Kickoff 1/6/2024
The video begins at Noon Eastern / 11 AM Central – https://twitch.tv/firstinspires
Please note the time of the kickoff you are attending. It may be in a different time zone.
Kit of Parts distribution begins after the video (approximately 12:45 pm Eastern)
Kit of Parts distribution will end at 2 PM Eastern/1 PM Central – Please plan accordingly for your pickup.
As a reminder, our kickoff locations are: Click Here for Details
UIndy – Eastern Time
Bloomington – Eastern Time
West Lafayette – Eastern Time
Castle High School – Central Time
Michigan City – Central Time
2024 Training Calls – Moved to Wednesdays!
Beginning Wednesday, January 10, 2024, through Wednesday, February 20, 2024, we will once again host 30-minute, weekly, one-topic calls for any and all teams interested in getting support, learning about how other teams prepare for the season, and more.
We are looking for teams, mentors, etc., to help be the experts on these calls. Is there an area in which you or your team excel? Propose that as a discussion topic and help lead the call.
January 10 – Special Advocacy Call for all teams, especially teams heading to the statehouse on January 17. Please attend this call if you have feedback you’d like to share about HEA 1382 and how we can advocate for you to make the grant process better.
Special Advocacy Call – 7 PM Eastern 1/10/2024
Coaches calls for the rest of the season – Wednesdays starting 1/17/24 at 7 PM Eastern
Current/Possible Topics
1. How do you plan your build season from strategy to design to competition?
2. How to prepare your students to talk to judges.
3. Pit design ideas from simple to “WOW.”
4. Traveling to events affordably.
5. How to engage a large number of students on an FRC team.
6. Coding 101 – how to help get students to become coders when they’ve never coded before.
Other topics can be ones that you all are experts in. Please email Chris Osborne – cosborne@firstindianarobotics.org as soon as possible with a topic your team would like to cover or if there are topics you’d like to see discussed.
3rd Play Discount
Is your team interested in a 3rd play in the Indiana District? There are still openings at our Washington Event, and we are currently offering a $500 discount for any teams signing up for a 3rd play.
Contact Dan Leathers – dleathers@firstindianarobotics.org to sign up or for more information.
At this point in the season, teams MUST go through FIN to add a 3rd event. Please do NOT attempt to sign up in your dashboard.
Volunteer Registration is Open
FRC volunteer registration is open. As a reminder, we are asking every team to supply at least one volunteer at every FRC event they attend this year. Examples of FRC volunteers are:
Inspectors
Queuers
Pit Admin
Safety Glass Attendant
Field Reset
Photographers or video
Some of our key volunteer roles have assistant roles, and that is a great way to learn about becoming a key volunteer.
Here are directions on how to use your dashboard to volunteer.
Statehouse Day – January 17th
Mark your calendars and sign up here to attend this year’s Statehouse Day. We will be doing demos on the atrium floor, thanking our legislators for their hard work to support competitive robotics and continuing to spread the vital message of FIRST and STEM for students in Indiana.
Sign your team up to attend – https://forms.gle/7zfNpJEAb6SP5Cec7
An advocacy call will be held prior to the Statehouse Day to provide more details and collect feedback. Join here – Special Advocacy Call – 7PM Eastern 1/10/2024
Express Enrollment – NEW
FIRST just launched the Express Enrollment youth registration system, which provides a simplified experience on mobile and desktop to register and accept youth (U.S. and Canada only) to FIRST® teams. FIRST lead coaches/mentors can generate web links or QR codes in the FIRST Dashboard to share with parents and guardians of their youth participants, granting access to the application.
Parents and guardians then use the web link or QR code from the lead coach/mentor to register their youth to a team in a few simple steps. After applying to a team, coaches/mentors will need to accept the students through the FIRST Dashboard. Once the coach/mentor approves or declines the request to join a team, the parent/guardian is notified via email.
Please see the resources and instructions below, accessible from the Youth Registration Overview page:
Coaches/mentors can start today by visiting the Team Contacts/Roster section of their Team Dashboard to create a QR code/invitation link.
Instructions for the parent/guardians to complete the registration can be found on this document.
Questions? View Express Enrollment Frequently Asked Questions
Once the parents apply their youth to your team, you will need to go back to the Team Contacts page to accept or decline the youth team members listed as “Applied Pending” by selecting the “Options” menu on their contact card. You will then see those team members on your Printable Roster.
Please note your team will need to have two screened lead coaches in place before you can invite your team members.
Cross Program News
The FLL State Championship is at Westfield High School on Saturday, January 20. We are looking for volunteers!
FTC Tournaments have started! Read more on our website.
We are always on the lookout for judges, volunteers, etc. All of the Indiana events are available for volunteer sign-up right now via your dashboard.
Field Availability
Will your team have a 1/2 field or full field available for other teams to come use? If so, please complete this form, and we will post the information on our website as a team resource.
Teams with fields as of 1/4/2024
FRC 829 Digital Goats – Contact Craig Harvey – Full Field – Availability is TBD, but will be most weekends. Indianapolis
FRC 5484 Career Academy – Contact David Ebersol – Half Field – Available beginning the day after kickoff. South Bend
FRC 461 Westside Boiler Invasion – Contact Evan Hochstein – Partial Field West Lafayette
FRC 1741 Red Alert Robotics – Contact Nathan Coulombe – Full Field Greenwood