Hi ,

Program Updates, Deadlines, & Reminders

NEXT WEEK! FIRST^® Robotics Competition Event Registration, Second Event Preference: Round 2 of event preferencing begins on Thursday, October 17, at 12:00 p.m. ET. Teams must be registered or waitlisted for a first event in order to preference events in Round 2. Be sure to review our Event Preference User Guide for step-by-step instructions and an FAQ.  

Reminder! Late Registration for First Events: Event Ready teams that missed the first round of event preferencing can now pick their event in our late registration period. Teams must be “event ready” (no outstanding tasks on the FIRST^® Dashboard) in order to register for a first event. 

Blog Updates: 

🤖 FIRST Event Preferencing by the Numbers: Visit this FIRST Robotics Competition blog for some interesting data from Round 1 of Event Preferencing. 

🤖 Judging Updates: In this FIRST Robotics Competition blog, we share updates on awards and judging changes for the 2025 season.   

Reminder! Upcoming Team Registration Payment Due Date: 2025 FIRST Robotics Competition team registration payment is due Tuesday, November 12, at 5:00 p.m. ET for all rookie and veteran teams registered for their initial 2025 event.  

For additional information and tips on ensuring your team’s registration payment is completed on time, read our Essential Steps to Secure Payments and Meet Seasonal Demands blog. 

Season Calendar: Don’t forget to visit the FIRST Robotics Competition season calendar often to stay up to date on upcoming deadlines. 

Resource of the Week: This week’s resource is focused on Mental Health. This document covers some tips to help ensure your FIRST Robotics Competition team has a healthy and supportive environment for teens and mentors during the build and competition season. 

FIRST Updates

Holiday Hours: FIRST will be closing at 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday, October 11, and remain closed Monday, October 14. Regular business hours will resume on Tuesday, October 15, at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Update your Mentor Roster: Each season, it's recommended that you review the additional mentors on your team to ensure your roster is updated for the new season. You can add or remove these individuals from your roster by clicking the "Contact Options" under the "Team Contacts/Roster" section of your team’s Dashboard.  

⚙️Read more about updating your team roster and the different roles. 

Additional Mentor Screening: If an additional coach/mentor participates in 30% or more of the team activities, or is regularly involved with the team, we recommend these individuals complete a FIRST Youth Protection Screening. Your Program Delivery Partner may have other requirements including additional background checks and training required by law in your jurisdiction.  

Either lead coach can request the individual completes the screening process through their FIRST account. Read more about the Youth Protection Program and share the Youth Protection Training Videos with all of your coaches and mentors. 

Community Engagement 

Walk like Woodie Day: As the fifth anniversary of Dr. Woodie Flowers’ passing approaches, we invite the entire FIRST community to celebrate and honor his life by participating in Walk Like Woodie Day. Together, we continue to carry his legacy forward by remembering and celebrating his impact. Join us on October 11 by sharing your photos, thoughts, and tributes with #WalkLikeWoodie. Share your examples of Gracious Professionalism^® with one of the photo frames and #thatsGP! Download the frames.  

Opportunity for FIRST Alumni attending the SWE Conference: RTX is inviting FIRST alumni attending the SWE conference on October 24 in Chicago, IL. to stop by their hospitality suite. Please have FIRST alumni pre-register at this link and mention that they are FIRST alumni during their interview and on their resume. 

By registering for this event, alumni may be asked to supply personal data to the event organizer, and this data will be subject to the organizer's privacy policy. Anyone registering should review the organizer's privacy policy and understand how their data will be used before participating in the event.