      Important Dates

      FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 4

      by | Sep 2, 2025 | FTC, Newsletter

      FTC Kickoff is this weekend! 

      For those of you who have registered for a kickoff, have a great time!  Attending a kickoff in person is so important and helpful to teams (in my opinion).  It is a great start to the season and is something I think all teams should do if they get the chance. 

      For those of you who are watching remotely, you can find the link to the kickoff video here:  https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/ftc  The link should be live at 9 am on Saturday, Sept 6th! 

       

      FTC Coaches Chat

      Our first FTC coaches chat of the season will be on Thursday, September 18 at 7:00 pm.  Please make sure you have one adult attend this meeting.  Here is a high level overview of what some of the things we will be covering on this first meeting of the season:

      • Important deadlines
      • Dates for Leagues, League Tournaments, Semi Finals and State (high level)
      • Home League Registration – what that means
      • How to move to a different league

      To log into the meeting click here  Feel free to forward this link to any adult on your team that you would like to attend.

      You will need to be registered with FIRST and FIRSTWA to be placed in a home league 

      Currently we have 78 teams registered FIRST and 53 registered with FIRST Washington. 

      FIRST Washington registration is open.  Please take a moment to register if your team plans to participate this year.   

      This form also gives you access to the FIRST Washington Registration grants that are used to lower your registration. 

      Registration form link:  https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/aa05160be9cb49ec94f3b61b272443a1   

      Register your team with firstinspires.  You can do this from your dashboard on firstinspires.org.   

       

      Important Dates & Deadlines

      • 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 

      FRC REBUILT Blog: Volume 3

      by | Aug 26, 2025 | FRC, Newsletter

      Block Party has been cancelled

        If you are planning to attend an off season event, register now before more events are cancelled due to low attendance! 

         

        Off-Season Event Registration  

        Looking for a fun way to have new members experience an event, try out a new mechanism, or network with other teams? Register to attend an off-season event this fall! 

        Off-season events are hosted and run by individual FRC teams, not FIRST Washington. This means each event’s participation requirement(s), fees, and timelines may vary. All events will utilize the Reefscape game. 

        Block Party hosted by Team 2910 – Sept 6 & 7 – event cancelled due to low registration numbers 

         

        Oregon Girls’ Generation / FIRST Chance hosted by Team 1425 – Oct 4 & 5 

        Oregon Girls’ Gen is a girl-focused event, run as a one-day competition. Oregon FIRST Chance is a one-day event for all students and aimed at providing an opportunity for students new to FRC to attend a pre-season event.

        Location: Wilsonville High School in Wilsonville, OR

        Registration information coming soon!

        For questions, contact Tom Sommerville Jr at tom.sommerville@gmail.com

         

        Uplift Challenge hosted by Teams 4125 and 8532 – Oct 10 & 11 

        Save the date for the Uplift Challenge! This off-season event is open to teams in schools of 500 students and below. Teams in small schools have unique challenges and strengths. This is a chance for us to come together, share ideas, learn about new resources- and of course, have an-off season competition.

        Location: Umatilla, OR

        Fee: $100

        Register for Uplift Challenge

        For questions, contact Heidi Sipe at sipeh@umatillasd.org

         

        2025 Bordie Blast: Bordie at Sea hosted by Team 2412 – Oct 11 & 12 

        Load-in Friday Oct 10th

        Location: Sammamish High School in Bellevue, WA

        Fee: $300 (additional $100 for a second robot if space permits)

        Register for Bordie at Sea

        Volunteer sign-up form

        Event Website

        For questions, contact Kim Herzog at HerzogK@bsd405.org

         

        Washington Girls’ Generation hosted by Team 2046 – Oct 18 & 19

        The goal for Girls’ Generation is to provide an inclusive experience for underrepresented communities in STEM. In that spirit, we welcome all to participate.

        Optional load-in Friday Oct 17th

        Location: Tahoma Senior High School in Maple Valley, WA

        Fee: $300

        Register for WA Girls’ Gen

        Volunteer sign-up form

        Event Website

        For questions, contact Darren Collins at dcollins@tahomasd.us

         

        StormSurge hosted by Teams 2811 and 9567 – Oct 25

        Location: Skyview High School in Vancouver, WA

        Fee: $250 (one robot), $350 (two robots)

        Register for StormSurge

        For questions, contact Luke Glassett at lukeglassett@gmail.com

         

        Annual Bunnybots OR and WA 

        2nd Annual Bunnybots WA- hosted by team 3218

        • Location: Bonney Lake HS
        • Contest date: Dec 20th, 7:30 am – 5:00 pm
        • 1-day contest
        • load in 7:30-9:30
        • 1st matches at 10 am
        • email jason_vander_hoek@sumnersd.org 
        This will be a new robot, built with recycled parts.
        contest rules based on typical FRC rules
        Rules released Sept 1. https://www.frc3218.org/bunnybots

        Annual Bunnybots OR

        • Contest date: Dec 13th
        Both contests will cost $150 per bot. and have room for about 20 bots.
        Here is footage from last year’s game

         

          PNW FRC Registration is open! 

          PNW FRC registration is open.  For those of you who have already registered, THANK YOU!!  For those who haven’t, please take a moment to register if your team plans to participate this year.  For FRC teams, this is the best way for us to know you plan to participate prior to when team preferencing ends the beginning of October. 

          This form also gives you access to the FIRST Washington Registration grants that are used to lower your registration. 

          Just a reminder that the District Championship fees have been decoupled from the season registration fees so the season registration fee is now $11,800.  Teams that qualify for District Championship will be charged an additional $4000.  We hope to have some funding available to defray the District Championship registration grants. 

          Registration form link:  https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/3913797ab2d24190ae51da675f49b3b5  

          Important Dates

          FTC DECODE Blog: Volume 3

          by | Aug 26, 2025 | FTC, Newsletter

          Register now if you plan to attend a kickoff! 

          FTC Kickoff is 12 days away! 

          Are hosts are working hard to give you a great experience, how can you help by registering for a kickoff so our hosts know you are coming!   

          Auburn High School- Due to low attendance (only 3 teams registered), this event may be cancelled.  We will make the decision Friday morning based on registrations through Thursday.

          711 E Main St. Auburn, WA 98002 

          • 8:30 am: Doors open 
          • 9:00 am: Game reveal with Q&A and workshops to follow 
          • 12:30 pm: Event ends 

            

          BrickCon 2025!

          Meydenbauer Center 11100 NE 6th St. Bellevue, WA 98004 

          • 8:30 am: Doors open 
          • 9:00 am: Game reveal with Q&A and workshops to follow 
          • 12:00 pm: Event ends 

            

          Kennewick High School

          560 W Sixth Ave, Kennewick, WA 99336 *new location* 

          • 8:30 am: Doors open 
          • 8:30-9:00 am: Ice Breaker/Games to get to know the teams 
          • 9:00 am: Game reveal with Q&A and brainstorming sessions 

            

          Saint Martin’s University

          5000 Abbey Way SE Lacey, WA 98503 *new location* 

          • 8:30 am: Doors open 
          • 9:00 am: Game reveal with Q&A and brainstorming sessions to follow 
          • 12:00 pm: Event ends 

            

          Ridgeline High School

          20150 E. Country Vista Dr. Liberty Lake, WA 98019 

          • 8:30 am: Doors open 
          • 9:00 am: Game reveal 
          • 10:00 am: Field reveal, rules Q&A 
          • 10:30 am: Workshops 
          • 12:00 pm: Event ends 

           

          Click here to register for a kickoff.  We are looking forward to another great season!  

          Register your team with FIRST and FIRST Washington now! 

          FIRST Washington registration is open.  Please take a moment to register if your team plans to participate this year.   

          This form also gives you access to the FIRST Washington Registration grants that are used to lower your registration. 

          Registration form link:  https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/aa05160be9cb49ec94f3b61b272443a1   

          Register your team with firstinspires.  You can do this from your dashboard on firstinspires.org.   

          Important Dates & Deadlines

          • 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