FIRST® Championship is growing again this year, and we want to see you there! As previously announced, we’re excited to welcome 336 teams to Houston, Texas April 29 through May 2, 2026. To support this growth, we’re expanding from four to six divisions, which means we have even more volunteer opportunities at the FIRST Championship! If you’re interested in volunteering at the largest FIRST® event in the world, registration is open: sign up today!
We are looking for volunteers in all roles who are ready and willing to help make this an amazing event for all the students and teams. We hope to see lots of fresh new faces and look forward to making new friends from around the world! Some roles will require prior experience, but not all. Check out the "Championship" specific section of our role descriptions to learn more.
If you are interested in volunteering at the FIRST Championship, you should sign up before Tuesday, January 13, 2026 to have the best chance of being assigned. We intend to assign the majority of volunteer roles by February 13, 2026 based on our volunteer applicants who signed up before this date. We will save a smaller number of roles for late applicants and priority for those applicants will go to International and late qualifying regions. The late application deadline is Tuesday, March 24, 2026.
Pro-tips to get assigned to a role at the FIRST Championship:
- We love flexible and leadership-minded volunteers. If your desired role has a “lead”/“head” role or a similar but less prestigious sibling role, we’re hoping you would be willing to do either role. We want to see more people rotate through leadership roles, which means people also have to be willing to take a step back and make space for others. Indicate your preference and willingness to help by signing up for both roles!
- Tell us more about you! When you sign up you can use the “Specific Availability Times / Details” box or Message the Volunteer Coordinator to provide us with more information. While we have access to your volunteer assignment history in VMS, that doesn’t always tell the whole story. If your volunteer history doesn’t match the roles you’ve done (common at events outside of the United States), please let us know your real volunteer history. For some roles we might contact you and ask for more information.
- Pick roles that match your bandwidth! When you sign up, think realistically about your time, energy, and comfort level – especially at a large, multi-day event like FIRST Championship. Some roles are fast-paced and require being on your feet most of the day; others involve focused, steady work at a table or station. Consider how long you can be on-site, whether you prefer interacting with teams or working behind the scenes, and how much stamina you have for long days. There’s no “right” choice; what matters most is choosing a role that fits you, so you can enjoy the event and contribute effectively.
- Apply for what you want and stay flexible! If you’re not sure you’re ready to fill a role at FIRST Championship, but that’s still your dream job, it’s okay to apply and add a note to the volunteer coordinator that you know you might not be ready yet, but you want to work towards it. You can select up to 5 roles when you apply, so make sure you indicate other roles you’re interested in and ask the Volunteer Coordinator for help if you need it. Roles that don’t show up on the list of options to apply for are either filled or not available at the FIRST Championship.
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Role
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Approximate Quantity
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Days Required
*All days listed are full days, unless otherwise noted
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Notes
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3
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Tuesday through Saturday
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The FIRST Championship Volunteer Coordinator role will be an on-site support role to the pre-event Volunteer Coordinators.
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6
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Wednesday through Saturday
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120
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Wednesday (half day PM) through Saturday
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MC and Game Announcer
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18
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Wednesday (half day PM) through Saturday
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This is a combined role this year, we’d love to have applicants that have experience with both emceeing and game announcing.
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FTA and Field Supervisor
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12
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Monday (half day PM) through Saturday
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The FTA role is focused on leadership of field operations and related volunteers. You’ll be successful in this role if you can effectively empower other volunteers and balance team experience while ensuring the efficient flow of matches. The Field Supervisor will work with the FTA to keep the competition area running smoothly.
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12
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Wednesday through Saturday
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24
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Wednesday through Saturday
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12
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Wednesday (half day PM) through Saturday
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60
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Wednesday (half day PM) through Saturday
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30
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Wednesday (half day PM) through Saturday
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Preference is given to volunteers that can be available for the full event, but this can be split by day. This is a great role for team members who don’t have a competition role or siblings who want to be near the field action! (Students must be at least 13 years old with signed guardian consent)
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9
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Wednesday through Saturday
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Inspection Managers are only needed for Wednesday. This is a new role which is focused on the organization and administration of the robot inspection process.
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40
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Wednesday only
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This is a one-day volunteer opportunity and we highly encourage coaches and adults traveling with their team to apply. There is some flexibility in this role to check on your team, but you should be able to be primarily focused on helping teams with inspection during this time.
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6
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Wednesday (half day PM) through Saturday
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24
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Wednesday (half day PM) through Saturday
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Floating Support Volunteers
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9
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Wednesday through Saturday
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Preference is given to volunteers that can be available for the full event, but this can be split by day. This is a great role for team members who don’t have a competition role or siblings who want to get a volunteer shirt and get a sneak peek behind the scenes.
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Load In/Load Out
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12
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Wednesday and/or Saturday
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We’re hoping to recruit more than 375 volunteers! The FIRST Championship is an incredible experience, and we’re excited to share it with more teams and volunteers than ever before. Keep an eye on our blog for more FIRST Tech Challenge FIRST Championship updates!
We’re excited to see you at the 2026 FIRST Championship!
