I hope this finds you and your family well.
This was supposed to be the week of the FIRST World Championship at the TCF Center in Detroit, looking similar to last year’s …
One of our own Edina FIRST Tech Challenge teams, Piece of Cake, was the Winning Alliance Captain at the Minnesota State FTC Championship, and planned to take it to the next level in Detroit with “The Grinch”, the best robot Edina FTC has ever built!
Edina’s own FIRST Robotics team, The Green Machine, was the Winning Alliance Captain of the Lake Superior Regional and was poised to make a run for the World playoffs with their robot, Zodiac, right after they were to be inducted into the FIRST Hall of Fame following their World Championship Chairman’s Award last year.
Instead, TCF Center in Detroit is now a much-needed hospital (check out the video). And, we are all staying safe at home and thankful that there is medical care for those who need it.
But Together We Rise! Tune in to the FIRST Virtual Showcase on Saturday, May 2, at 9:00 AM. And check out FIRST@Home for ideas for STEM activities.
And, what about next year? The truth is, we don’t know. We are delaying signups for Edina’s FTC teams, and invitations to FRC will be delayed until there is confirmation from FIRST that they will be releasing the plans for the 2020-2021 FTC game info, including the cost of registrations and kits. Preparations still continue! There will be new guidance for participation levels, new parent/mentor roles, and a new parts system. So long story short, stay tuned…
Stay safe everyone!
—Ging Wiandt, Edina FTC Coordinator