SEPT 19, 2025 – TOPICS COVERED
Link to HOME EVENT ASSIGNMENTS
Change of Password Required to Access Your Dashboard
Registering for FRC Vs. All other FIRST Programs
Detailed Explanation on the FRC Event Selection Process
Option to Opt Out of Certain Totes
Select a Kickoff While Preferencing
Leftover MDE Funds from the 2024-25 Season Must be Spent by Sept 30
MDE 99h Grant Info Not Available Yet
New Kettering/GMI Alumni Association Grant for Teams

LINK TO HOME EVENT ASSIGNMENTS

Your team is not currently signed up for any events. It’s not automatic, even for your home event.
No payment is due now. You don’t have to pay to register.
If you want your home event, you must sign up for it during round 1 of event sign up. DO NOT PUT ANYTHING ON YOUR LIST EXCEPT YOUR HOME EVENT. You will get it.
Event 1 signup stays open for 1 week starting Thursday, Sept 25 at noon, and closing at noon on Thursday, Oct 2. Then the computer runs and assigns everyone.
Event 2 signup stays open for 1 week starting at noon on Thursday, Oct 16 and closing at noon on Oct 23

CHANGE OF PASSWORD REQUIRED TO LOG INTO YOUR DASHBOARD
To access your account, the system requires you to change your password.
If you get the message“Account cannot be found,” it means you have to go in and change your password
Go to Login page and use the “forgot password” feature.

REGISTERING FOR FRC VS ALL OTHER FIRST PROGRAMS
This email addresses event registration for FRC teams only. FTC and all FLL programs register for events with their local Michigan. FRC teams use their firstinspires.org dashboard to register for events.
Program Directors:
FTC: Tammy@firstinmichigan.org Registration opens on Oct. 1, 2025
FLL Explore and Challenge: Angela@firstinmichigan.org Explore opens on Oct 6, Challenge Oct 8, 2025
FLL Discover: Heidi@firstinmichigan.org

DETAILED EXPLANATION ON FRC EVENT SELECTION PROCESS (CALLED “EVENT PREFERENCING”) Opens Thurs at noon
No FRC teams are registered for ANY events yet, not even their HOME EVENT. Teams sign up for their two events separately, one event through Round 1 and the other through Round 2 Event Preferencing. You are not registered for your home event until you choose it during Round 1.
HOME EVENT INFO
WHAT IS YOUR “HOME EVENT?
It’s the computer-generated event that is geographically closest to you. Troy and WSU had more home teams than we had spots, so several teams were shifted to their second closest event.
You are not automatically registered for your home event.
If you want it, we guarantee you a spot there, but only if you choose it during Round 1.

YOU CANNOT CHANGE YOUR HOME EVENT.
If you don’t want it, just preference a different event.
But remember, if you don’t use it in Round 1, you lose it.
HOW TO REGISTER FOR YOUR HOME EVENT IF YOU WANT IT
Put ONLY your home event on your Round 1 list. You will get it automatically.
If you don’t choose your home event during Round 1, you can still choose that event in Round 2, but you are no longer guaranteed a spot there.

EVENT PREFERENCING SCHEDULE / DATES:
ROUND 1
The one-week window to submit your event choice list opens Thursday, Sept 25 (this Thursday)at noon
It’s open for one week. Submit anytime during the week. Submitting early gives you NO advantage.
The one-week preferencing window closes Thursday, Oct 2 at noon
The computer runs on Friday, Oct 3. All teams that submitted a list will either be registered or waitlisted. Those submitting for their home event will be placed or waitlisted for the home event and then moved in.
You must submit a whole new list for Round 2.
If you want to change the event you got, email me with our request. Be sure to include your team number, what you want to change out of, and what you want to change into.
ROUND 2
The one-week window to submit your Round 2 event choice list is open for one week, Thursday, October 16 at noon to Oct 23 at noon.
Submit anytime during the week. Submitting early gives you NO advantage.
If you want to change either of your events after Round 2, you can do it yourself if the new event has open spots, or you can join the waitlist, or you can contact me.
Remember there are no “home events” for Round 2.

YOU MUST BE “EVENT READY” TO PARTICIPATE IN ROUND 1 OR 2. This means:
Your team profile must be updated
Both Lead 1 and Lead 2 must have:
Passed the Youth Protection Screening and
Acknowledged and submitted the Consent/Release Form in your dashboard

PAY LATER- NO MONEY NEEDED TO REGISTER
Payment is separate from registering. Your payment is not due until Nov 18, 2025 at 5:00 pm
But all MDE funds from last year must be expended by Sept 30! More about that in the MDE section below.

STEPS TO REGISTER / PREFERENCE
Log into the FIRST Dashboard
Go to Event Options
Select View Team Events
Select Add Preference
Select Event(s)
Home Event spot is guaranteed during round 1 only, so put ONLY your home event on the list if you want it.o need to add more if you are choosing your home event.
Select Add Preference
Your first event preference will always default to “Allow Waitlist”. You can change this by selecting a different waitlist event in the drop down menu.
You can preference as many events as you like. (Select the events you would like for your first event – only enter ones you can attend).
You can change the preference level selection anytime until the one-week preference window closes by changing the number in the drop-down menu or by dragging and dropping events into the order you would like.

HOW THE COMPUTER DETERMINES WHO GETS WHAT EVENT
Every team is assigned a lottery number randomly.
For first-event preferencing, the computer runs the lottery starting with lottery number one.
During second-event preferencing, the computer runs in the opposite order with the highest lottery number going first.
Round 1 only: The computer’s first pass is to assign all home events. The computer skips this step in Round 2 since there are no home events in Round 2.
Going down your list
When the computer gets to your team, it looks at your preference list. If your number one event has open spots, you get a spot. If there are no open spots (because it’s full or has all the spots reserved) it moves to your second event and so on down the list until it finds an event with open spots.
If it gets to the end of your list, and isn’t able to find an open spot, then it puts you on the waitlist for either the first event on your list (default), or the one you tell it to waitlist you for.
That’s why we suggest that if you feel strongly about a certain event, put only that event on your list, especially in Round 1. It will force the computer to put you on the waitlist if there isn’t an open spot.
ALL MICHIGAN TEAMS WILL GET TWO EVENTS
All teams will eventually be registered for 2 events, even if it means adding additional events to the roster.
We hold back up to 10 rookie spots at each event initially to be able to give rookies their home events. We don’t know yet where they will be located. What we do know is that we will never use that many rookie spots.
When we have a better feel for how many of the reserved spots we actually need at each event for rookies, we start releasing the spots we won’t need. The spots are then filled in the order of the waitlist.

OPT OUT OPTIONS FOR TOTES TEAMS RECEIVED AT KICKOFF ENDED SEPT 23 AT NOON
All teams will receive a “Season Specifics,” tote regardless of what they “opt out” of below. If you don’t specifically opt out of either tote below, the default is to provide it to you.
DRIVE BASE OPT OUT closed on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 at 12:00pm (noon) Eastern Time
Only Veteran teams could choose not to receive the standard drive base and instead get a $450 Voucher to AndyMark (available when other pre-Kickoff vouchers are released in November).
The drive base kit is designed to allow a team to execute basic elements of 2026 game play and can be assembled by a small team in about six hours or less.
Most teams building a robot that uses “swerve drive” opt out of the drive base
To opt out of the drive base- NOW CLOSED:
Select the “Drive Base Opt Out” from the “Team Options” under the “Parts and Products” drop down.

BLACK TOTE OPT OUT closed on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 at 12:00pm (noon) Eastern Time
This tote was formerly known as the “Everyone Tote.”
Only Veteran teams can choose not to receive the black tote and instead get two vouchers:
$125 AndyMark Voucher
$125 Rev Robotic Voucher

MORE INFO ON THE DRIVE BASE AND BLACK TOTE
See https://www.firstinspires.org/kit-opt-out-opens

SELECT A KICKOFF WHILE IN YOUR DASHBOARD FOR EVENT PREFERENCING
(OPENS September 25, 2025 Noon ET – November 18, 2025 Noon ET)
While in your dashboard, be sure to go to Kit and Kickoff under Event Options to select which kickoff you would like to attend to pick up your kickoff kit. View our Step-by-step Kickoff Instructions with screenshots
Teams that don’t want to attend a kickoff have the option of paying an additional shipping fee (see chart below) to have the kit shipped directly to them. The kit will not be available at kickoff. It will arrive later. The delivery date is not guaranteed.

2025 LEFTOVER MDE GRANT FUNDS MUST BE SPENT BY SEPT 30
If you still have funds left from the State from last season, you must spend them by September 30.
Use what’s left to pay your pending $6,300 registration fee for this season.
Simply go into your dashboard and print a Quote or Proforma Invoice and submit to your school for payment.
If your school won’t accept either of these, call me quickly.

2025-26 MDE GRANT INFO NOT AVAILABLE YET

We are waiting to see if we are in the School Aid Budget this year again
Currently there is no K-12 SCHOOL AID BUDGET
We hope to know something soon

KETTERING TEAM GRANT/SCHOLARSHIP
A new Kettering grant for up to $1,000 has been included on our FRC grants page on the FIRST in Michigan Website.

Best Regards,
Gail Alpert
President, FIRST in Michigan
248-425-4148
gail@firstinmichigan.org