Planning for FIRST Championship
February 28, 2025
Now that Kickoff has passed, we wanted to share more updates on FIRST® Championship to help teams with planning.
Agenda
First, let’s start with agenda. The preliminary Public Agenda has just been posted and is also available on the FIRST® Robotics Competition Championship Team Information webpage. This page will continue to be updated with specific information for FIRST Robotics Competition teams. There may be additional updates to the Public Agenda so we encourage you to continue to check in case of any additional tweaks.
Next, we want to highlight some of the biggest changes to the schedule for this season:
- We have adjusted the timing of Load In to start at 8am (local time) for all teams with a limit of 6 people per team during this dedicated time.
- We have also adjusted the time Pits open to be 12pm (local time) and have also increased the time for calibration to start at this time.
- Finally due to the changes above and to simplify load in for all involved, we have removed the dedicated early access period for Load In for teams who ship their robots. These teams will continue to get fast passes to the Practice/Test Areas as described on the webpage.
Hotel Program
As a friendly reminder, all FIRST teams competing at the 2026 FIRST Championship will once again be required to use the FIRST Housing Program. As mentioned previously, FIRST is piloting opening the hotel block to some FIRST Robotics Competition teams early, before they qualify for the event. Those teams’ Lead Coaches received an email last week and are able to book hotels now through February 3rd. Teams who do not book in this window will have to wait until qualifying to receive a new invite. If you believe you should be on this list and did not receive the email, it is likely due to unsubscribing from receiving emails from FIRST. We highly recommend that you subscribe to Communications, FIRST Robotics Competition, and Special Events (more info on how to subscribe and check subscriptions).
Load In
We also wanted to call out a few things on Load In that are changing. The biggest is that with the changes to total teams in FIRST® Tech Challenge and the construction at the George R Brown Convention Center, FIRST Tech Challenge teams will also be loading in at the same time and staging in the same area as FIRST Robotics Competition teams. FIRST Tech Challenge teams will be directed to the 3rd floor for their load in. We don’t expect any major delays, but teams should expect higher traffic and be patient as we move everyone in.
In addition, we wanted to share some info about the 53’ Trailers and that applications are open. Reminder that space for this option is limited, and any 53’ Trailers that arrive and are not approved will not be allowed to enter the Loading Dock, no exceptions. Application process and requirements to apply are listed in the 53’ Truck Rules Document. Finally, we have dedicated dock space this year to accommodate 26’ Box Trucks. Teams should follow these rules if planning to use a 26’ Box Truck. Teams can check out additional details on Load In & Out on the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship Team Information webpage under Load In & Out Logistics.
More information on FIRST Championship will be available in the coming weeks and months. Be sure to check out the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship Team Information webpage regularly as updates are made available.