In less than two weeks, we will have 336 FIRST® Tech Challenge teams gathering for the FIRST® Championship presented by BAE.
As a reminder, we have gathered the most important information on our FIRST Tech Challenge Championship Team Information webpage. This page includes floor plans, the Team Schedule, and more! This webpage will continue to be updated closer to the event with division assignments, pit assignments, and more as information is finalized.
Schedule Updates
The Team Schedule has been updated. We don’t expect any further changes to the Team Schedule.
Security
The perimeter of the screening area is expanded this year to include parts of Discovery Green and Avenidas de las Americas. Security entrances will all be located at these outdoor perimeters, along with the previous GRB/Hotel walkway entrances. There will be metal detection screening at all event entrances.
Teams should plan for wait lines entering the venue. Just like a concert or show, we highly recommend that teams show up 10-15 minutes prior to wanting to enter the venue to ensure they have time to go through security and get to where they want to be.
Teams with their robots may go through any entrance. The ground level entrance at Hall A (nearest the Marriott) will have secondary screening available that will make entering the venue with a robot the most efficient.
On-Site Registration
All teams must register their team members within the ConferenceDirect system by the deadline listed in their email. Teams will also receive a confirmation email so they can verify all of the badges for their team and make any corrections before they are pre-printed. Teams that have entered their badges by 11:59 PM ET on April 26 will have the badges pre-printed.
Any changes made after April 26 may not be pre-printed so please be sure to have them all in by April 26! Teams who do not meet the deadline will need to go to the main registration desk in the lobby on the first floor to have badges printed on site. You read that right - we are pre-printing team’s name badges to help expedite check in.
Teams with pre-printed badges may pick them up Tuesday at the Central Registration Desk in the lobby (open from 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM). Badges can also be picked up Wednesday at the Team Check-In Desk in Hall A3 at Pit Admin. All teams must check in at the Team Check-In Desk in A3 on Wednesday (7:30 AM–6:00 PM) to receive their team registration packet, regardless of whether badges were picked up on Tuesday.
Team Load In Reminders
Teams will be allowed into the pits beginning at 7:30 AM.
See the Team Load In/Out section of the FIRST Tech Challenge Championship webpage for all of the details.
Division Assignments
We expect to release division and pit assignments by April 21, which will be posted on the FTC Events webpage. We will announce when divisions are posted via the FIRST Tech Challenge Facebook. We will continue to add late registering teams to divisions as they are confirmed.
Pit maps with team locations will be posted on division pages on FTC Events and will also be viewable in the FIRST Championship App.
Streaming
If you can’t join us at the event, or if you have family, friends, or sponsors who want to tune in back home, all of the FIRST Tech Challenge fields will be streamed on YouTube. In addition to dedicated streams for each of the six divisions, we are excited to announce that FIRST Champs Live will be broadcasting combined coverage and analysis of the entire event! Streaming links will be posted to the FIRST Tech Challenge Championship Information webpage before the event.
Everything Else
There’s so much else going on in addition to the 336 FIRST Tech Challenge teams at the event! FIRST® LEGO® League Explore will have 40 teams, FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge will have 160 teams, and FIRST® Robotics Competition will have 600 teams this year.
There are conferences on the third floor of the George R. Brown Convention Center on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and a full schedule of the sessions will be available on the app.
The Innovation Faire and Scholarship Row will again be on the second floor this year, where you can see the latest technology from some FIRST sponsors, meet with the Hall of Fame teams, and network with colleges and universities who recruit FIRST students.
A variety of activities will be available throughout the week such as giant family and lawn games, Live Band Karaoke, Silent Disco, and musical acts. Discovery Green is directly across from the George R. Brown Convention Center. A detailed schedule of activities will be available in the app.
We can’t wait to welcome our teams to this incredible event!