FLL's team registration system will be open for business on May 2nd for the 2011 Food Factor Season. FIRST Robotics Canada has received a grant from the provincial government to support the growth of FIRST programs within Ontario. We are pleased to announce that we will be partially funding 40 new teams in Ontario this year!
NOTE: If you get the grant of $750 you must still purchase a Field Setup Kit for $78 (unless you already have access to one for the 2011 Food Factor season) and build a table (instructions can be found here - while the table is not mandatory, it is strongly recommended). Lastly, you will want your team to attend a tournament in the fall (November or December) and while tournament costs vary, you should plan to spend $150 per team for tournament registration. In total, after the grant, you will need around $250 for your team. The $750 grant is to cover the majority of the costs of starting up a team, which include the robot and the team registration fee (different than the tournament registration fee). Please see this page for information on description and pricing associated with materials for an FLL team.
In previous years without the funding, teams usually participated in fundraising activities such as bake sales, car washes, and sponsorship from local businesses. Many local shops will gladly give $50-100 to a team if they'll add their company's name to the back of a team shirt. These can be great learning opportunities for students as well (in marketing, promotion, communication, business concepts, and partnerships).
If you are not selected as one of the 40 teams to receive the grant this spring you will be placed on a waiting list for the grant for the fall reimbursement. While I cannot guarantee you will receive funding, there is a good chance the money will eventually be reimbursed; however, you should be prepared to accept the possibility that it will not.
The process is explained fully in the documentation listed at the bottom of this post (which will also be posted on our website in the next few days); however, in a nutshell, you must:
- FIRST register (by going to https://gofll.usfirst.org/) AND PAY for your team within FLL's Team Registration System (which opens on May 2nd, at noon)
- THEN submit your form for the grant (see paperwork attached) to the following email address: FIRST@ylf-fyl.ca (the Yves Landry Foundation has graciously agreed to handle the administrative process of the grant) - do NOT email the application to fllontario@gmail.com.
- NOTE: only fully completed grant applications which have official FLL Team #'s (given to you upon registering with FLL) and school boards listed will be accepted as received and placed in the queue for funding!!!
- if your submission is complete you will receive an email confirming receipt of your application.
- once your application has been approved you will be notified of the good news and mailed a cheque for $750 to reimburse you for the cost of the robot and registration to start up a new team OR a cheque for $250 to cover the cost of your registration if you are a veteran team applying for the mentoring grant.
- If you send in your grant application but miss out on this opportunity because all of the funds are absorbed by other teams, you will be added to a waiting list and may be contacted if more funds become available.
- In any case, your supplies (robot and Field Setup Kit [FSK]) will be delivered in late August and the game will be released on September 2nd! Become a follower of my blog to keep up to date on all things FLL in Ontario.
New Team Application (latest version of Word)
New Team Application (old version of Word)
Mentor Application (latest version of Word)
Mentor Application (old version of Word)
Please note, if your school board has a centrally assigned Science or robotics individual, please contact them prior to registering to see if they have coordinated anything board-wide in which you might already be included.
Thank you once again for your interest in our FIRST programs and specifically in FLL.
Have a great season!
Dave
Dave Ellis
FLL Operational Partner - Ontario, Canada
www.firstroboticscanada.org
