Author: Kim

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Mark Your Calendars! FIRST LEGO League and FIRST LEGO League Jr. Challenge Release August 1st!

WHOSE READY FOR CITY SHAPER AND BOOMTOWN BUILD?!

Challenge and Resources will be available at Noon EST on August 1st.

Registration is now open for both leagues. Log in on your FIRST Inspires account to renew your team registration! Supplies will be sent out immediately after the Challenge Release. Then contact Spectrum Nasco to order your CITY SHAPER Challenge Set. FIRST LEGO League Jr. Inspire sets will be shipped once payment for registration is complete.

Are you in Western Canada and looking to start a team? Anyone can be a FIRST coach! Contact your local program director below for information on how to get started.

FIRST LEGO League Jr. (ages 6-10) Kim Werezak kim@frcwest.com

FIRST LEGO League (ages 9-14) Neva Maynard neva@frcwest.com

FIRST LEGO League Team Techie Po-Tater Bots were featured on CTV Calgary, showcasing their success competing in Calgary and at the Mountain State Invitational in West Virginia. Check out the clip here and on the live show here to hear about their INTO ORBIT experience last season! Then go over to their Facebook page and say hello!

If you are still looking for additional activities for your blossoming leaders in STEM, check out this great listing of summer programs offered by our sponsors and partner organizations

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Invitation for All FIRST Students


Have you ever wondered how to navigate FIRST with Sight Loss? What skills and knowledge does a team need to support a member with Sight Loss? How do you effectively communicate with a teammate without relying on visual cues?

FTC Team #16134 Futurenauts are excited to attend a workshop graciously facilitated by the CNIB, to learn the skills needed to support FIRST participants with Sight Loss. This workshop will give the Futurenauts knowledge and skills to work effectively with their own team member, who is Legally Blind, as well as the confidence to educate other teams, mentors, and the FIRST community on how to navigate FIRST with Sight Loss. Mentors and FIRSTcommunity members will leave the workshop with the skills & knowledge to support FIRST’s Core Value of Inclusion through immersing themselves in the hands-on grassroots training of a team putting this Core Value into action.

The Futurenauts would like to extend an invitation to attend this valuable session to any Mentors or other adult members of the FIRST community that would be interested in learning these skills alongside the team, mentors and parents. 

FIRST with Sight Loss Workshop

Sunday, June 9, 2019 from 1 – 3pm

CNIB – Calgary, TT room

10 11A Street NE 

Calgary AB T2E 4Z3

Please RSVP by June 6th to:  team@futurenauts.tech

Space is Limited

Thank you and we hope to see you at this informative workshop.

Futurenauts #16134

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2019 FIRST Robotics Competition Canadian Rockies Regional

We are only three weeks away from the start of our crown jewel event! Teams throughout Western Canada will take on this years Destination: DEEP SPACE Challenge along with teams from the United States, Mexico, China, Australia and Turkey!

We are thrilled to announce that this years competition field will be located in the brand new gymnasium of Nelson Mandela High School. We are incredibly grateful for NM staff & students and their on-going support of FIRST Robotics programs.

This event is free and open to the public but if you want to get involved, we are still scouting for volunteers. Please email volunteer@frcwest.com for more information, or simply sign up for the event through your FIRST Inspires account.

Come for the Robots, Stay for the Game!

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Field Element Shopping List from Frank Merrick

Hey FRC teams! Just in case you missed the email update from Franks blog, the shopping list for materials to build field elements is available!

Were you sitting around thinking “Boy, I wish I had another shopping list to deal with”? Well FIRST Robotics Competition is here to help! But we think you will actually like this one!

We heard from the community that you’d like to be able to purchase the raw materials necessary to build the team versions of the field elements before kickoff so you can be ready when the drawings get released. That made lots of sense. So, we’re publishing a list of the materials you will need to build wooden elements of the 2019 game now. Its link lives here, and you can access it directly here.

Please read the document carefully. You will see there are two versions of the list of materials, one for you to use if you think you will want to build a half field, one for you to use if you think you are more interested in a reduced build that should still cover the basics, but won’t be as representative of the competition field. Also, please carefully read the note in blue on the document. Even with the reduced list, we can’t guarantee individual teams may decide they don’t want to build everything they could with what they purchase. If money is especially tight, you may want to hold off until Kickoff and make your decisions then.

We’re sure these lists will be combed for clues. Good luck.*

Frank