Greetings Florida FTC Teams, Coaches, Volunteers, and Sponsors:

The primary purpose of this newsletter is to help new coaches and rookie teams understand Florida FTC League System. The following are the topics covered in this Florida FTC newsletter:

1. Rookie Teams and New Coaches -- Florida League System Background
2. League Fee
3. League Ranking
4. Florida Championship Advancement Criteria
5. Definition of “Event Ready”

1. Rookie Teams and New Coaches -- Florida League System Background – The primary objective of the league system is to allow teams to participate in regional events closer to their home city, minimize the administrative overhead by charging a single league fee instead of a fee per event, and increase the number of events teams can attend. The Florida FTC league system is structured similar to how school sports programs operate in that you will participate in local events against other League teams to determine which teams will advance to the Florida Championship.  Your team will get a chance to participate in all League Meets plus the League Tournament/Championship.  The main differences between the League Meets and League Tournament is that the League Tournament includes, an additional level of robot competition called the Alliance Matches and your team will also participate in the judge award process.   In early December, we will announce how many teams from each League will be advancing from each League Tournament to the Florida Championship.  You can learn more about the league structure by reviewing the FTC Game Manual Part 1 section 3.2.2 located on the following web page: https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/ftc/game-and-season-info
   
   
2. League Fee – In addition to the $295 season registration fee, each Florida FTC team is also required to pay a league fee between $150 and $350.  The specific dollar amount will vary by league and the league fee is used to cover the expenses associated with running a league. The league fee will allow your team to attend all League Meets and the League Tournament.  League fee expenses include items such as field game elements, field perimeter and matts, venue hosting fees, insurance coverage, lunch for volunteers at league events, electronics required to operate an event, and League Tournament awards.
   
   
3. League Ranking – The primary advantage of attending as many League Meets as possible is that it provides your team a chance to improve your league ranking going into the League Tournament. The FTC scoring software maintains a league ranking based on a combination of a teams Ranking Points and TieBreaker Points. Please review Game Manual Part 1 section 5.1 for a description of Ranking Points and TieBreaker Points. League Tournament rankings are based on the top ten Matches from all previous events.  Specifically, the scoring software will automatically select your team’s best 10 Matches. For example, if your team attends 3 League Meets and at each Meet has 6 matches; your team will have completed 18 Matches. However, the scoring software will only select your top 10 Matches with the highest Ranking Points/TieBreaker Points.
   
   
4. Florida Championship Advancement Criteria – In early December, 2023 we will announce how many teams will advance from each League Tournament to the Florida Championship.  The approach we follow is similar to how FIRST determines how many teams advance to the World Championship from each region.  All leagues will receive a minimum of 2 advancement slots and the specific number of advancement slots is based on the Relative Size of each league.  This means that larger leagues will receive a larger number of advancement slots. Last season, the smallest Florida leagues received 3 team advancement slots and our largest league had 11 advancement slots.  Team’s can receive an advancement invitation by winning a Judge award or being a part of a winning robot alliance.  Please review chapter 6.0 for the details of the Advancement Criteria.
   
   
5. Definition of “Event Ready” – Some of the team coaches have noticed that they are not able to register for a League Meet and that is due to a change that has been implemented in the event registration system.   Specifically, you team must be defined as being “Event Ready” to be able to register to attend a League Meet. “Event Ready” criteria is defined by FIRST and we are not able to add your team into the scoring software until these criteria is completed. You can determine if your team is currently defined as “Event Ready” by going to the following web page and finding your team number: http://www.flfirst.org/index.php/season/teams?view=teams.  If you see a “0” in the “Ready” column, then your team will not be able to register for a league meet. The following criteria must be completed prior to any Florida FTC team participating in a league meet:

• Team must complete the FIRST registration process that includes receipt of the $295 season registration fee by FIRST.
• Team must have two coaches registered for the team through their FIRST dashboard.
• Both coaches must sign the FIRST consent and release form. The best way to accomplish this task is through your FIRST Dashboard.
• Both coaches must complete and pass the FIRST YPP screening process.
• Student team members must sign the FIRST consent and release form. The best way to accomplish this is online by have each student create a FIRST Dashboard account.

This is a requirement defined by FIRST that will be enforced by each of the Florida leagues.