| PowerPlay Resources & Mentor Network | Teams seeking resources for PowerPlay (link city - so bookmark them!):
- All students and coaches are responsible for knowing the content of Game Manuals Part 1 & 2.
- Teams are responsible for keeping up to date with the Game Q&A Forum as it is the Official Place for rule clarifications.
- Note! Head Referees will be hosting Virtual Driver/Coaches meetings again this season! Save the date/time: Thursdays at 4pm, Starting Oct. 27. No meeting on Thanksgiving (Thurs., Nov. 24, 2023).
- A new resource: FIRST Tech Challenge documentation
- Take a look at the Game & Season Materials library as it has the Navigation Targets, Signal Sleeve Templates and other goodies.
- Is your team looking for a mentor? Someone to help with fundraising, grant writing, building or programming skills? Check out the FIRST Mentor Network, sponsored by NI.
- Also, check out which teams are in which league by visiting this spreadsheet.
| | Also, remember:
- To be "competition or event ready", all teams need to have two adult coaches on the FIRST website with background checks on file. If a team is not "competition or event ready" the team will not show up in FTC-Scoring, which can be problematic once the meets begin.
- Students need to register with FIRST's Youth Registration System.
- All students, mentors and volunteers will need to have a University of Iowa Consent & Release on file prior to competitions.
FIRST is hosting Team Webinars throughout the season. These webinars will talk about Game Play as well as Dean's List. Intended audience: coaches and team members. Check out the blog post for dates, times and call links. | | The FTC program in Iowa is successful because of the great volunteers. Events are made possible through the support of volunteers. Tournament events (January-March, 2023) are currently seeking volunteers. Volunteers of all backgrounds (tech or non-tech) are welcome!
In addition to tournament volunteers, there are several meets who need volunteers! To help alleviate the stress of finding volunteers, teams are highly encouraged to provide two volunteers per meet.
For a description about the various volunteer roles, check out Volunteer Descriptions. Manuals and training materials can be found on the Volunteer Resources page, which will have updated manuals by October, 2022. | Popular Meet Dates Popular meet dates (as of 10/6/2022):
- 10/22/2022: 2 meets
- 10/29/2022: 3 meets
- 11/5/2022: 5 meets
- 11/19/2022: 7 meets
- 12/3/2022: 5 meets
- 12/10/2022: 6 meets
- 12/17/2022: 5 meets
- 1/7/2023: 2 meets
All volunteers need to register through the FIRST system. Per the FIRST Youth Protection Policy, all volunteers will need to have a completed FIRST Background check and have a completed Univ. of Iowa Consent & Release form on file. | | | Student Leadership Board: ED&I Webinar | | On behalf of the Iowa FIRST Student Leadership Board, we are excited to announce the First Annual Iowa FIRST ED&I Webinar!
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) are all concepts that are vital to the success of a FIRST team. This INTERACTIVE seminar is an informational course on what ED&I is, and how to incorporate it into their team. Keynote speaker: Brittany Brady, CEO of the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) | When: Tuesday, Nov. 15
Time: 7pm
Duration: 1 hour 15 min
How: We will be utilizing Zoom and Zoom breakout rooms. It will open with Ms. Brady, keynote speaker and then participants will split off into breakout rooms and discuss two of the featured topics. Register to attend this webinar. | | | | Every young person should be encouraged by the adults in their lives to pursue their interests and passions – we are more than capable of succeeding. Expand my choices. Expand my STEM. Expand my esteem. Join the More Than movement: www.morethanrobots.org #IAmMoreThan
MoreThan Video (2:00min) | | | Do you remember how it feels to be told my someone that you can achieve anything? Tell the young people in your life they CAN join the club that everyone says is “too hard;” they CAN say yes to opportunities outside their comfort zone. Join the More Than movement: www.morethanrobots.org #IAmMoreThan
MoreThan Video (:30 video) | | FIRST Senior Mentor: Susan Eckert Susan Eckert has been involved with FIRST since 2010 as an FLL mentor, coach and volunteer. Her roles have expanded over the years to include various mentor and volunteer positions in all four programs of FIRST® from the local to international level, including judge and judge advisor. She currently resides in Davenport with her husband. Each of their children participated in multiple FIRST® programs. Susan is passionate about empowering youth and excited to meet Iowans. Let’s keep building FIRST® together!
She can be reached at eckert@firstinspires.org
| Let's Connect! Recently, a FTC Iowa Discord server has been created for Coaches & Mentors to swap ideas with each other.
Join the Discord Server
FTC Iowa also has Slack! This has also been created for Coaches & Mentors to swap ideas with each other.
Join FTC Iowa Slack. | | | |
