Welcome Letter

Hello [coach’s name] [FTC Team # Name X],

Welcome! We have been notified by FIRST that you have registered a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team for the 2020-2021 season. Great news! If you have not yet completed registration and paid the $275.00 FIRST fee, please do so before December 1st through your FIRST Dashboard (use link and then ‘login’ to see your dashboard): https://www.firstinspires.org/

You are part of the Greater Los Angeles FTC Region – welcome to our group!  The format this year will be Scrimmages and Qualifier Tournaments (instead of Leagues and ILTs) to buy as much time as possible before competitive play so teams who cannot meet until the second semester have time to build. Each team will pick one QT to compete with the potential to advance to the LA Championship. You will still be assigned to a League for communication purposes and to group you with other teams nearby for potential learning opportunities. 

With social distancing still very active in the LA area, the format for LAFTC this year will be Remote Play. That means individual performances at your school (if approved by your school) or your garage.  There are no alliances or team play and scores are uploaded to the Cloud. Note – most of the field and elements can be made from cardboard, greatly reducing cost so you can have your own field at home. Please read the Game Manual 1 and 2 / Remote Play on the FIRST website for more details on Remote Play.

To participate in the 2020-21 League and Interleague Events, you will also need to register with LAFTC to be able to play. Registration is open now. Fees to compete have been dropped to $50 from $300, since we are playing remote. Fees are due no later than January 20th. If you have not yet registered your team with LAFTC for this season, you may do so here.

You are assigned to League X. This is your League from last year, or if you are new, we’ve assigned you to the League closest to your zip code.  Please reach out to your League Host (on copy) or community@firsttechsocal.org. 

Here is our timeline:

  • September 13                      LAFTC Virtual Kickoff and Registration Opens
  • November 16-22                 Remote Scrimmage #1
  • December 14-20                 Remote Scrimmage #2
  • December 5                         Kickoff Reboot (Update on any changes from FIRST)
  • January 20                            Last day to register and pay for your Qualifier
  • January 25-31                      Remote Scrimmage #3
  • February 15-21                   Remote Scrimmage #4
  • March 6, 14, 20, 28             Qualifying Tournaments – planning for remote events (7 day window prior to QT day to submit scores)
  • April 24                                 Championship – planning for a remote event           
  • July TBD                                Worlds – planning for an in-person event in Houston

If you are new to FTC or FIRST, please check the corporate website for game manuals, resource ideas, how to fundraise, and helpful hints for Mentors: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/ftc/start-a-team

See our local website for more details on how we run and the other teams in your League: www.firsttechsocal.org.

Thank you, 

LAFTC Committee

Questions? contact us: community@firsttechsocal.org