FIMC-VI Logo

FIMC-VI

Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired
6 different color dots that represent a sim braille cell on the left and Florida Regional Braille Challenge Braille Institute

2025 Dates:

Tampa - January 24
Orlando - February 7
Tallahassee - February 21
Miami - March 8 (Saturday)

Student reading braille with two hands. 

Join us for Butterfly Braille in 2025 at a city near you!


Agenda

Due to extremely low student enrollment at the North Florida Braille Challenge in Tallahassee, the event will be canceled.  Please email sglaser@fimcvi.org to make arrangements to attend the East or South Florida events as soon as possible.

 

West Florida

FIMC-VI
Monroe Middle School
4716 W. Montgomery Ave.
Tampa, FL  33616

North Florida

Lively Technical College
500 Appleyard Drive
Tallahassee, FL  32304

East Florida

Orange Technical College – West Campus
2010 Ocoee-Apopka Rd.
Ocoee, FL 34761

South Florida

Miami Lighthouse for the Blind
601 SW 8th Avenue
Miami, FL  33130

Student Registration

Please pay attention to the registration deadlines for any of the Florida Regional events so that FIMC-VI can order contests, student t-shirts, goody bags, materials, etc. and plan for food and refreshments. Family members, teachers, volunteers, paraprofessionals, administrators, vendors, etc. must register online to confirm attendance. A student permission form only registers the student. It does NOT mean that parents or any other guests are registered.  


The BRAILLE CHALLENGE is a national program of the Braille Institute® hosted by regional schools and agencies that serve blind and visually impaired children. It is the only national braille literacy competition of its kind in the country, and is specifically designed to challenge and reward blind students for their study of braille, which is essential to their future academic and employment success.  Regional students who score among the top 50 nationally are invited to Braille Institute in Los Angeles for a final competition!

Adult/Guest Registration

How can I help my student(s) prepare for the Florida Regional Braille Challenge competition?

  • Braille Institute can help!  They have several years of past contests available to download for students to practice.  Braille and print files are included so you don’t have to transcribe anything.  You will need an embosser.  TVIs can browse the old contests to help decide which grade level is most appropriate for your student.  Go to the Braille Challenge Archive to view and download practice contests. 
  • For students taking the Sophomore, Junior Varsity, or Varsity contest, make sure they know how to use a digital player (VictorReader Stream) and practice, practice, practice!  They should be able to start/stop, rewind/fast forward, adjust volume, adjust speed, plug into a power source, charge device to full power for testing day.