Team Leaders, information from FIRST is increasing as the calendar charges into fall so please read the updates from me (https://firstuppermidwest.org ), the Team email blasts, the Inspire blog (https://www.firstinspires.org/community/inspire ), and Frank’s blog (https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/blog/ ).  You can Subscribe to both blogs so that you’ll get email notifications when new information is posted.  And, please, pass this information to your team’s mentors.  My emails only go to the Main and Alternate team contacts as defined in TIMS.

The challenges FIRST has developed for this season look like a lot of fun and appear to offer something for everyone.  If you are participating, please register early to help us line up the proper number of judges and do the venue planning should we be able to hold live events.

Team Grants from FIRST
If you are looking for help paying for the season, pay close attention to the following link.  Every team in the US is eligible $450 from NASA – just apply (about a two minute process).  There is also a $1000 grant if you did not get a chance to compete last season.  There is money for rookies, too.  If you know a school that is considering joining the program, this is the year to do it – $3000 entry fee (vs. $6000), no pressure to build a competitive robot, and lots of veteran teams with time to help.

https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/blog/2021-grants

Mentor Virtual Meetup (Zoom) – Oct 8th
The next FUM Mentor Meet Up is next Thursday (October 8) at 7:00 PM.  The Google sheet to add topics for discussion (and the Zoom link) is at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sF1lapm902kijdAfW34GPp8xctvq4JN2i4Izk5Wb6MY/edit
Please circulate this information to other mentors and coaches in MN, ND and SD and encourage them to attend.

Regards, Mark Lawrence
Chairman, MN FIRST Regional Planning Committee