NorCalFTC Update for 9/10/25
Mark Edelman
All,
thank you to all that joined the Kickoff Town Hall Meeting and stopped by for DECODE field walk-thru sessions!
This update has a handful of important topics:
- AB506 reminder
- Q&A Town Hall 9/15 @ 7pm
- Mentor Slack Workspace
- Advancement Example Spreadsheet
- NorCal FTC Policies Updates
- League Interest Form Open
AB506 Reminder
just a quick reminder to the lead coach 1 and lead coach 2 for all teams. You MUST complete the California AB506 requirements for your team to be eligible to compete in FIRST in California. See https://www.playingatlearning.org/ca-ab506 for additional info and steps/resources for completing the required mandated reporter training and the LiveScan fingerprinting and background check.
We have been warned that the process can take 5+ days. It is to your advantage to take care of the requirements as early as possible. Please be aware that the mandated reporter training requires about 2 hours to complete the training videos and that the LiveScan fingerprinting requires a fee.
Q&A Town Hall 9/15/25 @ 7pm
We have scheduled a DECODE Q&A Town Hall for Monday September 15th at 7pm.
You can register to attend at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7852358452714433370
Please remember that the only source of "truth" for the rules and game play interpretations is the Competition Manual. The purpose of the Q&A call is to help teams build a better understanding of the manual, the game and the FTC program. Answers provided do NOT override the Competition Manual.
Questions about leagues, advancement and more are reasonable to ask!! The call WILL be recorded.
Mentor Slack Workspace
NorCal FTC maintains a Mentor Slack Workspace to allow for peer-to-peer communication amongst the mentors and coaches with the NorCal community. This Slack workspace is open only to adults. To request an invitation, please use this form - https://forms.gle/8BAXunKY9Rv6DyEJ8
New Advancement System and NorCal Example
As most of you are aware, FTC made changes this year to the advancement process for the various tournaments. We are in the process of putting together an example of the new advancement scheme that uses data from last years NorCal FTC Regional Championship as a source of info for better understanding the impacts of the changes.
Initially, the page will just be a simple snapshot of the spreadsheet we pulled together. Eventually, there will be a spreadsheet that can be downloaded and played with for entertainment purposes.
A snapshot of the spreadsheet is at https://www.norcalftc.org/advancement-model-changes/
NorCal FTC Policies Updates
We are in the process of updating many of our policies including; event participation, event registration, event wait-lists, event .cancellations, volunteering, and more. The updates will be reflected at https://www.norcalftc.org/norcal-ftc-policies-procedures/ in the next week or so.
League Interest Form Open
Currently all of our leagues are tentatively full. It is possible that a team currently assigned to a league may decline to participate. In that case, we will fill the opening(s) from the teams that indicate a continued interest.
https://forms.gle/2bCK7aoHZU98dRwj9
If there is enough interest, it might be possible to add additional leagues, but all interested teams should be aware that league participation is community supported and new league teams will be expected to contribute to the organization and operation of the meets and league tournaments for these new leagues.
Thanks for reading this far, I know this update was packed with info!
Stay tuned for more as the season ramps up - including lists of qualifying tournament dates and locations, information on the tournament registration process and more!
Mark & Devin
-- Playing At Learning Northern California Partner for FIRST LEGO League Jr, FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge ma...@playingatlearning.org (844)752-9576 x700