FIRST Tech Challenge Team Portal

FIRST no longer regrants donations to teams. 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 Tech Challenge New Team Hardship Grant (listed on the FIRST site above).

• Rookies – $750 ($275 to cover registration and $455 toward equipment from the FIRST Storefront)
• Apply for this need based grant here
• Do NOT pay FIRST registration before grant notification
• Deadline is Nov. 19, 2024

FTC SIM Argosy Grants (listed on the FIRST site above)

• Rookies – $1,000 to cover registration equipment
• Apply for this grant
• 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
• Deadline: September 27, 2024

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

• Applications open August 27, 2024 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.
• Apply here if you would like a Boeing mentor
• 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 2024-2025

KC STEM Alliance Grants (not listed at FIRST)

• Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas
• Jackson, Platte, Clay and Cass counties in Missouri
• The goal of these grants is to sustain robotics programs in under-served communities, facilitate recent start-up teams and encourage teams doing STEM outreach.
• Learn more and apply
• Deadline to apply is 5 pm on September 13, 2024 
• Notification of Award: Week of October 7-11, 2024

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

• BAE Systems’ FIRST grant application is now closed
• 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

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 discounted equipment to FIRST FTC Teams
• 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
• Application opens September 15, 2024. Deadline March 15, 2025.

FIRST and NewsCorp have a special section in DonorsChoose.org

• Using the DonorsChoose platform, eligible teachers from all over the United States can create classroom project funding requests, which are then fulfilled by generous citizen donors as well as corporations and foundations.
• Learn more here

In order to be able to compete as a FIRST Tech Challenge team, teams need to register with FIRST each season. The annual FIRST registration fees that all teams pay to FIRST stays at FIRST Headquarters in New Hampshire and does not get passed onto FIRST in Missouri. To pay your team’s $295 FIRST HQ Registration fee, please visit your team’s FIRST Dashboard.

Teams are allowed to order equipment prior to their two adult coaches completing the Youth Protection Program (YPP). However, teams will not be allowed to register for local events until YPP screening is a Yes for both coaches.

MO/KS Regular Season – $225

In order to participate in Missouri/Kansas Regular Season events, teams pay a $225 Registration Fee to FIRST in Missouri. This non-refundable fee covers:

• 3 League Meets
• 1 League Tournament

This season, we are asking teams to request an invoice for the MO/KS Regular Season Registration Fee. Teams may request an invoice now. Grants applied to your FIRST Dashboard cannot be used for MO/KS fees. The two systems are not connected.

Request MO/KS Registration Invoice

MO/KS Post Season – $150

In order to participate in post season events in Missouri/Kansas, team pay a $150 Post Season Registration Fee to FIRST in Missouri. Teams only pay this fee if they qualifier for post season play. This non-refundable fee covers:

• Super Qualifier
• MO/KS Championship

There will be 8 Leagues for CENTERSTAGE. Each League will have up to 36 teams.

• STL North
• STL Mid
• STL South
• SE
• SW
• Central MO
• 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
• Each team will be assigned to play in 3 Meets. The top 10 match scores 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
• 3 teams from each League will advance the MO/KS Championship
• Qualifying teams will advance to the Super Qualifier. The number of teams advancing from each League Tournament to the Qualifier will be determined once total team count and League assignments are completed.

Super Qualifier Tournaments

• Entry fee of $150 covers registration for both the Super Qualifier and the MO/KS Championship
• 36 teams at each Super Qualifier 
• There will be 2 Super Qualifiers, one East and one West
• A Super Qualifier is a full day FIRST experience with judging, qualifying matches, alliance selection and play, and an award ceremony
• 6 teams from each Super Qualifier will advance the MO/KS Championship

MO/KS Championship

• 36 teams at MO/KS Championship at Missouri S&T in Rolla
• # of teams to advance to FIRST Championship in Houston TBD

FIRST Championship in Houston, TX scheduled for April 16-19, 2025.

Kickoff Videos

• Watch the MO/KS Overview recording
• Watch the FIRST Tech Challenge INTO THE DEEP 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.

• 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

• October 8, 2024
• October 1, 2024
• September 24, 2024
• September 17, 2024
• September 10, 2024
• September 3, 2024
• August 27, 2024
• August 20, 2024
• August 13, 2024
• August 6, 2024
• MO/KS FTC INTO THE DEEP Information Packet
• Equipment and Kit of Parts

• MO/KS FTC INTO THE DEEP Information Packet
• Equipment and Kit of Parts