Good morning to FTC Teams, current and past Volunteers!
This is the eighth in the continuing series of Pennsylvania FIRST Robotics emails. Previous emails can be found on our website in the COMMUNICATION Archives.
Remember, we will open registration for our Qualifiers this coming Sunday, Oct 1st at 12:00 Noon. No previous requests to join specific qualifiers will be honored before 12:00 PM. Please be ready with your choices. There will be an email blast later this week with more details. Scrimmage and workshop registration are already open
Call for Volunteers!
We are seeking out and have a great need for Volunteers for all of our FTC PA events for the 2023-2024 CENTERSTAGE! season. We are therefore reaching out to recruit those that have volunteered in the past, or want to join the incredible Pennsylvania FIRST Robotics volunteer team!
For those that have worked with us in past seasons, we want to thank you all for your volunteerism and commitment to the Pennsylvania FIRST Tech Challenge program. We plan on holding all traditional, live events, this season and we have open positions for all roles, but especially value and welcome Judges, Referees and Field Tech people as these are critical and key roles for the success of our events.
The CENTERSTAGE game is beyond awesome. Team and alliance strategies are uniquely critical and will win the day. Check out the game video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDcZCR4GOpY
https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/ftc/game-and-season
Please go to our event page to see the currently scheduled, upcoming Workshops, Scrimmages and Qualifiers. Note that we will add a scrimmage in Western, PA as well; Green and Red Scrimmage hosted by Mars Robotics, on December 2nd.
We would love all of you to personally join us and to recruit aggressively and widely to assist us in expanding our reach. Volunteer opportunities abound! Please find this schedule for all seasonal events on our website. Note that we have multiple workshops in the fall and that our Qualifier competition season starts on Dec 16th and continues through Feb 25th, 2024.
https://www.ftcpenn.org/ftc-events/2023-2024-season
As with past years, we use the FIRST Event Volunteer Registration system for all of our events. Volunteering for an event is one of the options on your personal FIRST Dashboard on the http://www.firstinspires.org website. General Instructions detailed below.
As always, we welcome back our awesome regional volunteers who participated with us in past years, but also welcome new volunteers from family, friends, the community and businesses alike. Please know that this is also a great opportunity for coaches, mentors and parents to get an insider’s perspective of how FTC events are conducted in our State and region. The perspectives and guidance gained will also translate into helping your own team and students to be successful. If you are already registered to volunteer then thank you!
Volunteer roles are defined in the link provided below. We welcome volunteers in all capacities, but especially in key roles such as Judging, Referees and Inspectors.
https://www.ftcpenn.org/volunteer/volunteer-roles
For guidance on volunteering at a PA FTC Event please go to the following link or see instructions below. https://www.ftcpenn.org/volunteer
General Instructions:
We use the FIRST Event Volunteer Registration system for all of our events. Volunteering for an event is one of the options on your personal FIRST Dashboard on the http://www.firstinspires.org website.
To access the FIRST Event Volunteer Registration system:
Browse to http://www.firstinspires.org. Click Log In in the upper right-hand corner. If you already have a FIRST account, enter your FIRST username and password, and click LOG IN.
If you do not have a FIRST account, click Register in the upper right-hand corner, then fill out the account form.
Once on your personal Dashboard, select Volunteer Registration and then Event Volunteering.
To narrow the available events to Pennsylvania FTC events, under Event Filters select FTC, United States, Pennsylvania; optionally enter dates and/or event name information, and then click Apply Filters. Select an event on the right-hand side (Southwestern Pennsylvania Qualifier) and click Volunteer. Follow the prompts to select the roles you are interested in.
https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/volunteer/general-volunteer-resources has great guidance, including a Volunteer Registration Step by Step Guide. if you have further questions about the Volunteer Registration system.
Youth Protection:
As with all FIRST and FTC PA events for many years now Youth Protection is paramount and mandatory at all of our events. As such, volunteers are required to comply with Youth Protection protocols as is necessary to assure compliance with Pennsylvania Child Protection Services Laws. Please go to the following link for detailed information and how to ensure your compliance and let us know if you would like additional guidance or instruction. We would be more than happy to assist you!
https://www.ftcpenn.org/volunteer/youth-protection
Thanks to you all for your consideration and let us know if you have any questions. We are so excited for his season and to see all of our teams and friends once again.
All the best,
Tom Zawislak and Bob Debes – Volunteer Administrator
Pennsylvania FIRST® Robotics
FIRST Tech Challenge® Program Delivery Partner
phone: (302) 383-9925
email: ftc@pennfirst.org
Website: www.FTCPenn.org