In British Columbia, the 2018/19 FIRST Tech Challenge season uses a League format leading on the the Provincial Championship. It means that your team will get more opportunities to play matches with your robot.
All teams are encouraged to participate in two League events which will be held from November to January. The scores from the League events will carry forward to the British Columbia Championship.
New this year, some of the FIRST Tech Challenge events will be held in both the Vancouver area and Victoria.
At each League event, teams will play up to 5 matches. Scores from a maximum of 10 matches will carry forward to the Championship.
Season Schedule (see the Events page dates, times, and locations)
September – Kick-off
October – Workshops
November to January – League Events
February 23, 2019 – British Columbia FTC Championship
St. Michael’s University School, Victoria
Register for the BC FIRST Tech Challenge Season
Questions and Answers
- Why are there Leagues?
- The primary reason for implementing Leagues is to create more opportunities for Teams to compete with the robots. Leagues encourage teams to learn about the Engineering Design Process by having the opportunity to design, build, test, evaluate, and then start the design cycle again.
- Leagues should be easier for most students and teams to participate. They require less of a time commitment yet provide unique learning opportunities. Teams can learn from each other as the try new designs and improve their programming skills.
- Leagues promote community: Teams interact more and develop closer ties.
- How do League Rankings Work?
Teams receive scores for each Match they participate in. Their best 10 scores carry forward to the Championships (automated by the scoring system). All other Match scores for that team are discarded. - Could a team play more than ten matches in League play?
No team will have results from more than ten matches included in the team rankings at the start of the Championship. - Do teams hand in their Engineering Notebook at each League event?
It’s always a good idea to have your Engineering Notebook with your team, but you only need to hand in your Engineering Notebook for judging at the Championship. - If my team misses a League event, can we still compete in the Championship?
Yes, any team registered in the British Columbia Championships is welcome to compete. Your team will have fewer matches included in rankings at the end of the Qualifying Matches. - Can my team choose which League Events they play in?
Teams can indicate a preference for which League they will participate in as part of their season registration. Leagues will have a maximum number of spots available due to the capacity of different venues. - What is the difference between a League Event and the Championship Tournament?
- At League events, teams will have a pit area, go through robot inspections and then start playing matches. Each team should expect to play 5 matches at a League event.
- At the Championships, all teams will check in and be assigned a pit table. Each team will have an assigned 10 minute Judging Interview in the morning. After Opening Ceremonies, all teams will play in 5 Qualifying matches. The scores of these matches are added to the scores from League Play to rank the teams for Alliance Selection. The top four alliances will play off in the exciting Elimination Matches, followed by Closing Ceremonies and Awards.