FIRST^® Tech Challenge
2024 FIRST Championship Invitation

Congratulations Team 20123! 

Your team is invited to the 2024 FIRST^® Championship presented BAE Systems in Houston, Texas. Alongside 224 other FIRST^® Tech Challenge teams from around the world, you will experience a thrilling five-day event that will stay with you for years to come.

Your season has been filled with successes, teamwork, and personal growth for each member of your team. FIRST Championship will provide an even larger opportunity for celebration with all FIRST programs. At FIRST HQ, we recognize the hard work your team has committed to in order to reach this level.

Congratulations!

This email contains important instructions and information about the event and upcoming deadlines.

Please read all of the information carefully, bookmark, and save this email. 

Your FIRST Championship Details:

1) Registration and Payment
2) Hotel Accommodations
3) Airport Details
4) Transportation within the City
5) Save the date: Virtual Coach/Mentor Meeting
6) Promote & Compass Award Videos
7) Tentative Schedule of Events

1) Register and Pay for FIRST Championship by March 22, 2024

In order to guarantee your spot for the FIRST Championship, you must log in to the FIRST Dashboard and pay the $2,500 registration fee from the "Team Events" section.

The payment deadline is March 22, 2024. 

If your team has questions or concerns regarding this fee, please send us an email as soon as possible. If your team does not pay the registration fee by the March 22, 2024, deadline, we will have to cancel your invitation and invite the next team on the advancement list.

Team badging and registration is not yet officially open. We will be sending out another email with your link for team registration and badging for FIRST Championship at the beginning of February.

Each attendee is required to have a badge. By registering before your arrival, you will avoid long lines and help mitigate wait times. Please make sure to include all members traveling with and checking in with your team in your team badging registration.

2) Hotel Accommodations

FIRST is proud to partner with housing and travel experts, ConferenceDirect to bring you more than 50 FIRST-reviewed hotel locations for teams, volunteers, and all attendees to choose from during the 2024 FIRST Championship.

Housing for participating teams at FIRST Championship is now open.

ConferenceDirect is the only approved Official Housing Provider for FIRST Championship.

When you book your housing with FIRST, your team will:

👍 Receive guaranteed low rates.

👍 Gain flexibility to make booking adjustments and pay later.

👍 Rest easy at FIRST-reviewed hotels.

👍 Stay close to the venue and other teams.

👍 Enjoy convenient FIRST-contracted amenities at most hotels including complimentary parking, Wi-Fi, and breakfast.

👍 Get reservation protection and assistance before, during, and after your stay if any unexpected challenges occur.

3) Airport Details

Teams need to be checked-in to the event no later than 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Please arrange your travel plans so that they align with this expectation.

We recommend travel into Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) or William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) no later than Tuesday April 16, 2024. We have Team Check-in Tuesday afternoon, April 16, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

On Tuesday, your team may receive their team packets and badges, drop-off their pit supplies, and get started setting up their pit. No robot practice is allowed at this time in the venue. We will also have a robot help desk available to assist with any robot issues that may have occurred during travel.

4) Transportation within the City

FIRST Championship will be held in the George R. Brown Convention Center. For details, maps, and up-to-date information for planning your trip, visit the FIRST Championship website.

Please note, no transportation is provided to and from the airport, nor to and from the venue. Teams are expected to coordinate their own travel plans.

5) Save the date: Virtual Coach/Mentor Meeting

FIRST Tech Challenge will be holding an online orientation for FIRST Championship on Wednesday, April 10, at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Save the date and join us as we take you through the venue, schedule, and expectations for teams. You will be able to ask questions as we work to help you and your team feel prepared for the event.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. We encourage teams to submit their questions in advance, by emailing firsttechchallenge@firstinspires.org, with the subject line “FTC Virtual Coaches Meeting”.

We encourage advancing teams that made a Compass or Promote Award video during their season to have their Lead Coach 1 or 2 submit the video(s) to FIRST HQ to be viewed and judged to determine the FIRST Championship video award winners.

The top three Promote videos and the top three Compass videos will be shown at during FIRST Championship.

If you’d like to submit a video, please send it to us by April 3. This year, teams must include closed captions for their videos to be considered for this award.

**** SUBMISSION DEADLINE April 3, 2024 ****

How to submit your video:

👍 Be sure to read the criteria for the Compass and Promote Awards in the Game Manual Part 1.

👍 The filename for your video must follow the naming convention: State Abbreviation_Team#_Award Type

Example: NH_12345_Promote.

👍 The Lead Coach 1 or Lead Coach 2 of the team should fill out the form and upload the video using this link.  

**Files not using the naming convention listed above will not be accepted.
**Files that are not within the 60 second time limit will not be accepted.
**Files submitted after ****12:00 p.m. noon ET on April 3, 2024**** will not be accepted.
**Teams must have rights to any music used in the video and permissions must be listed in video credits.
**Closed captions must be included in the final video.

7) Schedule of Events

The anticipated schedule is below. More detailed event scheduling information can be found at the FIRST Championship website.  

This schedule is subject to change. In the coming weeks you will be receiving more team specific information, including inspection and judging schedules. Public agendas and other announcements will be posted at https://www.firstchampionship.org/.

Questions?

Check the FIRST Championship website for our Event Guide and FIRST Tech Challenge Event Guide Addendum as well as other updated information and resources.

Our event guide was created as a single source document for FIRST Tech Challenge teams attending FIRST Championship. The guide covers everything from pit rules to drive team badges to ceremonies, and beyond.

We strongly recommend that teams (both returning and first timers) read this document. Oftentimes, questions that you may have can be answered here.

We can’t wait to see your team at FIRST Championship!