FIRST Robotics Competition Blog

Events Preferencing, Money for Teams, and Money for Students. Oh, and the 2019 Season Teaser.

Sep 07, 2018 Written by Frank Merrick.

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2019 Event Registration FIRST Robotics Competition

Too much Teasing?

 

Event Preferencing Opening Soon!

FIRST Robotics Competition event preferences system opens on September 20th! Just like last year, teams will have one week to enter their event preferences before the algorithm is run to make event assignments. And also like last year, when you enter your preferences during that one-week open period does not affect your chances of getting a preferred event, as long as you enter by the deadline of Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, September 27th.  If you miss this deadline, you are guaranteed to get access to events only after all teams who met the deadline have been assigned.  

You can find the User Guide here and some Frequently Asked Questions here, but there will be no major changes to the system used last year.

 

Important reminder: You should only preference events that you are interested in and able to attend, as the system will assign you to the first open event it comes to on your list once your lottery number comes up for assignment. This may be the first event on your list, or the tenth, if you listed ten events. And the number of events you list is up to you! If you can only attend one, you should list just that one event, and you will be guaranteed to at least be waitlisted for it.

 

You should get ready for event preferencing now by making sure all outstanding actions on your team dashboard are complete!

 

Team Grants Open

Rookie team grants are open, and the deadline for application is Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. See more details here.

 

And if you are a team from the USA, NASA grants are open also. The deadline for application is Sunday, September 30, 2018 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. See more details here.

 

DonorsChoose.org

If you are a public or public charter school teacher in the USA, partial funding for FIRST Robotics Competition team materials is now available through the generosity of News Corp and DonorsChoose.org. Teachers can receive funding for robot parts, tools, 3D printers, or other team materials. This funding can’t be used to cover team registration costs, but can still be very helpful! Check it out here.

 

Scholarships

Looking for some cash for college? The FIRST Scholarship program is now open!  Deadlines vary by scholarship provider. You can find all the details here.

 

The 2019 Season Teaser

Is coming.*

 

Frank

 

*Yeah, it is. And it’s looking very nice. Not finished yet, but getting close!

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Comments

Submitted by Alexander Cressley (not verified) on Fri, 09/07/2018 - 8:33pm

I am just curious like everyone else, but I am wondering about a timeframe of the teaser since "Is coming" is not really useful. Also, when will the second round of preferences be open after the first? And finally, when will First Choice be up as well? Thank you and I hope this teaser is good! :)

-Alex

Submitted by Jamee Luce on Mon, 09/10/2018 - 1:55pm

Hi Alex! The Teaser really is coming! We will be providing more details soon. You can find all the Registration deadlines on our Season Calendar here: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/calendar?field_event_category_tid=406

 

No dates have been published yet for FIRST Choice. We will keep you updated throughout the season through our blogs, social media, and Team Email blasts.

 

Thanks!

Jamee

Submitted by Jonathan Bryant (not verified) on Thu, 09/13/2018 - 11:13am

I have some questions about opting out of a home district event. When do teams who opt out of their home event district get to sign up for events 1 and 2? Do they get to use the preference system for both events? Does the lottery system for home event areas work the same as teams who did not submit a list for round 1?

I know that this is a very small subset of teams but it would be great if there was a walkthrough of the system for a team doing this.  

JB

Submitted by Jamee Luce on Fri, 09/14/2018 - 4:07pm

Hi JB!

Great question!

What if my team does not want to attend their assigned Home Event?

That’s no problem. When Michigan, Pacific Northwest, North Carolina, and Texas teams add preferences during the first event preference phase, their Home Event will be listed as the top event and highlighted green. If your team chooses not to attend this Home Event, simply select the events that your team does want to attend. All teams should make sure the events on their Event Preference List is an accurate reflection of where they want to be assigned.

The difference is that ONLY the Home Event is a guaranteed assignment. If your team chooses not to select the Home Event as your preference, all other teams who did select their Home Events will be assigned before you, regardless of what your preference number is. If there is open capacity at that event after all the teams who did select the Home Event are assigned to their Home Event, then your team will be assigned to that event. If there is no open capacity at any of the events in your Preference List, your team will be placed on the waitlist in the event that your team had selected as your Waitlist Event.

We have updated the FAQ document to reflect this information. Remember you can always call our Team Support for more help (800) 871-8326. You can also send an email to frcteamadvcoate@firstinspires.org.

Thanks!

Jamee

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