Hello, New Mexico FIRST^® Tech Challenge teams!  Welcome to the CENTERSTAGE^SM Presented by RTX competition season!! Team registration is open through your FIRST Dashboard.

The CENTERSTAGE kickoff will be at 10AM MDT on Saturday, September 9.   We are planning kickoff events in Albuquerque and Alamogordo, so please stay tuned for details.

The “CENTERSTAGE Game Manual Part 1″ is now available on the FTC Game & Season materials page on the FIRST website.  It can be found here: https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/ftc/game-and-season-info

FIRST has made some changes to FTC this season:

One of the biggest changes is in the advancement rules.  For this season, teams are only allowed to win Inspire and advance to the state and world championships from their home region. This is described in Chapter 6 of Game Manual Part 1. In this model, out of region teams may compete in our Qualifiers, but they may not advance to the NM Regional Championship or to the World Championships in Houston using NM’s allocations.  The reverse is also true. If you’re a NM team that chooses to compete in another region’s qualifiers, you may not advance to their regional championship or to Houston using their advancement slots.

There are several key hardware changes.  Most critically, Android Phones must be running Android 7 or newer.  Phones running Android 5 & 6 are no longer legal or supported. Also, for teams returning after a long absence during the pandemic, please be aware that the white Modern Robotics Modules are also no longer supported or legal.  FIRST assures us the supply chain issues affecting the Rev Robotics  modules last year are solved. That hardware should be available for purchase through the FTC storefront accessed via your Dashboard and through Rev Robotics.  I would still recommend buying that hardware sooner rather than later! We also highly recommend you invest in the Rev Control Hub and Driver Hub equipment. Last years’ experience shows they are significantly more reliable than the phones!  There are other hardware changes as well – please review the rules in Game Manual Part 1!

There are Rookie and other team grants available through FIRST.  Info and applications are here: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/team-grants     If you are a rookie team, please register and apply for the Rookie Grant as soon as possible!

BAE Systems Grant: FTC (and FRC) Teams within a 75 mile radius of Albuquerque, Socorro, Las Cruces, Los Alamos and White Sands Missile Range are eligible to apply for grants thru BAE Systems – Application & info are here: https://www.baesystems.com/en-us/our-company/about-us/bae-systems-inc/community-investment/first-grants

All of these grants come through the FIRST grant system.  If you are expecting one of these grants, please do not check out and pay until those funds come through.  If you pay with your own funds, then receive grant funds through FIRST, they will not refund those funds you.  FIRST will no longer do regrants of remaining funds for FTC teams so all grant funds of this type must be spent in the FTC storefront.  The good news is you can now order additional items there, including FTC Challange sets and competition field components from AndyMark.

We are planning events & schedules at this time and should have that information available by kickoff.  If you have any questions or need any assistance, please contact me using the “Contact US” button above or at nmftcinfo@gmail.com

Myself and our NMFTC Planning Committee are looking forward to an exciting season!

Jim Jackson, NM FIRST Tech Challenge Program Delivery Partner