Hi ,

In this week's blast:

⚙️ FIRST^® Account Maintenance Reminder 
⚙️ 2026 Season Registration 
⚙️ Drive Base & Black Tote Opt Out Now Available 
⚙️ FIRST^® Robotics Competition Season Calendar 
⚙️ FIRST Robotics Competition Blog Updates 
⚙️ Community Engagement Resource 

Program Updates, Deadlines, & Reminders

FIRST^® Account Maintenance Reminder: FIRST accounts are reset at the beginning of each season. Users will need to log in to the FIRST Dashboard to accept the FIRST policies and the season’s Consent & Release form, update their profiles, and renew the Youth Protection screening if expired.  

Reminder! 2026 Season Registration: Registration for the 2025-2026 FIRST^® AGE™ presented by Qualcomm season is now open! Start your team registration and use your engineering skills to re-imagine the past.  

Reminder! Drive Base & Black Tote Opt Out Now Available: By default, all Kickoff Kits include a Drive Base Kit & Black Tote, but veteran teams who are “event ready" can opt to receive vouchers instead of the drive base kit and/or the Black Tote by selecting “Drive Base Opt Out” or “Black Tote Opt Out” from the “Team Options” under the “Parts and Products” drop down in the FIRST Dashboard. Teams can opt out until September 23rd, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. noon ET.   

FIRST^® Robotics Competition Season Calendar: Check out the FIRST Robotics Competition Calendar which is updated with key dates related to the 2026 season all the way through FIRST^® Championship. You can even use the "add to calendar" button on each entry to add dates to your team’s calendar!  

FIRST Robotics Competition Blog Updates:   

✏️ Pre-Orders for 2026 Game Pieces 

Resource of the Week: Community engagement is vital in order to promote the importance of STEM and robotics. Use the Community Engagement Worksheet to help plan ways to engage with the community.