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Welcome to the BIOBUZZ Season!

Hello New Mexico FTC Teams!

Welcome to the FTC BIOBUZZ(TM) presented by RTX Season!

We are planning two Season Kickoff events in NM!

Please come join us on Saturday, September 12 to watch the Kickoff Broadcast from FIRST Headquarters! These will be located at:

  • Albuquerque: La Academia de Esperanza Charter School, 7311 Glenrio RD NW
  • Alamogordo: Alamogordo High School, 103 Cuba Ave

If you plan to attend, please RSVP by Aug 19 to nmftcinfo@gmail.com or using the “Contact Us” button above and include your team name and the number of students that will be attending. Prospective teams, students and volunteers are also welcome to attend! We are making plans for food and other activities at these events.  Doors open at 9:30AM MDT and the kickoff broadcast begins at 10AM.

Season Competition plans:

We will be hosting two Qualifiers and a Regional Championship in New Mexico for the 2026-27 FTC BIOBUZZ Season!

  • Alamogordo Qualifier: December 11-12, Alamogordo High School
  • Albuquerque Qualifier: January 22-23, La Academia de Esperanza Charter School
  • New Mexico Regional Championship: February 19-20, Menaul School, Albuquerque

Additional FTC BIOBUZZ Season Details:

  • Competition Manual: FIRST has released the BIOBUZZ Competition Manual Preview (Version 0) giving teams an early look at many of this season’s non-game-specific updates, including the new Competition Integrity Contract, judging changes, robot rule updates, and more.  This preview, and all season materials as they are released, can be found at:  https://ftc-resources.firstinspires.org/ftc/game   See this page for some important highlights about changes you can expect this season:   https://community.firstinspires.org/biobuzz-cm-preview-release
  • Hardship Grants:  FIRST is making Hardship Grants available again this season and has just opened those to Program Delivery Partners.  These are designed to help with registration costs for veteran teams with some additional funds for equipment purchases available for rookie teams.  Please contact me if you want to apply.  The team will need two lead coaches in the FIRST registration system with Consent & Release and Youth Protection Screening complete for before I can submit the request.  Important: If you request one of these grants, be sure not to pay your team registration fees until we know the outcome of the request – FIRST will not reimburse those fees if they’ve already been paid!
  • Training:  In the past, teams have expressed questions and concerns about the Judging, Referee & Inspection processes implemented at our events as well as the Control System technology. To help address this, the Volunteer Training system is being opened to all.  This will allow coaches, students and even parents to take the same training modules that the volunteers running the events receive.  In particular, I would recommend the training for Judges, Referees and Robot Inspectors as these areas usually dominate the concerns.  The Field Technical Advisor (FTA), Control System Advisor (CSA) and related trainings also have much useful information about the Control System Technology. Training is accessed through the FIRST Dashboard. Students under the age of 13 may require assistance from an adult or student over 13 to access the training.
  • Growth:  Please help us get to at least 22 FTC teams in New Mexico this season with a goal of 24 or more to assure we get advancement slots to the Houston Championship and Premier Events. FIRST Programs rely heavily on participating teams to help with that growth! We had only 19 active teams last year.  If your organizations, or other folks you know, are interested in forming a team, please help them or have them contact us at nmftcinfo@gmail.com or using the “Contact Us” button above.  The sooner this is done, the better as we can help with expenses using the Hardship grants discussed above but only until those funds are exhausted!
  • Game Element: The game element for this year was revealed by FIRST in advance.  It is called “Pollen”, a ball similar, but not identical to, a pickle ball.  I will order a set of three for each registered team that RSVPs for a Kickoff event by Aug 19 or alternatively, they can be purchased from AndyMark by clicking here: https://andymark.com/collections/first-tech-challenge-2026-2027/products/ftc-2026-27-game-preview-pack

Finally, please welcome Matt Kangas, who has just signed on as the second FIRST Tech Challenge Program Delivery Partner for New Mexico!  Many regions have multiple people in the PDP role and it was time for that to happen here! We hope this will help us with program growth and improved efficiency and communications!

 

 

 

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