In this week's blast:
⚙️ Event Registration, First Preference 
⚙️ Drive Base & Black Tote Opt-Out
⚙️ Kit & Kickoff Registration
⚙️ FIRST^® Robotics Competition Blog Updates

Program Updates, Deadlines, & Reminders

Opens Today! Event Registration, First Preference: 
Round 1 of event preferencing opens today at 12:00 p.m. ET. Teams must be “event ready” (no FIRST Youth Protection Program-related outstanding tasks on your FIRST Dashboard) in order to preference first event. As a reminder, this window will be open for a week, and it is not a first come first serve system.

Teams have a week to select and edit their first event preferences until the event preferencing window closes on Thursday, October 1 at 12:00 p.m. noon ET. Be sure to review our Event Preferencing Overview for the user guide, which includes step-by-step instructions, and a FAQ.  

2027 Season Checkout and Registration Changes:
Last week, we announced a few registration changes for this season. Because of this new process, please take a few minutes to review these updates prior to completing your team registration.

Opens Today! Drive Base & Black Tote Opt-Out Opens:
Veteran teams can opt to receive vouchers instead of the Drive Base Kit and/or Black Tote. NEW THIS SEASON, in order to opt-out of the Drive Base or Black Tote, your team must select the appropriate registration option via the FIRST Storefront and purchase your team registration prior to the payment due date, November 17, 2026. After this date, opt-out vouchers will not be available, and teams can only select the full registration option. See more details and a support article with instructions.

Opens Today! Kit & Kickoff Registration:
The Kit and Kickoff registration also opens today, Thursday, September 24, at 12:00 noon ET and closes November 17, at 12:00 noon ET. We highly recommend teams pickup their Kickoff Kit at a local Kickoff in order to receive it on Kickoff Day.

If your team registers for a Kickoff, and the kickoff shipment hasn’t been released, you will be able to select the Kickoff shipping location as the “ship-to address” for free Kit Shipping when checking out in the FIRST Storefront. To guarantee you are able to select the Kickoff shipping location, we recommend that you secure by the payment due date of November 17, 2026.

After saving your Kickoff selection, please allow up to 20 minutes for the free Kickoff shipping option to appear in the FIRST Storefront. For more information, please visit this support article.

If a team opts to have their Kickoff Kit direct shipped, it will ship after Kickoff and only once a team has purchased their registration and the additional shipping fees. There is no guaranteed delivery date, but it will be after Kickoff.

FIRST Robotics Competition Blog Updates:
📝BIOCORE Events! 
📝Systemcore Pricing and Availability

Upcoming Important Dates:

🗓️️ Thursday, September 24 – Kit & Kickoff Registration Opens
🗓️️ Thursday, September 24 – Drive Base & Black Tote Opt-Out Opens
🗓️️ Thursday, September 24 – Round 1 Event Preferencing Opens
🗓️️ Thursday, September 24 – FIRST Storefront Opens
🗓️️ Thursday, October 1 – Round 1 Event Preferencing Closes
🗓️️ Friday, October 2 – First Event Late Registration Opens