Time to QUACK it up at Qualifiers!

We hope you're all as excited as we are to return to in-person competitions again after over a year apart! 

Safety - yours and ours - starts NOW before you compete

• Monitor your students' health - send anyone home that feels sick
• Get tested if you or your team may have been exposed
• Mask up at meetings
• Wash your hands often
• Disinfect your workspace
• Follow your school's contact tracing protocol
• Don't allow any students/mentors/spectators to attend events that are under quarantine, feel sick or have tested positive within a few days of the event
• From the FIRST website: "FIRST believes that the best path toward ending the COVID-19 pandemic—and having a successful season—is through vaccination. We strongly recommend everyone who is eligible and has access to a vaccine consult with their physician and get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible."
• Arizona FIRST Tech Challenge Mitigation Plan was sent to all coaches with your invoices. Please remember to read it, share it with team members & parents, have both coaches sign it, and submit it to us before your first event.

Please do your part to help KEEP our season in-person!

Qualifier Payment Due December 3

Communication is key - please let us know the status of your payment before this deadline. A PO request is fine by this deadline, but if we don't hear from you, your team may be dropped from your events.

Don't forget:

• Your team must have your season registration paid with FIRST AND have two coaches cleared through the youth protection screening prior to competing. 
• The scoring system actually will not allow us to add your team unless this criteria is met! 
• Questions? Contact Patti or Susan. 

Portfolio vs Notebook - what's the difference? 

• Notebook: The record of your entire season, kept electronically or as a hard copy in the pits. Judges may ask to see your notebook in judging or in follow-up interviews in the pits. 
• Portfolio: A concise record of your team's accomplishments, not to exceed 15 pages. The portfolio will be uploaded to the FTC Scoring System by the Tuesday prior to your tournament so judges can review your materials prior to your interview on tournament day. If your portfolio exceeds 15 pages, judges will STOP READING after page 15. 
• Please read Game Manual Part 1  Chapter 9 for details on what is required for your portfolio to be considered for judging. NEARLY ALL JUDGED AWARDS REQUIRE an engineering portfolio to be submitted in order for a team to be considered. 

Submitting Judging Materials

• Control Award Form - fill this out, upload it to the scoring system, and print to give to judges during your interview. 
• Teams will be added to the FTC Scoring system for their events. This is where you can upload your Portfolio and Control Award form. 
• Please contact Patti with questions about the scoring system. 
• PDF Tips - Getting your engineering portfolio sized to upload

  As your Engineering Portfolios get more elaborate and detailed throughout the season, you may run into a size issue. Keep in mind that the size limit for uploads through the scoring system is 15 Mb. If your team is receiving an error message about file size when you try to upload your judging materials, try these helpful tips from teams.

Who's playing at my event? 

• You can see a list of teams registered for each event HERE. This is also listed on the right side of the Blog. 
• Official event results can be viewed here on the official FTC page. 

Packing List

• TEAM ROSTER showing all students have had a parent sign the online FIRST Consent form or paper consent forms for any students unable to do it online. CLICK HERE for instructions on the Youth Registration System or download the consent forms in ENGLISH - SPANISH
• MASKS and SAFETY GLASSES for all your students, mentors, and spectators. We will not be able to loan safety glasses safely due to the pandemic. 
• Closed-toed shoes and long hair tied back is required in the pits and on the field. 
• Your robot!
• Alliance markers for red and blue 
• Team numbers attached to bot
• Spare robot batteries and charger
• Robot controllers
• Programming computer, charger, and programs backed up on a flash drive
• Box or small cart to move the robot from the pits to the field
• Do a pre-event inspection for both software and hardware before arriving. Inspection sheets are in Game Manual Part 2 in the appendix. 
• Engineering Portfolio and Notebook
• Power supply and extension cord
• Pit decorations or displays - please contact tournament director for information on size of pit
• Team swag and spirit items
• Scouting plan
• Team spirit and Gracious Professionalism! 

Dean's List - Interview Event

The FIRST Dean's List honors student leaders on each team who exemplify the values of FIRST, have made a positive impact on their team and in the community, and show technical expertise. Each team many nominate up to two 10th or 11th grade students. Nominees become Dean's List Semifinalists. A panel of judges will interview each nominee and select our Finalists to be considered at World Championship. 

This year, all Dean's List interviews will take place remotely on February 1-3, 2022 in the afternoon/evening. Dean's List nominations are due by January 15, 2022 to be considered. No late nominations will be accepted.  For more information on the Dean's List criteria and how to nominate your sophomore and junior leaders for the FIRST Dean's List, click here. 

Advancement

We are excited to plan a large, in-person Arizona Championship again! The Championship will take place on February 19, 2022 at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. 42-44 teams will advance to the Championship through the qualifying tournaments. 1 team per 4 playing an event will advance via the advancement criteria listed in Game Manual Part 1 in Chapter 6.