Hello All,

We had a terrific 2007 FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) season in Florida. Season highlights include:

– Growing from 8 Florida teams in 2006 to 41 teams in 2007.-
Over 300 students and 70 mentors participated in the FTC Florida championship.-
We developed partnerships with the University of South Florida and the Tampa Bay Technology Alliance.
– Many new sponsors: Raytheon, Catalina Marketing, Bob Evans Restaurant, Wal – Mart, Starbucks, Publix and Sweetbay Supermarket
– 76 Volunteers helped during the State Championship- RobotFest hosted by Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange was Florida’s first ever scrimmage.

Videos of the elimination matches and photographs taken at the Florida Championship are accessible through the following web page: www.flfirst.org/Media.shtml

The 2008 FTC Florida Championship will be hosted by the College of Engineering at the University of South Florida. The tentative date is February 28, 2009. We moved the competition from mid-January to late February as a result of the responses to a team survey.

Upcoming FTC events in Florida are posted on the following web page: www.flfirst.org/Events.shtml

FTC is not using the Vex Robotics System for the 2008 season. Information about the new robotics platform is contained on the FIRST FTC web site: www.usfirst.org/community/fvc/content.aspx?id=6070

Michael Coleman
FTC Affiliate Partner for Florida