Just a few days until Kickoff!
January 2, 2025
In just a few short days, we kick off the season and unveil REBUILTTM presented by Haas!
Season Dates
We know that things move quickly after Kickoff so here are some important dates to be aware of:
- January 10th – FIRST® Robotics Competition Kickoff on YouTube! (noon, Eastern)
- REBUILT game revealed!
- Kickoff Kits distributed
- Encryption key posted & unencrypted game specific content posted
- Replacement parts system opens (1pm, Eastern)
- FIRST® Choice opens (1pm, Eastern)
- New Virtual Kit items posted on the Virtual Kit section of the Kit of Parts webpage
- January 12th – Digital Animation Award Deadline (due 11:59PM ET)
- January 14th – Official Q&A opens (details to be posted shortly after Kickoff)
- January 17th – Missing/damaged Kickoff Kit item replacement part requests due (noon, Eastern)
- January 19th – FIRST Choice ends, priority lists locked (noon, Eastern)
- January 21st – Payment due for additional events (5:00PM ET)
- January 30th – FIRST Choice open ordering begins (noon, Eastern)
Teams can also visit the FIRST Robotics Competition Season Calendar and add individual events to their own calendar by clicking on ones that you’re interested in and clicking “Add to Calendar.”
Kickoff Kits
Who is allowed to pick up a Kickoff Kit at a Kickoff?:
- Lead Coach 1 or 2 for the team with photo ID
- Any mentor on the team over 18 (you may log in to your FIRST Dashboard as proof) with photo ID
- A person over 18 that is listed on the Surrogate Kit Pick-up Letter with photo ID.
- If a team is unable to pick up their Kickoff Kit at the Local Kickoff selected, a surrogate may be designated to do so but the form must be submitted at least 2 days prior to Kickoff by the Lead Coach 1 or 2 or Team Administrator
MySite Teams:
If a team is not attending a local Kickoff, they have the option to be a “MySite” team and have their Kickoff Kit shipped, after Kickoff, to an address of their choice. If a team is a MySite, it will be shipped (only after registration and shipping fees have been secured) directly to the location provided in the team's Dashboard. Teams are responsible for any duties, fees, and taxes. There is no guaranteed delivery date. Once the Kit has shipped, the tracking number will populate in the Dashboard under their Kit Shipping Address.
Sizing Info
Each team attending a local Kickoff receives their set of Kickoff Kit items. Items in a set vary from team to team, but everyone will get the Season Specific box.
We’re giving a deliberately vague “heads up” about the sizes and weights to expect for the different items so you can make accommodations to get the goods back to your build space. This information is also published in the “Kickoff Kit” section of the Kit of Parts page.
- Each team receives a “Season Specific” box (~18.25 in. x 12 in. x 11 in., ~8lbs)
- Teams that did not opt-out of the Kickoff Kit receive a Black Tote (~27 in. x 17 in. x 15 in., ~45 lbs.)
- Teams that did not opt-out of the Drive Base Kit receive a box (~7 in. x 7 in. x 33 in., ~28 lbs.)
- Rookie teams also receive a Gray Tote (~27 in. x 17 in. x 15 in., ~60 lbs.)
What if something’s missing or damaged?
We strongly recommend that one of the first things you do after Kickoff is to inventory your Kickoff Kit. If anything is missing or damaged 1) we’re so sorry! and 2) you need to let us know and we’ll make it right. Follow the instructions for reporting any discrepancies by noon (Eastern) on January 17 on the Kit of Parts page under the Kickoff Kit section.
FIRST Choice
FIRST Choice opens for Priority List orders on January 10 at 1pm Eastern and closes on January 19 at 12pm ET. Emails with what each team is getting will be sent by AndyMark after priority lists are processed. Details on the FIRST Choice preferencing process are on the Kit of Parts page.
Pre-Kickoff Downloads
This year, we are only releasing encrypted versions of the Game Manual & Team Update 00. You can download encrypted files for the 2026 REBUILT season before Kickoff then unlock them with the code that’s revealed at the end of the main section of the broadcast. Additional files will be available to download shortly after the Kickoff broadcast.
Team Update 00 is provided as a quick reference of evergreen rule changes. The approach taken in this Team Update is to describe changes to content only. Editorial changes to verbiage, rule and section references, game specific examples that relate to evergreen content, and formatting changes are not described. As always, it’s important to read the whole manual at least once and become an expert on sections of the manual that directly relate to your role and responsibilities on your team.
Control System
Documentation – The official Control System documentation is hosted by Read the Docs and is found at https://docs.wpilib.org. Users can download a copy of the docs for offline use, as either PDF or HTML, using the Read the Docs menu at the bottom left of the page (direct PDF link). A local version of the docs is also included in the WPILib C++\Java installer.
Control System Software – Core FIRST Robotics Competition Control System software (NI LabVIEW for FRC, NI FRC Game Tools, and WPILib) is expected to be posted in the next few days and will be available unencrypted for download and use. Vendor libraries targeting the Kickoff release will likely be posted over the next couple days as well. You can find a quick guide to what to grab for installation later from the WPILib Offline Installation page.
Good luck teams as we prepare to unearth and decode REBUILT!