• Event placement is constrained by event capacity.
• A few spots have been reserved at events for new teams that are onboarding for the season.
• Event placement is done with FIRST in Michigan FTC and not with FIRST HQ or with event hosts. Event hosts cannot add/remove teams from events.

• Date of team’s Round 1 event. Do not select event preferences that occur on the same date as the team’s confirmed Round 1 event. League teams should additionally check their confirmed league meets for date overlaps. List of 2024-25 Fall Event Placements (Round 1).
• Refer to the list of open spots by event:  Open Spots by Event (link). League Tournaments will not be listed on the Round 2 form.
• Ranked list of five Round 1 event preferences that work for your team. The more options your team provides, the more likely the team can be placed in a 2nd round event. Providing a limited number of ranked preferences could limit the ability to place the team in a Round 2 event.

Round 2 Event Registration Particulars:

• Participation in a 2nd/3rd qualifier is OPTIONAL.
• Please submit ONE (1) form per team. . Form responses are date and time-stamped upon submission.
• A team’s Round 1 event could chronologically occur after their Round 2 event.
• Round 2 event registration forms are processed in a first come-first served order with event placement limited by event capacity.
• For multiple teams out of the same school/org.: There is no guarantee that multiple teams out of the same school/org. will be able to be placed in the same Round 2 or Round 3 event due to capacity constraints at events.
• A quick submission is recommended. Do not forget to click the “Submit” button at the end of the form.
• Teams that want to increase the likelihood of being placed in a Round 2 event are encouraged to provide at least 5 ranked event preferences.
• If the team provides a limited number of ranked event preferences, and those preferences are at capacity when the team’s form is processed (date/timestamp order), the team WILL NOT BE PLACED in a Round 2 event.
• When a listed Round 2 event reaches capacity, it will be shifted to the WAITLIST. This does not happen automatically so there could be a lag. Teams can select to be waitlisted for an event that is at capacity via the Round 2 form. Selecting a waitlisted event will not result in placement in that event but serves only as an indication to FiM FTC that the team would like to be considered for placement if a spot opens up at that event.
• Historically, event placement from the waitlist does not happen often.

 STATES’ ADVANCEMENT REMINDERS

• The RFP and other grant information for 2024-25 is no longer at techplan.org. It is now hosted on the Michigan.gov site:  https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/financial-management/grants/oset-grants/99h—robotics.
• School personnel who are “Level 5’s” (usually someone in finance, superintendent’s office, or principal) can access the NexSys grant system. This is a single application per school district or school (for those not in a district) submitted on behalf of all of the FIRST teams in that district or school.
  

• SAVE THE DATE: The MDE invites you to join a 90-minute Technical Assistance Webinar. During this session, the MDE will guide you through the application process, you will hear from our approved program providers, and conclude with a Q&A session to address any questions and concerns.

  Note that registration is required to participate in the call. Please share the webinar info with the person filling out the grant for your school/district.

• Eligibility: Teams must be affiliated by an MDE-recognized ISD, district, public or nonpublic school. The team must be registered for the 2024-25 season before the grant closes to be eligible for consideration. Teams must participate in one official FiM FTC qualifier/league tournament/spring event in the 2024-25 season to meet the competition requirement of the grant.
• Grant Payout: Payout of the grant is done by the MDE and usually occurs in March. Awarded grant funds are paid to the team’s fiscal partner i.e. district/school on behalf of the awarded teams in that district/school. Teams should work with their district/school to access the funding. Funding can solely be used by the team to which they were awarded.
• FTC Funding: These are the maximum award amounts. The MDE has applied a blanket percentage reduction to the award payout amounts for the past few years in order to stay within the grant’s funding allocation. This is decided upon by the MDE and not FIRST in Michigan. This decision is not made until after the application closes and the MDE has had a chance to process all the grant applications.