Hello and bonjour teams,
Just a few reminders for you this week:
- Championship
- Spring Challenges
- Scrimmages
- Next Year Hosts
- Summit STEM Fellowship
Championship
Congratulations to the 34 teams that have advanced to the Alberta Championship!
For those attending, please ensure you have reviewed the Event Information Package, the slides, and/or the recording from the last mentor meeting if you missed it.
We will begin setup at 3:30 PM on February 27th if you are interested in helping. Teams will be allowed to load into their pits starting at 5:00 PM. Pits will be open until 9:00 PM.
Lastly, all teams attending the Championship are encouraged to complete event preferencing through FTC Scoring to declare events you would be interested in advancing to, if any. It will also allow you to state team associations if you would like to attend the event with multiple advancing teams.
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Spring Challenges
Those who want to do more with their offseason are encouraged to try one of this year’s Spring Challenges!
Last year we launched spring challenges meant to challenge teams to think outside the box and work towards improving their team for the following year. The teams who participated had a blast with it so we are offering them again. These challenges are meant to run from now until June 1st when all submissions are due.
We have 2 challenges this year:
- Olympic Inspired Slalom
- Driver and Auto challenge meant to encourage:
- Skill development
- Use of Odometry and Automation
- Terrain Game
- Based on idea that game dynamics recycle (5 years ago it was Freight Frenzy)
- Meant to encourage:
- Planing
- Drive base development
Scrimmages
Currently there are only 2 scrimmages in the calendar:
- Canmore Trailblazer Bot Bash on March 14th
- North Trail Invitational on May 20th
- Open to Junior High teams
- 8 teams will be selected for a playoff tournament
- If interested email chad@firstalberta.ca
Scrimmages are run by you, the community. If you are interested in running one, let us know!
Next Year Event Hosts
Next season we will need more event hosts than ever before to keep up with the growth and we will still be providing a host credit.
If you are interested, please email joshua.alvares@firstalberta.ca with:
- How many teams you have capacity for
- What months you would be willing to host in (November - February)
- If you will have a field for use as a practice field
We typically start building the schedule as soon as the Alberta Championship is complete.
Summit STEM Fellowship
Summit Education organizes virtual summer programs for high-achieving students, instructed by educators from MIT, Stanford, and Harvard. In 2026, these programs will include the Summit STEM Fellowship (SSF) and Summit Research Scholars (SRS).
- Summit STEM Fellowship (SSF): The Summit STEM Fellowship (SSF) empowers the next generation of STEM leaders by helping students explore a wide range of STEM fields and career pathways while building leadership and life skills. The program requires a flexible 10–15 hours per week, allowing students to attend alongside other summer commitments. Â
- Summit Research Scholars (SRS): Summit Research Scholars (SRS) helps students get started with high school research. Students build a comprehensive foundation in research, Python, data science, and statistics, and learn how to apply research to solve real-world problems.Â
Applications for Summer 2026 programs are now open. Admissions are rolling, and students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. For more information, please visit www.summiteducation.org.Â
Questions?
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us! We are here to help. Unless you have a specific question for one of us, please feel free to use the generic FIRST Tech Challenge leadership team email (firsttechchallenge@firstalberta.ca) so you can get a faster response from one of our dedicated members.
Your FIRST Tech Challenge Alberta Leadership Team
