Spring Events l May 6th “All Girls” FTC Event l MDE Grant Update l FIRST CMP Advancing Teams l FRC Events
SPRING EVENT REGISTRATION OPENS TUES. MARCH 7, 7AM
FIRST in Michigan (FiM) FTC spring event registration will open on Tuesday, March 7th at 7:00AM. Sorry for the date typo in the eblast notification and thank you to those eagle eyes who let me know so quickly!
Visit the FiM FTC EVENTS website page for spring event dates/locations: https://firstinmichigan.us/FTC/events/. Thank you to our spring event hosts!
- If your team already competed in the fall FiM FTC season, participation in a spring event is optional.
- Spring event registration is done at the local level with FIRST in Michigan FTC via the Google form linked below. This form will open at 7:00AM on Tuesday, March 7th. Please submit ONE (1) form per team.
- The event fee is $100 per team and is remitted directly to the host at the door of the event.
- Spring events will be in the traditional event format. They will include match play, judging, elimination rounds, and awards. If your team feels they need a remote format spring event, please reach out to tammy@firstinmichigan.org.
The May 6th “All Girls” FTC event is considered an off season event and will not include judging. Teams that still need to compete for the first time this season to satisfy grant requirements cannot do so by participating in the “All Girls” spring event.
Event assignment order protocol:
- Teams that are directly affiliated with the host organization.
- Teams that did not compete in the FIRST in Michigan FTC fall season and still need to compete for the first time this season. NOTE: The team’s spring event registration form must be received within the first 24 hours that the form is open. After this time period, forms are processed in date/timestamp order.
- Teams that have repopulated for the 2nd semester i.e. classroom-based teams.
- Remaining spots are open to teams that competed in the fall season that would like to compete again as event capacity allows.
Entries are date/time stamped and each order of assignment category will additionally use these attributes as a factor. Teams must be officially registered for the current season with FIRST HQ and be comprised solely of MI middle school grade team members OR team members who will be in middle school next season.
MAY 6th “ALL GIRLS” FTC COMPETITION
“Girls R GRAYT” FTC spring off-season competition will be held on Saturday, May 6th at Rudolf Steiner High School located at 2230 Pontiac Trl, Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Doors open to teams at 8am. The cost will be $100.00 due at the door.
Teams will play POWERPLAY with the same rules. However, hosts ask that girls operate and work on the robot. Males are welcome but please let the girls shine! The event will include match play and elimination rounds but will not include judging.
Registration for this event is included on the FiM FTC Spring Event Registration Form (link). Teams that still need to compete for the first time this season to satisfy grant requirements cannot fulfill this requirement by participating in the “All Girls” spring event.
MDE 99h GRANT UPDATE
The 99h MDE grant award packet has been sent to the State Superintendent’s office for approval. Once approved, the MDE will notify districts/schools and take the necessary steps to get the awards out to recipients.
It is anticipated that awards for non-public school-affiliated teams will be remitted to the district/school in March. Awards to public school-affiliated teams are anticipated to be remitted to the district/school in April. Please work with your school/district to access this funding. As a reminder, starting this year, the MDE will be providing the full award in a single payment and not incrementally as it was done in the past.
FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP-HOUSTON ADVANCING TEAMS
Recently, FIRST HQ extended FIRST CMP-Houston invitations to three additional FiM FTC teams per the advancement criteria and toggling between our two state events.
These extra spots become available when regions or teams around the world relinquish their allocated FIRST CMP-Houston spots. FIRST HQ manages the distribution of these relinquished spots and reaches out directly to the identified next-in-line teams with the invitation.
Congratulations to our FIM FTC FIRST Championship-Houston advancing teams to date!
11129 Novi Middle School, Novi
16671 Hillside Middle School, Northville
5386 Freeland Middle School/High School, Freeland
7643 Andrew G. Schmidt Middle School, Fenton
14010 Foreign Language Immersion and Cultural Studies, Detroit
10477 Novi Middle School, Novi
14706 Armada Middle School, Armada
FRC EVENTS BEGIN THIS WEEKEND!
FiM FRC competition season gets underway this week! Visit the FiM FRC EVENTS site page for dates and locations: https://firstinmichigan.us/FRC/events/.
A great team trip idea is to visit one of these events and show your FTC team members what’s next for them in high school! They will find their FTC skills 100% applicable and many FRC coaches have commented that students with an FTC background “hit the ground running” as members of an FRC team.
There are FTC event volunteering opportunities as well in a variety of roles. Most FRC roles are best suited for adults. Volunteer sign-up is done through your FIRST Account. It’s fun and a great way to get a behind-the-scenes look at FRC!
