Hi ,

In this week's blast:

⚙️ Award Submissions 
⚙️ Additional Event Registration 
⚙️ Volunteer Registration 
⚙️ FIRST^® Lockbox Address Change 
⚙️ Inspire the Future: FIRST Recognition Program 
⚙️ FIRST^® Robotics Competition Blog Updates 
⚙️ Drive Coach Best Practices Resource

Program Updates, Deadlines, & Reminders

Now Open! Award Submissions: The 2026 FIRST^® Impact Award, Dean's List Award, and Woodie Flowers Award application portals opened today. View additional information on the Awards page, as well as tips and instructions on how to designate an award submitter.

Now Open! Additional Event Registration: Additional Play Event Registration for unrestricted regional events and in-district events is now open. All event registration will close at 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET Tuesday, November 18. Payment is due for additional events on January 21, 2026.

Now Open! Volunteer Registration: Volunteer Registration opens tomorrow for all FIRST^® Robotics Competition Events, including FIRST Championship! Volunteers can search for the events by selecting “Event volunteers” and then filtering to the “FIRST Robotics Competition” events, and finding events close to them or can reference our Step-by-Step Instructions. For additional resources, please visit our Volunteer page. 

Reminder! FIRST Lockbox Address Change: The lockbox overnight address changed effective October 22, 2025. Courier services such as UPS and FedEx cannot be delivered to USPS facilities or PO Boxes, so please ensure you are using the new overnight address: 

FIRST – 845446   
Attn: Lockbox Processing   
10 Dan Road   
Canton, MA 02021   

Reminder! Deadline Approaching for Inspire the Future: FIRST Recognition Program: Nominations for the 2026 Inspire the Future: FIRST Recognition Program close this Friday, October 31, at 11:59 p.m. ET.  

FIRST Robotics Competition Blog Updates:   

✏️ 2026 Robot Rules Preview  

Resource of the Week: This week’s resource is our Drive Coach Best Practices. This guide is intended to focus on how to be an exemplary Drive Coach, and the content is applicable to both student and adult Drive Coaches. This guide can also be used by other Drive Team members, or even other members of the team, to know what to expect from their Drive Coach. 

Upcoming Important Dates:

⚙️ Friday, October 31 at 12:00 p.m. ET – FIRST Robotics Competition Volunteer Registration Opens 
⚙️ Thursday, November 6 at 12:00 p.m. ET – Additional Inter-District Event Registration Opens 
⚙️ Tuesday, November 18 at 5:00 p.m. ET –  Team Registration Payment Due Date