Coach Trainings and Season Overview Events in September (MI FLL Team Blast 2018.02)

There are three opportunities for coaches and/or teams to learn more about FLL. These are especially helpful to rookie teams or new coaches, but they are also great for returning coaches who want to learn more.

Birmingham and Rochester Hills

In partnership with FIRST in Michigan, The Robot Garage will be offering the following support to FLL and FTC team for Fall 2018

• Sunday Night Studios starting 9/23
• 20% off robotics classes to First in Michigan families
• FLL Season Overviews 9/5 & 9/6

Visit the website below for details and registration information.

http://www.therobotgarage.com/first-robotics.html 

Grand Rapids:

Grand Dial in Grand Rapids will offer the following coach training dates.

• Basic Training on Sept. 15
• Advanced Training on Sept. 20 

You can find more information on their site at Grand Dial FLL Coach Trainings.

Monroe:

There will be a Coach Training night at the Monroe County ISD on Raisinville Road in Monroe, MI, in the Professional Development Building on Sept. 13 from 6-9 pm. There is no charge for this training. No registration is required. You can email me if you need further information or directions.

If you would like to host a training event or workshop for teams, please let me know.

Team Registration and Grants, Challenge Release, Coach Training, Events (MI FLL Team Blast 2018.01)

This is the first of the team update emails you will receive about FLL this year.  If you will not be involved with a team this year and do not wish to receive emails anymore, please log into your FIRST Dashboard and remove/change your contact information to the new coach or contact for your team.

Registration and Grants

Registration continues for the 2018 season of FLL! If you have registered, challenge sets are now shipping to teams in order of registration and yours will be on the way. If you need any help with the registration process, don't hesitate to ask! Veteran teams should register with their existing number, and teams should include their school name on their team if they are organized through a school. This season, registration includes the Challenge Set. Instead of a $225 registration fee and a $75 challenge set cost, the registration fee including the challenge set will be $299 this year.

Remember that FIRST in Michigan's progression of programs is different than the FIRST progression. FLL teams in Michigan consist of "upper elementary" students: 4th and 5th graders, as well as 6th graders if they attend a K-6 elementary building.

There are grants available to start additional teams at your school! If you have more students who want to participate, you can start an additional FLL team for free with our rookie reimbursement grants. You can reply to this email for more information. If you are a rookie team, the link to the grant reimbursement form will be available in a few weeks and emailed to all registered teams.

Challenge Release

The new challenge is out! You can find INTO ORBIT resources at the FIRST website, including the challenge guide, coaches' handbook, videos, etc.

Coach Training

There will be opportunities for coach training throughout the fall. I have details on one so far: Grand Dial in Grand Rapids will offer Basic Training on Aug. 18 and Sept. 15 and Advanced Training on Sept. 20 for FLL coaches for a fee. You can find more information on their site at Grand Dial FIRST Robotics Training.

If you are interested in hosting a training or build event to support teams in your area, please let me know. 

Events

We are still finalizing the tournament list for 2018. We do need a few additional events. The $75 registration fee from teams is the basis for the event budget, and there is support throughout the process of planning and hosting the event. Please let me know if you would like more information.

Spring Tournament Applications Open March 22 and Close March 29 for Michigan FIRST LEGO League Teams (MI FLL Team Blast 2017.17)

Hello Teams!

Event application for spring events will open on Thursday, March 22 at 5:00 p.m.

Event application for spring events will close on Thursday, March 29 at 5:00 p.m.

You can view the status of your event applications through your team’s Dashboard, where you initially created the team and paid the team registration fee.  You may access your Dashboard via the www.firstinspires.org website.  In the upper right of the page, choose “Log in”.  You should be able to see the Michigan FIRST LEGO League events when you access your Dashboard.  Please note that some of the events have limited availability, and one has no availability.

You will know you are registered for an event, when you receive a confirmation email from donotreply@usfirst.org that your team is Registered for an event.  The email will be titled: 

     Your FLL team number “team name” is now set to Registered status for event name.

Michigan FIRST LEGO League Spring 2018 Tournament Signup Process (MIFLL Team Blast 2017.16)

Hello Teams!

Welcome to the beginning of our Spring Tournaments!

Who May Participate in a spring tournament?
Michigan FIRST LEGO League teams that meet the following criteria:

1. Team is registered through FIRST and has paid the team registration fee for the 2017-2018 HYDRODYNAMICS season AND
2. Team did NOT compete in a Fall 2017 Qualifier tournament.

Why should I participate in a Michigan FIRST LEGO League tournament?

1. Tournaments are FUN!
2. Tournaments are a critical and important part of the FIRST and the FIRST LEGO League experience.  
3. A tournament is an opportunity for teams to learn, showcase their accomplishments, and celebrate their hard work throughout the season. Even if your team does not feel ready, we encourage and expect all teams to participate in a tournament. 
4. A tournament is an opportunity for you to engage and invite parents, siblings, sponsors, and friends to attend the tournament and cheer on your team!
5. Your participation in a Michigan FIRST LEGO League spring tournament will meet the tournament participation criteria for FIRST LEGO League grants for the kits in the state of Michigan, including the MDE grant and the Rookie Team grant.