On November 12, FIRST® partner Tallo is hosting a free virtual college fair specifically for FIRST students. We will introduce you to colleges who are looking for FIRST students because on your teams you have learned the skills and gained the necessary experience to be successful in the future. We’re using a new app, Ping by Tallo, to match you with colleges based on how your interests and preferences align with theirs. It’s a fast and easy way to learn about new schools who have great programs, choose who you want to connect with, and email their representatives a connection request. Sign up today! Choose the "FIRST Fair" when you sign up.
Youth Team Member Registration - Required this season
All youth team members are required to complete registration this season. If your students have already signed the consent form previously, they will need to complete the updated version (which has language specific for this season). Instructions for completing youth registration can be found here.
Registration Now Open for Arizona FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifiers!
Arizona Teams can now register for their qualifying events. The registration form asks you to select three weeks that your team wants to compete in December, January, February and March. We will use your selections to assign your team to three remote events. Teams will have the option to switch from a remote event to an in-person event as conditions allow and as the events get closer. Teams will also be asked to let us know what type of field you will use for a remote event and who will be your official scorekeeper and referee for remote events.
Teams can also now apply for registration relief grants from the CocoNuts. These grants will be awarded to teams based on need every two weeks until their pool of money is depleted. The first date they will be selecting recipients is October 22, and teams who apply by that date will be notified the following week.
The tournament registration fee for each team is $200, which allows teams three qualifier plays. Payment is due in December. Invoices will be sent to teams indicating any grant money and the event selections.
DON'T FORGET! Kickoff workshops are still available on the Blog for teams to view throughout the season!
Registration Now Open for Arizona FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifiers!
Arizona Teams can now register for their qualifying events. The registration form asks you to select three weeks that your team wants to compete in December, January, February and March. We will use your selections to assign your team to three remote events. Teams will have the option to switch from a remote event to an in-person event as conditions allow and as the events get closer. Teams will also be asked to let us know what type of field you will use for a remote event and who will be your official scorekeeper and referee for remote events.
Teams can also now apply for registration relief grants from the CocoNuts. These grants will be awarded to teams based on need every two weeks until their pool of money is depleted. The first date they will be selecting recipients is October 22, and teams who apply by that date will be notified the following week.
The tournament registration fee for each team is $200, which allows teams three qualifier plays. Payment is due in December. Invoices will be sent to teams indicating any grant money and the event selections.
DON'T FORGET! Kickoff workshops are still available on the Blog for teams to view throughout the season!
We're super excited to Kickoff the 2020-2021 Arizona FIRST Tech Challenge Season with you all! Where ever you may be - gather together how ever you can - virtually or in person - to celebrate! This season may be a bit different than what we're used to but our commitment to offering you the best possible program remains as strong as ever.
On behalf of the Planning Committee, volunteers & CocoNuts.... GO TEAMS!
Share your excitement on social media using:
@FTCTeams (FIRST Tech Challenge)
#FIRSTFFC (FIRST Force for Change)
#ULTIMATEGOAL (new game!)
@AZ_FTC (Arizona FIRST Tech Challenge)
@cocorobo (CocoNuts)
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Scroll down to view workshop and Kickoff Videos
8:00 AM: AZ Season Information with Dave and Christine (Prerecorded - run time: 31 min)
9:00 AM: Official ULTIMATE GOAL Kickoff - video provided by FIRST
10:00 AM: Workshops available
11:00 AM: Arizona Statewide Locations open to see the field
Coaches: please check your email for your appointment time
Ultimate Goal Field Virtual Walk-Through & Q&A with Rich & Robert
1:00 PM: Control System Q&A with head FTAs Zach and Lexxi
4:00 PM: Coaches Meet & Greet "Happy Hour" - Q&A with Dave and Christine
5:00 PM: Mechanical Design and Strategy live Q&A with Matt
Professional Development Hours for Attending Kickoff!- Teachers may receive continuing education hours from NAU's Center for Science Teaching and Learning for watching Kickoff workshops! To receive your certificate, CLICK HERE and complete the survey by Friday, September 18.
Get ready for the 2020/2021 Game ULTIMATE GOAL! Kickoff may look a little different this year, but we're still ready to celebrate the start of another amazing season of FIRST Tech Challenge in Arizona with you!
IMPORTANT: Please only fill out this form once per team. This form MUST be completed to receive a 2020 game piece.
WORKSHOPS:
We have an incredible lineup of workshops for your offered by teams and members of the Arizona Planning Committee. These workshops will be prerecorded and made available to teams via the Blog and on the CocoNuts YouTube channel. The tentative list includes:
Season Information - Dave and Christine
Mechanical Design
Safety - traditional and remote formats
Judging
Dean's List
Fundraising
ULTIMATE GOAL Game Essentials
Communication Dynamics
Sensors
Engineering Design Process
Imagery and Branding for FIRST Teams
How to Run your Team Remotely
Control System 101
Why Doesn't My Robot Work?!?
Season Updates for 2020 Control System
GitHub Jiu-Jitsu: Mastering the Art of the Push
Advocate for FIRST
How to Pre-Inspect your Robot
In additon to the prerecorded content, we will offer a handful of LIVE Q&A sessions via Zoom. The schedule will be announced prior to Kickoff, and sessions will include:
Arizona Coaches & Mentors - Meet & Greet & Q&A - with Dave & Christine
Control System Q&A - with Zach, Lexxi, and CocoNuts
ULTIMATE GOAL Field Tour - with Head Refs Rich and Robert
MEET THE FIELD FOR THE FIRST TIME:
One of the best parts of Kickoff is getting to see, touch and experience the field in person. This year we will be setting up the ULTIMATE GOAL field at various locations statewide. Teams can sign up for a time and location to bring a small group from your team to see the field and pick up your game element (1 per team, purchased by the CocoNuts with love :). If your team is unable to travel to a field location, please indicate that on the survey along with a good address for us to mail your game element to. We will be following recommended guidelines for safety, including:
Masks are required for all mentors and students coming to see the field
Teams may bring no more than 10 people total (students and mentors)
Social distancing must be observed
Please help us disinfect the field between groups!
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
8:30 AM: AZ Season Information with Dave and Christine
IMPORTANT: Please only fill out this form once per team. This form MUST be completed to receive a 2020 game piece.
Arconic Grants - Deadline is September 4!
We’re excited to announce the 2020-21 Arconic FoundationFIRST®Tech Challenge team grant program. This $1,000 grant is available to rookie and veteranFIRSTTech Challenge teams in key Arconic operations locations within a 50-mile radius of CHANDLER, AZ!
The Arconic FoundationFIRSTTech Challenge team grant does not require an Arconic employee mentor/coach. The grant application will close Friday, September 4, 2020. DON'T WAIT - APPLY NOW!
Register your Team - Enter the Kickoff Sweepstakes
Register your team by Septebmer 10 for your chance to be entered into the FIRST Tech Challenge Kickoff Sweepstakes! Four winning teams will receive a 2020-2021 ULTIMATE GOAL partial game set and scoring elements!
Ken Johnson, Director of FIRST Tech Challenge, describes the Remote event format:
KICKOFF- September 12!
We look forward to Kickoff every year, and we know you love coming together with us to celebrate the start of a new season. While we can't have everyone under the same roof this year, we are planning a Kickoff event that will provide teams with valuable information, workshops, and the opportunity to see the field in person while still maintaining social-distancing requirements. The key elements of this year's Kickoff will be:
Pre-recorded workshops provided by our Planning Committee and teams
Live Q & A sessions with the Partners, Head Referees, Lead Judge Advisors, and FTAs via video chat
AND...4 statewide locations for teams to come and see the new field in person! Teams will also each receive one game element for the new season, courtesy of the CocoNuts!
Whether your team can gather together in person, or has to be together while apart, Kickoff will be an exciting learning experience for all! Stay tuned for the schedule, the list of workshops, locations to see the field, and how to sign up for your field-viewing time slot.
Leveraging FIRST® to Boost Your Career
Companies seek FIRST talent! It’s more important than ever to know how to leverage your FIRST experience in the workforce.
Join us on July 28 at 4 p.m. Eastern Time for an interactive discussion, featuring key FIRST Supporters BAE Systems, BOSCH, and Rockwell Automation, on turning your FIRST skills into career success. Whether you’re in school, searching for your first job, or have years of experience under your belt, learn about the recruiting priorities at top companies, as well as guidance to best leverage your FIRST skills. Register today!
Professional Development Opportunities for FIRST Tech Challenge Coaches
We have several opportunities for you to learn and earn professional development hours coming up. Northern Arizona University: Wednesday, July 29, 3PM - FIRST in Class & FIRST @ Home: Find out more about the Class Pack option for schools, which offers in-class learning through FIRST, available for grades PreK - 12. Learn more about the resources on the FIRST @ Home page to offer to students learning at home. Wednesday, July 29, 4:30 PM - Arizona Robotics Listening Session: We want to hear from you - what's worked connecting with your students, what is the current state of your school or district, what can we do to support you this season. For more information, see the flyer. To Register, click here. Sessions are free, and PD certificates are available from NAU by request. University of Iowa: Offered virtually through the University of Iowa (the program delivery organization for FTC in Iowa), this series of workshops is available to all North America coaches and mentors, and will be offered all five Saturdays in August. Two times will be offered for each workshop: 8:00AM - 12:45PM OR 1:30PM - 5:00 PM (all times are Central time, 2 hours ahead of Arizona) August 1: New/Rookie Coaches (ideal for those who received Jump Start grants or coaches who still feel like rookies!) August 8: Judging and the Engineering Notebook August 15: Fundraising and Outreach August 22: Building and Programming Resources August 29: The Other Stuff For more information or to register, visit their website. Team Registration Now Open Registration is now open for FIRST Lego League and FIRST Tech Challenge teams for the 2020/2021 season! Go to www.firstinspires.org and log in to your dashboard to register your team for next season. Class Packs New this season, FIRST is offering in-classroom options for FIRST Lego League (grades PreK-8) and FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 7-12). Class packs include materials for students and teachers, curriculum resources, and what you need to run an in-school event. Visit the FIRST educator resources page to find out about all that FIRST offers for schools, including professional development opportunities. The school formats are great options for schools wanting to incorporate STEM education into the regular school day, or schools that may not be able to offer after-school activities or field trips this year due to continuing restrictions because of COVID-19.
SAVE THE DATE! ARIZONA FIRST TECH CHALLENGE KICKOFF IS SEPTEMBER 12!!!
A MESSAGE FROM DAVE AND CHRISTINE ABOUT THE NEW SEASON:
Happy Summer to everyone! We know this continues to be a time of uncertainty and unpredictability for us all, especially as we begin to look to reopening schools and resuming activities across Arizona. Please know that our commitment to providing a high quality experience in FIRST Tech Challenge continues to be unwavering, and that the safety of all our teams, coaches, mentors, and volunteers is our top priority.
While we are still waiting for additional guidance from FIRST about what remote events will look like, please know that we committed to offering the opportunity for teams to participate no matter what reopening phase your school is in, be it full virtual or "business as usual." There WILLbe FIRST Tech Challenge in Arizona this year!!!!
Please remember that we are here for you and your teams, along with the rest of our Arizona Planning Committee. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us with questions. While we don't have all the answers yet (just like everything right now!) we will communicate to you as soon as we have information to share. Please read the message from FIRST that was sent to teams recently about events this season, check out the teaser for ULTIMATE GOAL and the other information below, and know we continue to be your biggest fans! GO TEAMS!!!
From the June 18 FIRST Tech Challenge Team Blast:
"The 2020 - 2021 season presents some unique challenges with social distancing rules likely to still be in effect in many areas. As a result, regions around the world will have the option to hold Traditional FIRST Tech Challenge events or Remote events depending on the conditions in their area.
Remote events allow teams to compete independently using half-sized fields and no alliance partner or opposing alliance to respect social distancing. These events also include remote judging across the same awards as Traditional events.
Remote events will allow for transition to Traditional events as social distancing restrictions are relaxed. Both formats can also be followed throughout the season with advancement all the way to FIRST® Championship.
FIRST®Program Delivery Partners (PDP) run local and regional events which may include physical, remote, or a combination of physical and remote elements. Your PDP may charge an additional fee to participate in their events, and those fees are set and collected by the PDP. Team Registration does not guarantee that events are available in your area. If you cannot locate an event in our system, please contact your local program delivery partner."
ULTIMATE GOAL - FIRST Tech Challenge 2020/2021 Season Teaser! Get excited about the upcoming FIRST Season by checking out the Game Changers theme reveal and the FIRST Tech Challenge Teaser for this year's game "ULTIMATE GOAL!" Mark your calendars for the 2020/2021 Season Kickoff September 12! Check out the information on the new season here!
Team Registration Now Open Registration is now open for FIRST Lego League and FIRST Tech Challenge teams for the 2020/2021 season! Go to www.firstinspires.org and log in to your dashboard to register your team for next season. Class Packs New this season, FIRST is offering in-classroom options for FIRST Lego League (grades PreK-8) and FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 7-12). Class packs include materials for students and teachers, curriculum resources, and what you need to run an in-school event. Visit the FIRST educator resources page to find out about all that FIRST offers for schools, including professional development opportunities. The school formats are great options for schools wanting to incorporate STEM education into the regular school day, or schools that may not be able to offer after-school activities or field trips this year due to continuing restrictions because of COVID-19. 2020 Arizona FIRST Tech Challenge Recap Video Congrats to all the teams who competed in this year's FIRST Rise Season! The CocoNuts created this short recap video of the 2019/2020 Arizona FIRST Tech Challenge season to celebrate YOU - we hope you enjoy it!
Congrats to the Class of 2020! Congrats to all our 2020 graduating seniors! We know this isn't the end to your high school career you were expecting, but we're so proud of everything you've accomplished. Congrats to these seniors and to all our seniors on every FIRST team in Arizona and beyond! Good luck to you all in all your new endeavors.
AndyMark's Robot Relief Program Is your team struggling financially due to COVID-19? AndyMark is offering $500 gift certificates to FIRST Tech Challenge teams that need financial help to compete this year due to loss of funding. Donations can also be made to the Robot Relief fund to help support teams in need. See the Robot Relief page for details on the program, to donate to the fund, or to apply for funding. FIRST Lego League Global Innovation Award The amazing accomplishments of these young innovators was celebrated at the Global Innovation Award show on June 27. What a great way to share what FIRST is all about with potential students, schools, sponsors, or volunteers interested in getting involved! Congrats also to team Fidgety Pokemon from Arizona on being a finalist for the Global Innovation Award! Check it out here!
