Team Blast: New Base Robot for the 2024 season & Registration Open

Hi ,

Program Updates, Deadlines, & Reminders

End of Season Survey: The end of season survey was sent out on Thursday, May 11 to all Lead Mentors and closes on Friday, June 2, 2023. Please help us by filling out the survey sent to your email and providing your team’s feedback on everything from the new Double Elimination Tournament, Resources needed, and more!

NEW! Base Robot in the Kit of Parts: In this FIRST^® Robotics Competition blog, we announced that a base robot specific to the game will be included in the 2024 Kit of Parts. This robot will be a guided build and will be able to accomplish some of the basic game challenges. It is not intended to be a “bolt together” solution, and it will still require some manufacturing by the team. Read the blog to learn more!

Drive Base & Black Tote Opt Out available now: 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. Your team’s Drive Base and Black Tote selection closes at 12:00 p.m. noon ET, October 19, 2023. A team is “event ready” if there are two Youth Protection Program screened mentors and no outstanding tasks on your dashboard.

Kit of Parts Survey: We want to hear from you! The 2023 Kit of Parts survey is now available. The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete, and if you include your team number, your team is eligible for a chance to win your choice of goodies. We ask that no more than one student and one mentor from each team fill it out. You must be at least 13 years old, and it closes on Friday, May 25, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. noon ET.

Team Blast Schedule: Starting this week, the FIRSTRobotics Competition Team Blast emails will be sent every two (2) weeks throughout the summer. The weekly schedule will resume on Thursday, August 17, 2023.

FIRST Robotics Competition Season Calendar: The FIRST Robotics Competition Calendar has been updated with key dates related to the 2024 season all the way through FIRST^® Championship.

FIRST Updates

2024 Season Registration: Registration for the 2024 CRESCENDO^SM presented by Haas season is now open! Start your team registration and prepare your team to use their engineering skills and creative power to entertain and move the world.

Community Engagement

Deadline! The FIRST & U.S. Air Force Leadership Experience is back for the 11th year! This summer, the U.S. Air Force will be hosting 24 lucky FIRST^® Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition mentors and coaches (must be a K-12 teacher within the continental U.S.) at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida for a 3-day, 4-night all-expenses paid trip filled with leadership training, guest speakers, and amazing tours. If you’re interested, please submit an application by Friday, May 19, 2023, for consideration.

FIRST Signing Day: FIRST Signing Day took place May 17 to celebrate the accomplishments of graduating FIRST students. Check @first_official and @firstsigningday on Instagram to view all the posts!

FIRST Scholarship Provider Spotlight: TKS is a unique global innovation program for students ages 13-17. The program is designed to accelerate your trajectory and give you the tools to solve important problems in the world. Sound familiar? Learn more about TKS and apply now and utilize code FIRST531 to take advantage of your $500 FIRST scholarship. Applications are due May 31st - Apply Now!