09.21.23 Team Eblast

Event Status Form, due 9/24  l  99h State Grant Webinar 9/26  l    Fall Event Registration Season Registration  l  Coach Goal Tracker  l  Express Youth Team Enrollment  l  Team Roster  l  Kickoff Thank You & CENTERSTAGE Materials  l  Discount Codes  l  Season Registration  l  Resources

ACTION ITEM: EVENT STATUS FORM; DUE SUN., 9/24

All teams – Please fill out the form linked below by Sunday, Sept. 24. The information captured on this form will assist FiM FTC with the season’s fall and spring event planning and Round 1 home event pre-assignments.

Only teams that are registered for the 2023-24 season or that have submitted this form sharing their registration status, will be included on the Round 1 Home Event Pre-assignment List.

The form additionally includes a team support survey that will capture info on where teams can find support in their area across a variety of FTC related topics.

FORM LINK: EVENT STATUS & TEAM SUPPORT SURVEY Form

SAVE THE DATE! 99h GRANT WEBINAR 9/26, 2:30pm; PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED

The 99h State Grant Technical Assistance Webinar conducted by the MDE will be Tuesday, Sept. 26th at 2:30pm. It will be accessible through Zoom and interested attendees MUST pre-register for the webinar at this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItcOurpz4rHdBtV7BcXO_sxgF2FAZVpkU8#/registration.

This pre-registration is a new procedure for the MDE. An email confirmation will be sent after you register that contains the call access info.

Please share the webinar information with your district/school Level 5 person and/or the person with access to the MDE’s NexSys system filling out the grant application on behalf of the team(s) in your district/school.

Per the MDE, the webinar will be recorded and posted on techplan.org by the close of business 9/29.
A reminder that teams on the 99h state grant application for their school/district must be registered for the 2023-24 FIRST season in order to be eligible for awards.
FALL EVENT REGISTRATION

Visit the FiM FTC EVENTS site page for the fall list of competitions. League meets will be added to the list as soon as they are set. All fall events will follow the traditional (physical) event rollout.

Unlike the high school FRC program, event registration for FTC/FLLC/FLLE is done at the local level with FIRST in Michigan. A synopsis is below of the FiM FTC event 1st round registration process. Details of the entire event registration process (1st round, 2nd round, advancement, etc.) can be found on the https://firstinmichigan.us/FTC/event-registration/ site page.

Teams must be registered with FIRST HQ (reg fee paid) for the 2023-24 season in order to be placed in events.

Click the “+” sign to expand the toggle boxes.

Home Event Pre-assignment - posted by Sept 26

  • Teams will be pre-assigned to their nearest “home” event based on travel distance parameters and event capacity.
    • A team must be registered for the 2023-24 season or have shared their registration status via the EVENT STATUS & TEAM SUPPORT SURVEY form in order to be included on the Home Event Pre-assignment list.
  • The list of pre-assignments will be eblasted to the Team Administrator and Lead Coach/Mentor 1 and 2 for each team and posted on the FiM FTC EVENTS site page.
  • For some events, the number of area teams could exceed the number of available event slots so event pre-assignment will be made to the next closest event and so on, as space allowed.
  • League teams (OCCRA, South-Central, Metro Detroit leagues) will be pre-assigned to their affiliated League Tournament as their home event.

Round 1 Event Registration - Opens 7am on Oct. 3 (anticipated)

  • The 1st round event registration Google form will be emailed via team eblast to the Team Administrator and Lead Coach/Mentor 1 and 2 for each team. The Round 1 Event Registration form is also linked on the FiM FTC EVENTS site page: https://firstinmichigan.us/FTC/events/.
  • The form will open for submissions at 7:00AM on the stipulated date.
  • ONE 1st round event registration form should be submitted per team.
  • Form responses are date and time stamped upon submission.
  • A team will have a choice to either “keep” their pre-assigned home event spot OR choose to “opt out” and provide at least 5 alternative ranked 1st round event preferences via the “change” option. A form is required from each team regardless of the choice.
  • For multiple teams out of the same school/org. that want to be placed in the same event: Opting to “keep” your team’s Home Event Pre-assignment is the only choice that guarantees that this occurs due to capacity constraints at events.
  • Opt out (Change Home Event) submissions are processed in a date/timestamp order after Home Event opt-ins (Keep Home Event) are processed.  Quick submissions are recommended!
  • If choosing to “change” your team’s 1st round event from the event the team was pre-assigned, be prepared to provide up to 5 ranked alternative preferences. Note that these are preferences and not a guarantee that your team will be placed in one of their preferred alternative events.
  • If a team chooses to “change” their pre-assigned home event and the team’s provided ranked preference(s) are full when the form is processed, the team will get placed in their home event by default.
  • League teams will automatically be placed in their respective FTC League Tournament event for the 1st round event registration. Those teams should choose to “keep” their pre-assigned league tournament event.
  • Note that the Google form list of events for “changes” might not resolve well on small screens i.e. phones, as that section is long/wide.
  • You will be able to choose to be emailed your form responses at the end of the form. You must choose this option for it to occur. Some email handlers do not handle this feature well.
  • Reminder that FTC teams do not see their confirmed event placements on their Team Dashboard. Confirmed event placements will be posted on the MI FTC Team List.

NEW COACH RESOURCE: GOAL TRACKER

Check out the new FIRST HQ FTC Coach resource!

Coach’s Goal Tracker – https://www.firstinspires.org/sites/default/files/uploads/resource_library/ftc/coachs-goal-tracker.pdf

Other FTC team management resources can be found at this link: https://www.firstinspires.org/node/5226.

EXPRESS ENROLLMENT PATH FOR YOUTH TEAM MEMBERS IS LIVE!

The FIRST HQ Express Enrollment path is fully operational! The application is built for parents and guardians to quickly register youth participants in a few simple steps through mobile and desktop web browsers.

FIRST lead coaches and mentors with completed FIRST Youth Protection Screenings can generate web links or QR codes in the FIRST Dashboard to share with parents and guardians of their youth participants, granting access to the application.

To access the team roster and Express Enrollment application, two team lead coaches/mentors need to have completed and passed the FIRST Youth Protection Screening.

Learn more and view support resources on the Youth Registration System Walkthrough page.

IDEA: Hold a parent/guardian “Register Your Team Member” themed team meeting. Have a mobile and/or desktop web browser device or two on hand to aid those with access challenges in completing the team member registration process.

TEAM ROSTER FOR EVENTS

A key team deliverable when preparing for competition is to have a fully populated FIRST HQ Dashboard produced Team Roster. The FIRST HQ Team Roster also indicates whether the team coaches and team members have a signed FIRST HQ Consent/Release form on file with FIRST HQ.

Reminder that the FIRST HQ Consent/Release (C/R) form is the ONLY C/R form needed this season. The separate FiM C/R SmartWaiver C/R form will no longer be used. HURRAY!

All team coaches and team members attending a FiM FTC event (league meet/tournament, qualifier) must be listed on the Dashboard produced Team Roster and the roster must indicate that the person has an electronically signed FIRST HQ Consent/Release form on file with FIRST HQ (green light circle with a checkmark). The FIRST HQ C/R form is electronically signed as part of the FIRST Account creation process (adults) or the Youth Team Member Registration process (either through the traditional or Express Enrollment path).

The Team Roster is used as part of the team “check-in” process for events and is a required deliverable sent to the Event Coordinator, the Monday before the event, for each event where the team is participating. More details on sending the roster will be shared as we approach competitions.

Note: Teams must have established a Lead Coach/Mentor 1 AND Lead Coach/Mentor 2, both FIRST Youth Protection background screened (initiated through their FIRST Account), before the Team Dashboard Roster can be accessed through the Team Dashboard.

How to access and print a Team Roster:

  • Log in to your Team Dashboard by signing into your FIRST Account at https://www.firstinspires.org/.
  • Under Team Contacts/Roster, click “Print Roster.”
KICKOFF THANK YOU AND CENTERSTAGE GAME ELEMENTS & RESOURCES

Thank you to our 16 FTC Kickoff Event Hosts for helping us launch the CENTERSTAGE season! Your support is MUCH appreciated by all!!

Teams can order a partial or full set of CENTERSTAGE game elements either through the FTC Storefront (full and partial sets) or directly from AndyMark, an official FIRST vendor. Great use for any remaining 2022-23 season funding!

CENTERSTAGE game information and resources can be found on the FIRST FTC HQ site: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/ftc/game-and-season.

Game Manual 1 and 2 are must-reads for all teams!

REV AND TETRIX DISCOUNT CODES FOR TEAMS

REV and Pitsco (TETRIX) both offer a discount code for a percentage off select products for registered FTC teams.

Be sure to check the FTC Legal/Illegal Parts List and the Game Manuals when sourcing parts!

REGISTERING FOR THE SEASON

Team registration for the 2023-24 season is open! The $295 season registration fee can be paid via the FTC Storefront accessible from the Team Dashboard through firstinspires.org.

It is key to register your team right away so that enough events are planned in support. Teams must be fully registered for the current season in order to register for FiM FTC competitions.

New Teams

New Teams (rookies) – FIRST HQ will once again have their FTC Rookie Team Grant available which will open in early June! 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.

Visit the START A ROOKIE TEAM site page for the steps to get your new team rolling and maximize available grants!

  • Reminder: DO NOT PAY for anything through the FTC Storefront until the FIRST HQ opens for application AND a grant award decision has been received.
  • All veterans out of the same school who were past grant recipients must be registered for the current season before a newly forming team can be eligible for the FIRST HQ and/or FiM FTC Rookie Team Grant.

Returning Teams

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.

  • Take care of “Outstanding Tasks” on your Dashboard
    • Update the Team Profile, update team contacts as needed, Lead Coach/Mentor 1 and 2 must electronically sign the season’s FIRST Consent/Release form and check that their FIRST Youth Protection Screening is up to date.
    • Instruct any departing team contacts (Team Admin, Lead Coach/Mentor 1 and 2) to invite their replacements.
  • Veteran Team Registration Guide – contains screenshots of the process.

Dormant Teams

If you were the Team Administrator and/or Lead Coach/Mentor 1 of a team that has been dormant but wants to register for the season and you don’t see your team on your FIRST Account Dashboard anymore, email firsttechchallenge@firstinspires.org and ask them to reactivate your team. Copy me at tammy@firstinmichigan.org. Include your team number in the subject line of the email.

If a dormant team’s past Team Administrator and Lead Coach/Mentor 1 are no longer with the organization and you would like the team to be reactivated, email me at tammy@firstinmichigan.org and I can assist. Please include your team number in the subject line of the email.

Reminder that teams that have been the recipient of the FiM FTC Rookie Team Grant are expected to keep the team number and reusable robot kit of parts in play. Grant sponsors view these funds as seed money for a new team. Team members and coaches may move through the program but the FTC team number and robot kit of parts stay with the affiliated school/501c3 organization for reuse year to year. Otherwise, grant funds and/or the robot kit of parts in their entirety must be returned to FIRST in Michigan.

If your team has been dormant for more than 3 years, the team could be eligible for a veteran “gear up” grant to cover the cost of the REV Control Hub and REV Driver Hub. Reach out to tammy@firstinmichigan.org to learn more.

RESOURCES