15 Days till Arizona's 1st Qualifier!

Qualifier Reminders

Thank you for your patience as we assigned teams to events - it was like a HUGE game of Sudoku. Important: If your team hasn't received an invoice for your tournaments, please contact Patti!

As we approach our first qualifier, please remember these important deadlines: 

• December 3: Qualifier payment deadline (see your invoice for instructions)
• Your team must be registered and paid with FIRST and have two adult coaches cleared through the Youth Protection Program by the time your team competes for the first time. Click here for instructions.
• Rookie Grants: Deadline extended to November 9! If you're a rookie team or you're adding a new team, be sure to apply by this deadline. 

Resources to Help Prepare for your Qualifiers

• UPDATED Game Manual Part 2: Be sure to read the updated rules!
• Alliance Shipping Hub Updates: Read this blog for more on scoring!
• Team Guide for Scoring System: Judging portfolios will be uploaded here
• FTC Team Webinars: see the FTC Blog for a list 
• FREE College Fair for FIRST Students

FREE STEM Fair! 

FIRST Tech Challenge Teams are invited to come and showcase your robot at an upcoming STEM Fair in Flagstaff! This event is student-run and organized. If you're interested, please contact Oscar. Students and families are also invited to attend. 

 

Halloween = almost time to compete...SCARY!

Qualifying Tournament Registration Update

Thank you for your patience as we worked through registration. Invoices will be sent out this week to teams whose events are confirmed. We need to follow up with a handful of teams before sending your invoices: 

• Any teams that registered for High Country will need to select a different event. We didn't have enough interest for this event to make. Space available is posted to the right in the Blog. 
• Teams interested in competing in December are encouraged to compete at the Dec. 18 Palo Verde event in Tucson. 
• Any teams that requested an event after it was full and their alternate was on the same date as another event pick or full. 
• If you fall into any of the above categories, Patti will be reaching out to you or you can contact her directly. 

ROOKIE GRANTS close this Monday November 1! CLICK HERE TO APPLY

AZ Qualifying Tournament Payment is due December 3. Teams need to submit payment or proof of purchase order by this date or risk being dropped from their events. 

Qualifier Registration Grants are still available. The next review date is November 3. Please apply using this link if your team needs help paying for your qualifiers. 

Game Manual Part 2 has been updated! Please be sure to download the latest version from the FIRST website. 

STAY TUNED for information coming soon on scrimmage opportunities and the team list for each event. GO TEAMS!

Qualifier Capacity & Registration Update

 Arizona Qualifiers - Event Capacity and Registration Update 

After 12 days of registration, we have 41 teams signed up! These are the trends we're seeing so far: 

• Events with fewer than 3 available spots: 
• Saguaro Blossom (Dec. 11)
• Desert Vista (Feb. 5)
• Events with 5-10 available spots:
• Petrified Wood (Jan. 29)
  
• Turquoise (Jan. 29)
• Events with more than 10 available spots: 
• Cactus Wren (Nov. 20)
• High Country (Dec. 4)
• Palo Verde (Dec. 18)
• Copper (Jan. 22)

NOTE: High Country (Flagstaff) and Palo Verde (Tucson) do not currently have enough registered teams to be official events with a minimum of 12 teams. Additional teams need to register for these events for them to "make." If your team is planning to compete in these events, please register ASAP. If your team is interested in changing your registration to compete in Flagstaff or Tucson, please contact Patti. 

The most up-to-date tournament capacities can be seen on the right side of the blog. As we confirm teams for events, we will update the tournament list so you can see which teams you're playing with. 

***We will send invoices next week to teams that have registered so that we have time to consider different options for the events that are small and assign teams to events. Thank you for your patience. 

Registration for qualifiers will close on November 3 at noon. Teams will be able to register for 2-3 events and an alternate all on the same form. Cost for the season is $225 for two qualifiers and $300 for three. 

Register for your qualifiers by clicking HERE!

Arizona Qualifier Registration Grants

The CocoNuts will be offering partial registration grants again this year! Grants that are approved will appear as a reduction in registration cost for qualifying tournaments. The 'Nuts will be reviewing grant applications on October 19 and November 4. To apply, click here. 

Free Resource for FTC Teams - FIRST Canada Sim

The FIRST Canada FTC SIM graciously supported by CanCode is a free online virtual robotics software designed for teachers, coaches, students, and team members to learn the basics of programming in FTC Blocks in a simulated FIRST Tech Challenge Blocks programming environment. Whether or not you have access to your physical robot at this time, your team members or students in your class can begin learning how to code an FTC robot in this simulator.  Start with the basics and move your way up through increasingly difficult challenges!  

Qualifier Registration & Grants

 

Arizona Qualifiers - Schedule and Registration! 

Registration for qualifiers will close on November 3 at noon! Teams will be able to register for 2-3 events and an alternate all on the same form. Cost for the season is $225 for two qualifiers and $300 for three. Starting the week of October 11, teams will receive a confirmation email with an invoice for the season. 

After the first week of registration, some events are already approaching capacity! Don't wait to register! 

• Nov. 20, 2021: Cactus Wren Qualifier 
• Gilbert Christian High School (Gilbert)
• Capacity = 28 teams
• Dec. 4, 2021: High Country Qualifier
• Coconino High School (Flagstaff - TENTATIVE)
• Capacity = 20 teams
• Dec. 11, 2021: Saguaro Blossom Qualifier
• Cactus High School (Glendale)
• Capacity = 24 teams
• Dec. 18, 2021: Palo Verde Qualifier
• San Miguel High School (Tucson)
• Capacity = 20 teams
• Jan. 22, 2022: Copper Qualifier
• American Leadership Academy (Queen Creek)
• Capacity = 28 teams
• Jan. 29, 2022: Turquoise Qualifier
• Valley Christian High School (Chandler)
• Capacity = 24 teams
• Jan. 29, 2022: Petrified Wood Qualifier
• Brophy College Prep (Phoenix)
• Capacity = 28 teams
• Feb. 5, 2022: Desert Vista Qualifier
• Canyon View Qualifier (Waddell)
• Capacity = 24 teams
• Feb. 19, 2022: Arizona Championship 
• Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff)

The High Country Qualifier is listed as tentative for now as we are waiting to see if there is a need and an interest in this event. If we have enough teams sign up for it, we will add it as an official event to the season. 

Register for your qualifiers by clicking HERE!

Arizona Qualifier Registration Grants

The CocoNuts will be offering partial registration grants again this year! Grants that are approved will appear as a reduction in registration cost for qualifying tournaments. The 'Nuts will be reviewing grant applications on October 19 and November 4. To apply, click here. 

Coming to a Qualifier near you...Duckies!

 

We hope you're all as excited as we are about the FREIGHT FRENZY season! Bring on the duckies! You can find all the Freight Frenzy season information here:

• Full Kickoff Broadcast
• Game Animation
• YouTube Playlist of Freight Frenzy materials
• Freight Frenzy Season Materials
• Freight Frenzy Resources Blog
• Updated Programming Resources

Arizona Qualifiers - Schedule and Registration! 

Registration for qualifiers will open Friday October 1 at 8:00 AM and will close on November 3 at noon! Teams will be able to register for 2-3 events and an alternate all on the same form. Cost for the season is $225 for two qualifiers and $300 for three. Starting the week of October 11, teams will receive a confirmation email with an invoice for the season. 

• Nov. 20, 2021: Cactus Wren Qualifier 
• Gilbert Christian High School (Gilbert)
• Dec. 4, 2021: High Country Qualifier
• Coconino High School (Flagstaff - TENTATIVE)
• Dec. 11, 2021: Saguaro Blossom Qualifier
• Cactus High School (Glendale)
• Dec. 18, 2021: Palo Verde Qualifier
• San Miguel High School (Tucson)
• Jan. 22, 2022: Copper Qualifier
• American Leadership Academy (Queen Creek)
• Jan. 29, 2022: Turquoise Qualifier
• Valley Christian High School (Chandler)
• Jan. 29, 2022: Petrified Wood Qualifier
• Brophy College Prep (Phoenix)
• Feb. 5, 2022: Desert Vista Qualifier
• Canyon View Qualifier (Waddell)
• Feb. 19, 2022: Arizona Championship 
• Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff)

The High Country Qualifier is listed as tentative for now as we are waiting to see if there is a need and an interest in this event. If we have enough teams sign up for it, we will add it as an official event to the season. 

Register for your qualifiers starting at 8:00 AM on Friday by clicking HERE!

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in FIRST

"Our Role in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion FIRST® is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future. A vital part of our strategic plan is to provide opportunities for all youth to engage in our programs. We understand the broader societal context of economic, educational, and social factors historically leading to disproportionate access and outcomes. Leveraging cross-sector and industry collaboration, our organization is committed to implementing efforts to ensure equity, diversity, and inclusion in order to remove barriers and increase access to FIRST programs so that all youth can participate."

To access the ED&I resources from FIRST to use with your team, click HERE. You can also contact Patti with questions. 

Driver Station Workaround

Version 7.0 of the Driver Station exposes a bug in Android 6.0 on Moto G series phones. This bug is fixed in Android 6.0.1; however, the last update for some Moto G series phones in some regions was Android 6.0. The bug manifests itself as a crash when attempting to switch to Control Hub pairing. The FIRST^® Tech Challenge Technology Team has developed a workaround, labeled v7.0.1, for this problem specifically for this phone.

 

Teams using Moto G series phones as Driver Stations, running Android 6.0 with no option to upgrade to Android 6.0.1, should use FtcDriverStation-7.0.1-release.apk available through the REV Hardware Client or directly from the v7.0 release page on GitHub. 

Inspire the Future: FIRST Educators Recognition Program 

The FIRST community is full of dedicated and inspirational teachers. Here at FIRST, recognition is not only part of our name but core to our ethos, and that’s why we are proud to launch the Inspire the Future: FIRST Educators Recognition Program! 

 

We want to celebrate the FIRST educators who impact and inspire their learning communities. We truly could not further the mission of FIRST without them. Learn more about the Inspire the Future: FIRST Educators Recognition Program and how YOU can nominate an educator who has made an impact in your community! 

Welcome to Freight Frenzy!

Welcome to the 2021/2022 FIRST Tech Challenge Season! 

We're so excited to welcome everyone back! Find out everything you need to know about Kickoff here! 

Date: Saturday, September 18, 2021

Location: Brophy College Prep (4701 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012)

REGISTER FOR KICKOFF HERE - 

MUST BE DONE TO SHIP A GAME PIECE TO YOUR TEAM

7:30 AM: Doors Open

8:00 AM: Finals matches from Reunion Tour (recorded)

8:30 AM: Welcome and Arizona season information

9:00 AM: Game Reveal! 

9:40 AM: Game deep dive with Rich and Robert

10:20 AM: Workshops

11:30 AM: Lunch break

12:20 PM: Workshops resume

2:30 PM: Kickoff ends

IMPORTANT: COVID MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS

• Brophy requires masks for everyone while indoors.
• Food must be eaten outside.
• All students, coaches, and mentors need to sign a current 2021 FIRST Consent and Release form. (Online on FIRST Dashboard or on paper - ENGLISH - SPANISH)
• Please bring your roster and any paper consent forms to Kickoff. 
• Do not allow any student, mentor, or spectator to attend that is feeling ill or showing any COVID symptoms. Temperatures will be scanned as you enter the venue.
• Continue to meet safely, complying with mitigation strategies put in place by your schools.
• High touch areas will be sanitized frequently.
• Each workshop will be offered twice. If a classroom is full, please find another workshop and attend during the 2nd session. 

KICKOFF WORKSHOP SCHEDULE & LINKS

• The complete schedule for Kickoff and the workshop descriptions can be found HERE.
• Teams can join us via Zoom. Workshops will also be recorded and posted to the CocoNuts' YouTube Channel after Kickoff. 
• Links for each workshop are below (in alphabetical order).
• Advocating for STEM Education
• Blocks Programming
• Coaches and Mentors Reunion
• Communication and Dynamics of a Veteran Team
• FIRST Tech Challenge Control System Updates
• Freight Frenzy Game Overview - will be recorded and uploaded after Kickoff
• Fundraising and Marketing for FIRST Teams
• Introduction to Android Studio
• Judging Tips
• KanBan and other Ways to Communicate Effectively - Recording will be posted to YouTube after Kickoff
• Mechanical Design and Strategy
• Programming and Build Help
• Robot Inspection

LIVE STREAM FOR ARIZONA KICKOFF!

Thank you REV & PITSCO for providing us with goodies to hand out at Kickoff! Check out their videos below! 

Kickoff is Coming!

 

WELCOME BACK TEAMS!!!

We're SO excited to Kickoff the 2021-2022 "Freight Frenzy" season with you! We hope you will join us in-person or via live-stream at our Arizona Kickoff. 

Date:         Saturday, September 18, 2021

Location:    Brophy College Preparatory (4701 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012)

Tentative Schedule: 

7:30 AM    Doors Open

8:00 AM    Finals of Ultimate Reunion Tour (recording from previous week)

8:30 AM    Welcome and AZ Season Information

9:00 AM    Freight Frenzy Game Reveal!!!

9:40 AM    Game discussion with Head Refs Rich & Robert; Field measuring

10:30 AM   Workshops begin

11:30 AM   Lunch Break

12:15 PM   Workshops resume

2:30 PM     End of Workshops (tentative; exact workshop schedule will be sent early next week)

If you haven't already, please TELL US YOUR KICKOFF PLANS HERE

ROOKIE GRANTS NOW AVAILABLE 

Grants to start new FIRST Tech Challenge teams are now available. Grants are $275 for team registration and $225 toward the robot kit. Help spread the word and grow new FTC Teams! 

Click here to apply for a Rookie FIRST Tech Challenge Grant

KICKOFF SWEEPSTAKES

Register your team with FIRST by September 15 for a chance to win a FREIGHT FRENZY field! CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE!

WATCH THE ULTIMATE REUNION TOUR HERE: