Compass Award Submissions due SATURDAY & Petrified Wood Livestream

Compass Award 2025 - Videos due February 1 at 6:00 PM

All teams are welcome to nominate a coach or mentor for the Compass Award, which will be given at both the Four Corners and Arizona Championships! Teams must submit a 1-minute video following the guidelines in the Game Manual and submit it by February 1 at 6:00 pm. Videos should be submitted to this folder, clearly named with the team number and the name of the mentor. There are separate submission folders for Arizona and Four Corners. Teams are eligible to submit for the Compass Award, even if they don't qualify for their region Championship. 

NEW YEAR'S CLEANING - DASHBOARD MAINTAINANCE

Take five minutes to check your team information in your Dashboard. Login to your account at www.firstinspires.org and check the following (look on the left of your dashboard). Remember, it can take up to 48 hours for changes to team information and payments to sync to the system! Please make any changes a couple of days prior to your event to see changes.

• TEAM INFORMATION:
• Team Profile
• Team Name
• Contact name
• Address
• Website
• School/Organization
• Team Sponsors 
• This is one of the best ways to say thank you to your team supporters - no matter how big or small!
• TEAM FINANCES
• Verify that your season registration payment is complete
• YOUTH MEMBERS
• Verify that all students on your team have a completed FIRST Consent and Release Form
• Verify that any mentors working with the team more than 30% of team meetings has completed Youth Protection Screening

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Can't get enough robots? Volunteer for an FRC Regional in March! Sign up via your FIRST Dashboard or learn more about event volunteering HERE. 

Arizona FIRST Event Dates:

• Arizona North FRC Regional: March 13-15, Coconino High School, Flagstaff
• Arizona East FRC Regional: March 20-22, Corona Del Sol HS, Tempe

Congrats to the teams that advanced to the Arizona Championship from the Desert Vista qualifying tournament: 

• 202: BrocoBots 2
• 8499: RoboHawks
• 10369: Robosapiens Robotics
• 15058: RoboJags
• 15477: Robo-Assemblers
• 23737: BroncobotsMax
• 23766: Az-Techs
• 26664: YetiMachina

GOOD LUCK to all the teams competing this weekend at the Petrified Wood Qualifier! You can watch all the action HERE.

Compass Award due SATURDAY FEB 1, Dashboard Maintenance + Palo Verde & Saguaro Blossom Livestream Links

 

Compass Award 2025 - Videos due February 1 at 6:00 PM

All teams are welcome to nominate a coach or mentor for the Compass Award, which will be given at both the Four Corners and Arizona Championships! Teams must submit a 1-minute video following the guidelines in the Game Manual and submit it by February 1 at 6:00 pm. Videos should be submitted to this folder, clearly named with the team number and the name of the mentor. There are separate submission folders for Arizona and Four Corners. Teams are eligible to submit for the Compass Award, even if they don't qualify for their region Championship. 

NEW YEAR'S CLEANING - DASHBOARD MAINTAINANCE

Take five minutes to check your team information in your Dashboard. Login to your account at www.firstinspires.org and check the following (look on the left of your dashboard). Remember, it can take up to 48 hours for changes to team information and payments to sync to the system! Please make any changes a couple of days prior to your event to see changes.

• TEAM INFORMATION:
• Team Profile
• Team Name
• Contact name
• Address
• Website
• School/Organization
• Team Sponsors 
• This is one of the best ways to say thank you to your team supporters - no matter how big or small!
• TEAM FINANCES
• Verify that your season registration payment is complete
• YOUTH MEMBERS
• Verify that all students on your team have a completed FIRST Consent and Release Form
• Verify that any mentors working with the team more than 30% of team meetings has completed Youth Protection Screening

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Can't get enough robots? Volunteer for an FRC Regional in March! Sign up via your FIRST Dashboard or learn more about event volunteering HERE. We also need more judges for the FLL and FTC Championship events. 

We prefer that judges have no affiliation with a team competing at the event. Please consider judging if your team doesn't qualify for your region championship.

Arizona FIRST Event Dates:

• FTC Qualifying Tournaments near you! (Feb 1, 8)
• Four Corners FTC Championship: Feb. 8, Dine' College, Tsalie
• Arizona FTC Championship: Feb. 21 & 22, Embry Riddle, Prescott
• Arizona North FRC Regional: March 13-15, Coconino High School, Flagstaff
• Arizona East FRC Regional: March 20-22, Corona Del Sol HS, Tempe

Congrats to the teams that advanced to the Arizona Championship from the Desert Vista qualifying tournament: 

• 15461: Nutz & Bolts
• 18625: Trivium Knightmares
• 23572: Copper Catz
• 26578: HYSA HYDRAS

Good luck to all the teams competing at this weekend's PALO VERDE & SAGUARO BLOSSOM Qualifying Tournaments! 

        

PALO VERDE                                            SAGUARO BLOSSOM

Team Update to Rules, Compass Award due Feb. 1 + Desert Vista Livestream

Compass Award 2025 - Videos due February 1 at 6:00 PM

All teams are welcome to nominate a coach or mentor for the Compass Award, which will be given at both the Four Corners and Arizona Championships! Teams must submit a 1-minute video following the guidelines in the Game Manual and submit it by February 1 at 6:00 pm. Videos should be submitted to this folder, clearly named with the team number and the name of the mentor. There are separate submission folders for Arizona and Four Corners. Teams are eligible to submit for the Compass Award, even if they don't qualify for their region Championship. 

IMPORTANT - Team Update to rule G427

On January 16, FTC leadership created a team update that rewords rule G427. This rule clarifies robot interactions during end game when some robots may be trying to ascend, and some may be trying to continue to collect samples. Please be sure to read this, and ALL TEAM UPDATES prior to your next competition. Referees must abide by rules and clarifications in all team updates. 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Can't get enough robots? Volunteer for an FRC Regional in March! Sign up via your FIRST Dashboard or learn more about event volunteering HERE. We also need more judges for the FLL and FTC Championship events. 

We prefer that judges have no affiliation with a team competing at the event. Please consider judging if your team doesn't qualify for your region championship.

Arizona FIRST Event Dates:

• FTC Qualifying Tournaments near you! (Jan 11, 18, 25 and Feb 1, 8)
• Arizona FLL Championship: Jan. 18, ASU West Campus
• Four Corners FTC Championship: Feb. 8, Dine' College, Tsalie
• Arizona FTC Championship: Feb. 21 & 22, Embry Riddle, Prescott
• Arizona North FRC Regional: March 13-15, Coconino High School, Flagstaff
• Arizona East FRC Regional: March 20-22, Corona Del Sol HS, Tempe

Congrats to the teams that advanced to the Arizona Championship from the Cactus Wren qualifying tournament: 

• 7156: Wolves Robotics 2
• 13968: Herberger Howlers
• 14524: Trivium Knight Lights
• 14855: Shamrocks
• 18583: BASIS Java Beans

Good luck to all the teams competing at this weekend's Desert Vista Qualifying Tournament! Watch all the action here: 

FTC Premier Events and FIRST Championship Allocations

FTC Premier Events and FIRST Championship Allocations

We're excited to announce that 2 Four Corners Teams and 3 Arizona Teams will advance to the FIRST Championship from their respective Championship events! 

In addition to the FIRST Championship, FTC is rolling out the first year of PREMIER EVENTS - a new event type this season and will be a parallel capstone experience to the FIRST Championship. While we are still eagerly awaiting our Premiere Event allocations, teams can find out more ON THIS BLOG POST.

Compass Award 2025 - Videos due February 1 at 6:00 PM

All teams are welcome to nominate a coach or mentor for the Compass Award, which will be given at both the Four Corners and Arizona Championships! Teams must submit a 1-minute video following the guidelines in the Game Manual and submit it by February 1 at 6:00 pm. Videos should be submitted to this folder, clearly named with the team number and the name of the mentor. There are separate submission folders for Arizona and Four Corners. Teams are eligible to submit for the Compass Award, even if they don't qualify for their region Championship. 

REEFSCAPE IS HERE! 

Good luck to all the Arizona FRC Teams with their new game! 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Can't get enough robots? Volunteer for an FRC Regional in March! Sign up via your FIRST Dashboard or learn more about event volunteering HERE. We also need more judges for the FLL and FTC Championship events. 

We prefer that judges have no affiliation with a team competing at the event. Please consider judging if your team doesn't qualify for your region championship.

Arizona FIRST Event Dates:

• FTC Qualifying Tournaments near you! (Jan 11, 18, 25 and Feb 1, 8)
• Arizona FLL Championship: Jan. 18, ASU West Campus
• Four Corners FTC Championship: Feb. 8, Dine' College, Tsalie
• Arizona FTC Championship: Feb. 21 & 22, Embry Riddle, Prescott
• Arizona North FRC Regional: March 13-15, Coconino High School, Flagstaff
• Arizona East FRC Regional: March 20-21, Corona Del Sol HS, Tempe

Congrats to the teams that qualified for the Arizona Championship from the Diamondback qualifier!

• 201 BroncoBots ONE
• 2844 Valley X Robotics
• 14584 Pioneer 327
• 26128 Wrightly Reconfigured Robots

Congrats to the teams that qualified for the Four Corners Championship from the Chinle qualifier!

• 11529 Navajo Code Writers
• 23948 Chieftains
• 26002 Navajo Code Breakers
• 26008 SHIPROCK
• 26010 ROBO-Tech

Good luck to the teams competing in the Cactus Wren qualifier this weekend! You can catch all the action HERE:

Dean's List Nominations due in 2 DAYS + Tucson Live Stream

 Wishing all you Ocean Explorers HAPPY HOLIDAYS and a FABULOUS 2025!

FIRST Tech Challenge Dean's List - Nominations due IN TWO DAYS!!!

One of the most amazing ways you can honor your students is by nominating them for the FIRST Dean's List. Each team may nominate up to two sophomore or junior students. Nominations will ask you to describe the student's leadership, commitment to the core values of FIRST, contributions to your team, and work in the community. All nominations must be submitted by December 15 at 11:59 PM EST, and no late nominations will be accepted. 

Interviews for all nominated students (AZ and Four Corners) will take place in the evening on January 28, 29, and 30 remotely through the FTC scoring system. Students must have a completed consent and release form on the FIRST youth registration system to be nominated. Coaches will receive information on interviews after the nomination window has closed. Learn more about nominating your amazing students HERE.

Compass Award 2025 - Videos due February 1 at 6:00 PM

All teams are welcome to nominate a coach or mentor for the Compass Award, which will be given at both the Four Corners and Arizona Championships! Teams must submit a 1-minute video following the guidelines in the Game Manual and submit it by February 1 at 6:00 pm. Videos should be submitted to this folder, clearly named with the team number and the name of the mentor. There are separate submission folders for Arizona and Four Corners. Teams are eligible to submit for the Compass Award, even if they don't qualify for their region Championship. 

Congrats to the teams that qualified for the Arizona Championship from the High Country and Turquoise qualifiers!

• 6174: Automatons
• 14436: Roaring Robotics
• 17062: Techalongs
• 18291: Mech Warriors
• 26100: Warrior Bots
• 26037: Cyber Tigers

Congrats to the teams that qualified for the Four Corners Championship from the High Country qualifier!

• 23942: Rez Kidz
• 26009: Coltz & Boltz

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE TEAMS COMPETING THIS WEEK AT THE DIAMONDBACK (TUCSON) AND CHINLE QUALIFIERS!

DEAN'S LIST DUE IN 9 DAYS, Compass Award, December 7 Live Stream Links

Congrats to the teams that qualified for the Arizona Championship from the White Mountain and Red Rock qualifiers!

• 5661 Wolves
• 8081 Knights of the Lab Table
• 14835 Tie Dye Samauri
• 22256 Herobotics CIS
• 22258 Herobotics Beaniebots
• 24431 Sedona Scorpions
• 25620 Hexadecimal Nibble

Congrats to the teams that qualified for the Four Corners Championship from the White Mountain qualifier!

• 16817 Rocksisaan
• 23940 RoboCougars
• 23950 ROCK Bots
• 24286 Shash

FIRST Tech Challenge Dean's List - Nominations due December 15

One of the most amazing ways you can honor your students is by nominating them for the FIRST Dean's List. Each team may nominate up to two sophomore or junior students. Nominations will ask you to describe the student's leadership, commitment to the core values of FIRST, contributions to your team, and work in the community. All nominations must be submitted by December 15 at 11:59 PM EST, and no late nominations will be accepted. 

Interviews for all nominated students (AZ and Four Corners) will take place in the evening on January 28, 29, and 30 remotely through the FTC scoring system. Students must have a completed consent and release form on the FIRST youth registration system to be nominated. Coaches will receive information on interviews after the nomination window has closed. Learn more about nominating your amazing students HERE.

Compass Award 2025 - Videos due February 1 at 6:00 PM

All teams are welcome to nominate a coach or mentor for the Compass Award, which will be given at both the Four Corners and Arizona Championships! Teams must submit a 1-minute video following the guidelines in the Game Manual and submit it by February 1 at 6:00 pm. Videos should be submitted to this folder, clearly named with the team number and the name of the mentor. There are separate submission folders for Arizona and Four Corners. Teams are eligible to submit for the Compass Award, even if they don't qualify for their region Championship. 

Outreach Opportunity in southern Arizona:

Date: Feb. 27th 2025

Location: Pima County Library Sahuarita Branch

Time: 4:30-7:00 (4:00 Set up)

Contact: Terese Bettis at (520) 625-3502 x 1521 OR email-tbettis@sahuarita.net

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE TEAMS COMPETING AT THE TURQUOISE AND HIGH COUNTRY QUALIFIERS THIS WEEKEND! AND GOOD LUCK ALSO TO ALL THE FIRST LEGO LEAGUE TEAMS COMPETING ACROSS THE STATE IN THEIR 1st WEEK OF QUALIFIERS!

High Country - Flagstaff FTC Event

Flagstaff - Coconino FIRST LEGO League Qualifier

New Robot Controller Update 

Late last year, FIRST opened a Request for Proposal for the future mobile robot controller for FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST^® Robotics Competition. This controller will be used in FIRST Robotics Competition starting in the 2027 season and in FIRST Tech Challenge starting in the 2027-2028 season.
We are excited to announce our selected partners and give a little information about the features of this system. 

Read more in the FIRST Inspires blog post.

Studica Updates: 

Studica is happy to announce that we they be offering free shipping on all Studica Robotics orders more than $100.00 valid now through the end of 2024! (50-pound limit)

 

Exciting News Studica has added the following colors in addition to our Blue structures we now have added red, silver, black, gold & green, explore our structures here: New Colors Available - Studica Robotics Structure! 

You may now have your FTC Starter Kit FTC Starter Kit (2024-2025) - Studica or FTC Drive Base Mecanum Chassis | FTC Starter Kit - Studica in the color of choice as well, choose your custom kit today!

Additionally, we now are offering a new Hex line: Hex Shaft Motion Components for Robotics - Studica

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Studica FIRST Legal Studica Robotics List:

75001 – Maverick 12V DC Motor: Maverick DC Gear Motor 61:1 w/Encoder - Studica

75002 – Multi-Mode Smart Servo:  Multi-Mode Smart Servo - Studica

75014 – Linear Servo RC Actuator: Linear Servo RC Actuator 140S-190N - Studica

75005 – Servo Power Block: Servo Power Block with XT30 Male to JST-VH Cable Bundle - Studica

70025 – 12V 3000 mAh NiMH Battery: 12V 3000mAh NiMH Battery Pack PP45 ARES - Studica

70182 -- On/Off Power Switch: On/Off Power Switch Kit - Studica

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$200 Grant Form (monthly drawing, please complete the form each month to enter in for each month): Studica Robotics Grant Application - Studica

25% Discount Offering Form (will provide a code upon completion to use on all Studica Robotics orders): Studica Robotics Team Discount Application - Studica

Free Structure Sample Form: Request a Structure Sample from Studica Robotics - Studica

Studica Robotics Main Page: Affordable Robotics Kits | Robot Parts - Studica

Studica Robotics Resource Page (includes training videos, step files & much more): Studica Robotics Resources - Studica

Studica Robotics YouTube: Studica Robotics - YouTube

Studica FTC Main Page: FIRST Robotics - Studica

Safety Reminders, Premiere Events, Live Stream Links & Dean's List Reminders

Good luck to the teams competing at this weekend's Red Rock and White Mountain Qualifiers!!! Live stream links are below. 

Congrats to the teams that qualified for the Arizona Championship from the Roadrunner qualifier...and thank you to the Knights of the Lab Table for hosting!

• 21579 - Testing is Optional
• 10111 - Herberger Javelinas
• 12767 - Catholic Master Builders
• 12889 - Wyverns
• 3666 - Hawks

World Championship Updates & Introducing Premiere Events

Read this update on the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship and introduction to a new type of competition, the Premiere Event! Lots of great information, but a key takeaway is to be sure your team has paid their 2024/2025 season registration with FIRST by December 2 so your team counts toward our region allocation for Championship!

SAFETY REMINDER PER RULE E101 *Personal safety comes first. All team members must observe the following safety practices throughout the event: 

A. wear safety glasses or safety rated glasses with side shields (ANSI-approved, UL Listed, CE EN166 rated, AS/NZS certified, or CSA rated) while in and around the playing FIELD and in the pit area. Clear or lightly tinted safety glasses are preferred. Shaded glasses are allowed for those who need them and do not require a specific accommodation request. The only instances where teams are not required to wear safety glasses are in their first 10 minutes of their event load in, and for the first 10 minutes pits are open each day of the event as long as they’re not working on the ROBOT or setting up their pit. 

B. wear closed toed/heeled shoes. 

C. control entanglement risks by tying back long hair and removing other dangling decorations including lanyards, spirit wear and rings as needed while working on or around a ROBOT or ROBOT related materials or tools. 

D. wear appropriate clothing. 

E. walk in the venue. 

F. comply with government and venue-specific health and safety requirements in place for that event (i.e., mask wearing). Teams are responsible for bringing their own personal protective equipment. 

Team Webinars

Our Team Webinars are happening, and a whole ocean of exciting knowledge is waiting for your teams to discover! Be sure to check out the schedule and encourage your teams to sign up for any webinars that could help them on their journey through this season.

If they've missed any of our previous adventures, don’t worry! They can find all the recorded webinars here and catch up on what they've  missed:

Watch the Webinars Now 

FIRST Tech Challenge Dean's List - Nominations due December 15

One of the most amazing ways you can honor your students is by nominating them for the FIRST Dean's List. Each team may nominate up to two sophomore or junior students. Nominations will ask you to describe the student's leadership, commitment to the core values of FIRST, contributions to your team, and work in the community. All nominations must be submitted by December 15 at 11:59 PM EST, and no late nominations will be accepted. 

Interviews for all nominated students (AZ and Four Corners) will take place in the evening on January 28, 29, and 30 remotely through the FTC scoring system. Students must have a completed consent and release form on the FIRST youth registration system to be nominated. Coaches will receive information on interviews after the nomination window has closed. Learn more about nominating your amazing students HERE.

Nominated students become Dean's List Semifinalists. Each region will announce their Dean's List Finalists at the Championship events. Finalists are considered for the FIRST Dean's List, and are invited to World Championship for a celebration with all finalists and the announcement of the 10 FIRST Tech Challenge Dean's List Winners. Good luck, and we can't wait to meet your incredible students!

RED ROCK - MICROCHIP LIVESTREAM