Regional Advancement Updates for the 2026 Season

All advancement criteria for the FIRST^® Championship is available on the Championship Eligibility webpage. 

Last year, we released details on what Regional Advancement was going to look like for both the 2025 and 2026 season. In 2025, we took a phased approach of the full implementation to help mitigate risks, but our goal was to switch to the full model for the 2026 season. We’re happy to share that we will be moving forward with the full implementation with some minor tweaks.  

After reviewing the lessons learned from 2025, we looked at ways to qualify international teams earlier in the season. We know that international travel to the FIRST Championship can be a barrier to participation, and we wanted to find a way to ease it.  

Our solution is that all international Regional Events will qualify 4 teams, while US based Regional Events will qualify 3 teams. We looked at how this would have worked using the 2025 season and 15 international teams would have received their invitation to the FIRST Championship earlier than under the original plan. It’s important to note that this is our plan for 2026, and we plan to review the number of Automatic Qualifiers at each event after each season based on team and event growth. 

Here’s an overview of how Regional Advancement will work for the 2026 season: 

• We are reducing the number of pre-qualified teams to only be the last 8 year’s of Hall of Fame Teams. Holistically, the decision to remove these prequalification slots is based on trying to reward team’s accomplishments for that season and maximizing the number of teams who can qualify each season. 

• We are moving to a system where it’s no longer that a single award advances a team to FIRST Championship. Instead, teams earn points throughout the event based on robot and awards performance. See Section 12 of the 2025 Game Manual for details about how points are assigned. (We do not anticipate any changes to Regional Points Values for 2026.) 

• At every regional event, teams earn points based on the point system. The top x number of teams who earned the most points at each event and who have not already qualified for the FIRST Championship qualify for the FIRST Championship. 

• • Each International event will advance 4 teams. 

• • Each US event will advance 3 teams. 

• Regional teams can earn points from and qualify directly for the FIRST Championship at any Regional event they attend. 

• All non-event-qualifying teams are ranked together in the “Regional Pool” based on the points earned from their first two regional events. The top ranked teams from this pool earn FIRST Championship qualification spots on a weekly basis beginning after week 2.  

• • This list helps ensure the top performing teams across events qualify for the FIRST Championship and allows for the consideration of performance across multiple events for teams. Looking at two events allows us to reward consistent performance over the season without being punitive to single-event teams. 

• Teams will only be able to receive a single invite to FIRST Championship. If they decline their slot for any reason, they will be skipped over at future events and from the Regional Pool, and the slot will be offered to the next qualifying team.  

• With this model, it is possible for a team to win the FIRST Impact Award and not qualify for FIRST Championship.  

• • Based on our original analysis, this should be rare. However, we still wanted to find a way to let those teams compete for the award at the FIRST Championship.  

• • After consulting with the Hall of Fame teams and the Global Judge Advisors, we have decided to allow any team who wins the FIRST Impact Award at a Regional and does not qualify for the event an opportunity to interview remotely.  

• • Teams who win the award and qualify for the FIRST Championship must still attend the event in order to receive an interview. 

• Finally, as a reminder this model is for Regional teams only. District teams do not earn points from regional events and cannot qualify via this method. 

The 2026 Game Manual will have final details, and it’s important to remember to read the manual when it’s released.