FTC Season Kickoff Events  l  Game Element Sweepstakes  l  MDE Grant l  Season Registration  l  Key Dates   l  Events  l  REV Driver Hub  l  Remaining Grant Funds  l ESSER Funds and Class Packs

The 2021-2022 FTC season will officially kickoff on Sept. 18, 12:00PM (noon) with the reveal of the season’s new game, FREIGHT FRENZY!

MDE FIRST ROBOTICS STATE GRANT OPENING SOON

The MDE FIRST Robotics state grant has been approved! The grant will likely open for application in late Sept. Funding for public and non-public schools is included! Teams must be officially registered for the 2021-2022 season in order to be eligible for the grant. The grant award will once again have two components – a team grant plus a coach stipend. Stipends are capped at one per building, per program level.

As usual, the school/district’s Level 5 employee (superintendent, principal, finance) applies on behalf of all the FIRST teams in their school/district. Payout is made directly to the school through their monthly school aid payment. Teams work with their school/district to determine a method to draw on those funds i.e. submit receipts for reimbursement. More info soon!

SEASON REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

The 2021-22 FTC season registration is open! Welcome to both our new and returning teams. For those teams re-engaging with FTC after a COVID-induced hiatus year, we’re so happy to have you back on board! Use this handy reference sheet for an overview of all FIRST in Michigan program offerings for both competition teams and Class Packs: FIRST in Michigan Overview of Programs. Visit the FIRST in Michigan FTC RUN A TEAM website page for information on a variety of team-related topics.

Returning Teams (veterans) – Returning teams register with their existing team number. Check the MI Archive FTC Team List (tab 1 & 2) for a list of historical team numbers.

• Annual season registration is holding steady at $275. This is paid to FIRST HQ through your Team Dashboard.
• Take care of “Outstanding Tasks” on your Dashboard i.e. update your Team Profile, electronically sign the season’s FIRST Consent/Release form, make sure your FIRST Youth Protection Screening is up to date, etc.
  • If you get a “Registration is Closed” error message, it’s likely because a field on the Team Profile needs to be updated. To resolve:
    • Click “Pending Tasks”.
    • Check and update the team information and save changes.
    • Contact number for FIRST HQ FTC at (603) 666-3906 with any issues.
• Update team contacts – Remember to have matriculating team contacts invite their replacements before moving programs.
• Sales Tax Exemption Form upload – In the “Team Finance” section of the Dashboard, you can upload your affiliated entity’s Sales Tax Exemption form. Things to note:
  • Make sure it’s less than 4 years old per the date on your entity’s form.
  • Section 1 – Type of Purchase: Put an “X” in “B. Blanket Certificate” box
  • Vendor’s Name & Address – Must be listed as FIRST, 200 Bedford Street, Manchester, NH 03101.
  • Section 2 – Limited to the following: Put an “X” in box 2 and list “Registration fees and STEM materials”
  • Section 3: Put an “X” in box 9.
• Veteran Team Registration Guide – contains screenshots of the process.

New Teams (rookies) – FIRST HQ once again as their FTC Rookie Team Grant available! This grant works with the FIRST in Michigan FTC Rookie Team Grant to 100% cover a newly forming FTC team’s first season registration fee and reusable kit of parts purchase.

• Start the team registration process but DO NOT PAY for anything yet!
• Apply for the FIRST FTC HQ Rookie Team Grant. Apply for this grant using your temporary team number which starts with “2021”.
• Rookie Team Registration Guide – contains screenshots of the process.
• Team Name is a mandatory field when setting up the Team Profile. If your team does not have a name yet, just fill in TBD then update it at a later time.
• FiM FTC Rookie Grant specifics:
  • All past team numbers out of a given school must be registered for the current season before a newly forming team is eligible for the grant.
  • New teams must apply for the FIRST HQ FTC Rookie Team Grant first.
  • Visit the GRANTS page on the FIRST in Michigan FTC website for details.

KEY DATES

• September 18: Official FREIGHT FRENZY season kickoff, kickoff events to be announced!
• November-December: FIRST in Michigan FTC competition season; traditional event rollout anticipated.
• December 18: Projected FiM FTC State Championship date.
• Mid May: Spring FTC season, no advancement component.

2021-22 EVENT ROLL OUT

FIRST in Michigan FTC is anticipating that we will be able to deliver our traditional physical event roll out for the 2021-22 season. If there are teams that can only operate in the remote event format, FiM FTC will organize remote events to support those teams. The timeline for any remote events will be after our traditional format competition season and will likely occur in the January-February timeline.

LEAGUE PLAY

If there are a group of FTC teams in your area interest in implementing league play, reach out to me at tammy@firstinmichigan.org and we can get the discussion going. For example, the South-Central FTC League is forming this season with teams located in Washtenaw, Jackson, Eaton, and Ingham counties. The OCCRA Oakland County Schools League will also be resuming this season.

Review the linked google doc that contains an Overview of FiM FTC League Play (link) to learn more about the structure of league play. The league model was created to allow teams a low risk way to make bold design choices and improve their robot over time through iterative play. The league structure also further strengthens the culture of community and sharing that is intrinsic to FIRST.

Indicate your team’s interest in participating in League play via the FIRST in Michigan FTC League Membership Form. If there are enough interested near area teams and a willing League Organizer, we can take the next steps to get the league up and running! 

EVENT HOSTS

Teams or organizations interested in hosting a 2021-22 FiM FTC official event, please email tammy@firstinmichigan.org with your interest!

REV DRIVER HUB

FIRST FTC has introduced the REV Driver Hub as a legal but not mandatory component for this season. The Driver Hub consolidates the Driver Station phone and related cables into a single robust unit. Teams may continue to use the Driver Station phone for the 2021-22 season if desired.

The REV Driver Hub is available for purchase for $210 (before taxes/shipping) on the FTC Storefront as part of the Control & Communications Set. It is also available for purchase as a standalone unit through REV.

UPDATE – FTC APPS NO LONGER ON GOOGLE PLAY

REMAINING TEAM FUNDS

Teams should connect with their school/district finance person to work a plan on accessing/using any remaining grant funds (MDE grant, sponsor grants, etc.) so that these funds are not absorbed by the school/district.

For MDE grant awarded teams: If you need to reference your team’s previous MDE grant award amounts, which are remit directly to the school as part of their monthly school aid payout, please refer to https://www.techplan.org/edtech-initiatives/rdi/first-robotics/.

On the Techplan link, there are two recipient lists posted, one for public schools and one for non-public schools. The total award amount posted reflects the team grant award plus the coach stipend (if the submitted grant application indicated a stipend award). Payout amounts can be found at this link: 20-21 MDE Grant Funding Breakdown.

Ideas for uses of remaining funds:

• Pay the team’s $275 2021-22 FTC Season Registration Fee
• Purchase the new REV Driver Hub which is part of the Control & Communication Set offered through FTC Storefront. The cost is $210 before taxes/shipping.
• AndyMark FREIGHT FRENZY game elements : $260 partial, $450 full (before shipping). Available for pre-order now.
• FTC Class Pack curriculum can be purchased by teams. Cost is $850 before taxes/shipping and includes a mini game that reflects the current season’s FTC game. Teams do not have to purchase additional robot kits. Curriculum uses the REV build kit (EDU kit) but can be adapted for TETRIX.
• Buy spare and additional parts (batteries, motors, wheels, etc.) Don’t forget that discount codes are available to all teams towards the purchase of TETRIX (through Pitsco) and REV Robotics parts. See the RESOURCES page on this site under “Parts and Vendors” for how to access the vendor discount codes via the FTC Storefront. The Pitsco discount code is already available. REV anticipates their discount code to be available later this summer.
• Reserve funds for 2021-22 team budget items such as event fees, team shirts, future game elements, transportation, etc.
• Purchase gift cards to Pitsco/REV Robotics/AndyMark to buy parts/game elements in the future.

ESSER FUNDS AND FIRST CLASS PACKS

The FTC Class Pack is a great way to give more students the opportunity to discover and develop STEM skills as part of the school day. The FIRST Class Packs meet the ESSER funding criteria (see link) and many middle schools are taking advantage of this influx of money to add FTC Class Pack as a STEM elective class, for example. Then, students take the skills learned in the classroom to the next level as part of the competition team. The Class Pack curriculum is flexible and aligns with MI standards. Class Pack is also well suited for after-school/summer enrichment. See below for info regarding the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Class Pack curriculum samples and alignments.

FIRST in Michigan would love to help you get the ESSER funding conversation ball rolling with your school/district! Reach out to your school administration (Principal, Superintendent, Curriculum Director, Math & Science Director) and we will be happy to join a call and share resources including our handy cross-program “calculator” worksheet to maximize the use of available funding.