Team Portal

FIRST is not regranting money to teams this season. Do not apply for more grants than you can use in the FIRST storefront.

Check the FIRST Grant Opportunities for the latest list that is published by HQ (updated often).

Heartland STEM Grant (not listed at FIRST)

• The initial grant is $500, with an additional matching fund of $1,000 available for organizations that do additional fundraising
• Apply for this grant here

FIRST Rookie Grants (listed on the FIRST site above).

• Rookies – $275 to cover registration and $225 toward equipment
• Apply for this need based grant here
• Do NOT pay FIRST registration before grant notification
• Deadline is Nov. 11, 2023

FTC Sim Rookie Grants (not listed at FIRST)

• Rookies – $1,000 to cover registration equipment
• Teams awarded this grant are not eligible for the need-based FIRST rookie team grant.
• Apply for this need based grant here
• Do NOT pay FIRST registration before grant notification

John Deere Grants (listed on the FIRST site above)

• Teams must be within 40 miles of Coffeyville, KS or Springfield, MO facilities or have a John Deere employee mentoring virtually
• Do NOT pay FIRST registration before grant notification.
• Learn more and apply here
• Deadline is Sept. 30, 2023

Boeing Employee Mentors Grant (listed on the FIRST site above)

• Applications are open from August 9 until September 29, 2023 for Boeing employees and retires only. 
• In order to receive a Boeing sponsorship, a team must have a Boeing employee or retiree who commits to volunteering for the team at least 25 hours over the course of the season.
• Teams can receive an $800 grant
• Do NOT pay FIRST registration before grant notification if you want to use for this purpose
• Grants are restricted for 2023-2024

KC STEM Alliance Grants (not listed at FIRST)

• Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas
• Jackson, Platte, Clay and Cass counties in Missouri
• Grants are awarded to support and increase student participation in FIRST Tech Challenge
• Learn more and apply here
• Deadline to apply is Sept. 15, 2023 by 5 pm CT
• Notification of status on Sept. 22, 2023

BAE Systems’ FIRST gran  (not listed on the FIRST site above)

• BAE Systems’ FIRST grant application is now open. 
• Application deadline is September 22, 2023
• Teams must meet at least one criteria:
  • Teams located within 75 miles of a BAE Systems site
  • Teams with BAE Systems mentors
  • Teams with an existing relationship with BAE Systems
  • Teams demonstrating diversity in STEM

Bayer (formerly Monsanto) Grants (listed on the FIRST site above)

• MO = 55 miles from Kansas City, Matthews and St. Louis facilities
• Invitation only grant – you need a contact or ask for one at the local site
• Learn more and apply here
• The application period begins July 1, 2023 and closes July 31, 2023 at 11:59 (CT).

REV Robotics Team Sponsorships (listed on the FIRST site above)

• The sponsorships are for use on REV products and intended for both rookie and veteran teams that excel on the playing field while being good stewards of their local FIRST community through sharing their knowledge with other teams.
• Learn more and apply here
• Application opens soon. Deadline TBA.

GoBilda Team Sponsorships (not listed at FIRST)

• Offering Strafer Chassis Kits (normally $499.99) for only $150 to 150 FIRST FTC Teams (both rookie and veteran)!
• Learn more and apply here
• Application opens soon. Deadline TBA.

Gene Haas Foundation Team Grants  (not listed at FIRST)

• Offering $2,000 Grants to both rookie and veteran teams
• Learn more and apply here
• No Annual Deadline: Teams will be funded annually (one submission per year)

FIRST and NewsCorp have a special section in DonorsChoose.org

• Open to public school teachers for items (not registration)
• Learn how one teacher has been successful with DonorsChoose.org here
• Learn more here

Teams must pay a flat $225 fee to participate in Missouri/Kansas competitions.

This non-refundable fee covers:

• League Meets
• League Tournament

This fee does not cover:

• Post Season Events (Championship)

We have a NEW process for payment. FIRST in Missouri will issue an invoice from our QuickBooks system. Grants applied to your FIRST  Dashboard cannot be used for MO/KS fees. The two systems are not connected.

Invoices can be paid with paper checks, electronic fund transfer (EFT) or credit card.

There will be 7 Leagues for CENTERSTAGE. Each League will have up to 36 teams.

• STL North
• STL Mid
• STL South
• SE
• SW/MidMO
• KC East
• KC West

League Meets

• A Meet is a robot play only event. They last approx. 4 hours. Min. size 6 teams, max size 12 teams.
• Each League will offer multiple Meets so that teams have flexibility on dates/locations
• You want to play in at least 2 Meets so that you have your top 10 match scores to carry into the League Tournament
• ALL MEETS WILL BE PLAYED WITHIN YOUR LEAGUE.

League Tournament

• A Tournament is a full day FIRST experience with judging, qualifying matches, alliance selection and play, and an award ceremony
• All League teams must play in their League Tournament
• Advancements to the MO/KS Championship will be determined once total team count and League assignments are completed.

MO/KS Championship

• 36 teams at MO/KS Championship this year
• Event is scheduled for March 2, 2023 at Missouri S&T in Rolla
• Entry fee of $150
• # of teams to advance to Houston TBD

FIRST Championship in Houston, TX scheduled for April 17-20, 2024.

Kickoff Videos 

• Watch the MO/KS Overview recording
• Watch the FIRST Tech Challenge CENTERSTAGE Kickoff Video

Teams are encouraged to build a profile for the FIRST Mentor Network. This is a new system and we need to show the community how we would appreciate their involvement. The registration is for in-person or virtual mentoring – this could be amazing for teams without many engineers nearby. But don’t forget to ask for help with budgets, presentations, etc.

FIRST and FIRST in Missouri will encourage businesses to share with their employees.

Learn more about the FIRST Mentor Network.

Opportunities for outreach:

We would like to suggest the following opportunities to keep our MO/KS robotics community connected:

• Online mentoring of new teams
• Building up our community by sharing experience/skills
• Using the Mentor Network to advertise for your own mentors but also to get the word out to potential mentor pools
  
• Volunteering at an event for another level of FIRST programming – FIRST LEGO League students love to see “big robots”

There are usually off-season events across the country.

Check FIRST Events listing and watch for announcements in our Tech Tuesday Newsletter.

• Tech Tuesday Newsletter – Archive and sign-up of our local weekly Team Emails
• Facebook
• FIRST in Missouri YouTube Channel
• MOFTC Scores – historical info on teams and events
• KCFIRST – website with KC area specific info
• FIRST Alumni for Missouri & Kansas

• FIRST Tech Challenge @ FIRST Inspires – Homepage for the program
• CENTERSTAGE Game Page – Link for all the game resources
• FTC Docs
• FIRST Tech Challenge Forum – Ask questions, follow the topic threads
• FIRST Tech Challenge Blog – Keep up with the latest news from headquarters
• FIRST Tech Challenge Team Email Blasts – Archive of news sent to teams by FIRST headquarters
• FTC Event Results – The official match, event, and team data provider for FIRST Tech Challenge
• FIRST Tech Challenge on Reddit – Not an official FIRST site. Lots of threads to follow
• FTC Share and Learn Group on Facebook

• Engineering Portfolio Database
  • View examples of Engineering Portfolios from MO/KS teams
  • Cobalt Colts Team #6547 created an Engineering Portfolio Template and Instructional Video
  • Zenith Team #23307 recorded a workshop on Engineering Portfolios and Judging Tips
• Our MO/KS teams have created training videos for the HuskyLens. These videos can be found on the FIRST in Missouri YouTube Channel