FTC-Iowa: Qualifier Tournaments
For the 2013/2014 FTC Season and fulfill the criteria for the many team grants, FTC-Iowa teams must participate in qualifying tournaments.
What is a "Qualifier Tournament"?
Qualifier tournaments, hosted throughout the state, are small tournaments. Teams compete in qualifier tournaments in order to advance to the FTC-Iowa Championship.
Is there a maximum of number of qualifiers for each team?
Must participate in one (1) qualifier, but can compete in more, if room permits. The idea: teams should play early and play often.
How do teams register for FTC-Iowa Qualifiers?
Teams may only register via the online FTC-Iowa Qualifier Registration form. (Opened in Fall, 2013)
What happens if my team registers for a qualifer, is assigned to a tournament, but does not attend/compete?
It takes a lot of time and work to host a qualifier tournament. If a team registers, is assigned to a qualifier but does not attend (due to cold feet), they could potentially void any grant funding they received for their team. Please keep in mind that teams are never 100% ready for a competition, and that is OK. There are teams who are willing and able to help others to get on their feet -- that's what Gracious Professionalism is all about!
We live in Iowa and Iowa has winter weather, so please review the Cancellation Policy.
Who and how many teams will advance from the qualifier tournaments?
The criteria for advancement is published in the Game Manual. Each qualifier will advance 2 or 3 teams.
What is the capacity of each qualifier?
Each qualifier has a capacity of 24 teams.
My team is not from Iowa. Can we still register and compete at an FTC-Iowa qualifier tournament?
Qualifier priority goes to teams located in Iowa. We will notify out-of-Iowa teams as soon as spots become available.
Do qualifier tournaments have a registration fee? If so, how much and how can it be paid?
Yes, each qualifier has a registration fee of $150/team. Example: If your school/organization has two teams and they attend two qualifiers, the fee would be $600 ($150 x 2 teams x 2 qualfiers). Credit card payment is required at the time of registration.
Note: we will not longer be able to send out invoices to FTC teams.
Other Information:
If a team registers for two qualifiers and earns a bid to the FTC-Iowa Championship from the first one, the team still must attend the second qualifier. If a team does not attend the second qualifier, they will forfeit their bid to the Iowa Championship. Qualifier Tournament hosts count on having the registered teams attend.
Team Videos - For Judges
This season, we are encouraging teams to submit a video for the judges to view prior to the qualifier they attend. This is not required, but encouraged. For more inforamation about the judges video requirements, including how to submit it, please view the Judges Video page.