Hi ,

Here's some updates and news from FIRST^® Tech Challenge.

In this week's blast:

👨‍💻 Tech Tip: Robot Best Practices - Summarized!

🐝 BIOBUZZ™ presented by RTX Kickoff and Season Resources Blog

🙌 Walk Like Woodie Day is Friday, October 9!

Tech Tip: Robot Best Practices - Summarized!
In previous seasons, the Competition Manual had best practices interspersed throughout the document – these ranged from robot wiring, gamepad rules and suggestions, Android Smartphone recommendations, and more. This season these best practices were removed in order to help the Competition Manual better focus on, well, the actual rules of the game. Instead, these best practices were pooled together into a helpful Robot Best Practices article on ftc-docs. Check it out!  

BIOBUZZ™ presented by RTX Kickoff and Season Resources Blog
We've collected a ton of helpful resources for the BIOBUZZ season into one handy blog post, make sure to check it out and bookmark it!  

Walk Like Woodie Day is Friday, October 9!
In recognition of Dr. Woodie Flowers, Chairman of the FIRST^® Board of Directors until his passing in 2019, and the enduring ethos of Gracious Professionalism^®, we invite the entire FIRST community to join us for Walk Like Woodie Day on October 9.

Let’s shine a spotlight on the many ways the FIRST community brings Gracious Professionalism to life by sharing the ways we practice it in our everyday lives, teams, communities, and careers. Together, we can show how this ethos continues to shape the way we learn, lead, and lift one another up.

Save the date and join the conversation: Share your photos, stories, and examples of Gracious Professionalism on social media using #WalkLikeWoodie.

Grant: Start another FIRST Tech Challenge team in your community
A limited FIRST Tech Challenge grant opportunity will help you expand FIRST access to more students in your school or community. New FIRST Tech Challenge teams associated with a current FIRST^® Robotics Competition or FIRST Tech Challenge team can apply for a $175 grant to help cover the cost of one 2026-2027 season registration. Learn more and apply.