FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge
Team Update 

Hi Friend, 

This is the sixth email blast for the FIRST^® LEGO^® League World Festival at the FIRST^® Championship presented by BAE Systems in Houston, Texas, USA.

If your team recently registered for the event – welcome! Catch up on previous email blasts on our blog. 

What's New?

Robot Game and Judging Questions:
We are no longer accepting questions about the Robot Game and judging via email. Please save your questions for the referees and judges on-site at the World Festival!

In the meantime, we encourage you to reference the FIRST LEGO League Challenge Event Guide, which contains Robot Game clarifications and judging information for the event.

Event Hub:
We will be using the FIRST Event Hub to send all rubrics and feedback to teams after the event. Later this week, the Lead Coach for each team will receive an invitation to the “2023 World Festival Houston-Official Matches” event. Please accept the invitation within 72 hours or a new one will need to be sent. You will then be able to log in to the FIRST Event Hub.

We are NOT using the schedule feature and we will NOT require any materials to be submitted for this event. The Event Hub will only be used for you to view scoresheets and rubrics AFTER the Closing Ceremonies are completed on Saturday.

FIRST^® Championship Conference:

The FIRST Championship Conference is April 19-21. Meet other FIRST educators, mentors, and coaches and learn more about their implementations. Hear more about best practices in education, funding your program, FIRST Education resources for educators, and how FIRST programs connect to workforce development and career and technical education.  

There will be a special session on Friday, April 21 from 1:00-2:45 p.m. CT for school administrators and superintendents to learn more about FIRST. This session will be about the progression of FIRST programs and how they impact schools. 

The FIRST Championship Conference is free to attend! Check out the FIRST Championship App for the complete schedule.

2023-2024 FIRST Season Theme Reveal:
We’re preparing the spotlight to reveal the 2023-2024 cross-program FIRST season theme (watch a sneak peek). Catch the season reveal live on Saturday, April 22, at 1:30 p.m. CT during the Closing Celebration Show in the General Assembly. You will also get a sneak peek at the 2023-2024 Challenge at the end of the Awards Ceremony! All FIRST Championship streaming links will be available at firstchampionship.org/watch. 

Important Reminders: 

Event Registration and Badging:
FIRST requires every event attendee to be registered and badged, even if your team did not book your event housing with FIRST. Attendee registration is required to receive your on-site badges. Badges are required to access the Pits and team activities. Learn more about how to register.

Download the Championship App:

Download the FIRST Championship App for interactive maps, the event guide, team info, schedules, volunteer info, alerts, and more! Scan the QR code or visit the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to download.

Register for the Encore Celebration!
The encore is a celebration for all teams on Saturday, April 22. Each team will be assigned an Alliance Partner and together, will play a robot game that will be released at 8:00 a.m. CT. Bring your robots, computers, extra parts, and join us for lots of fun! This is for bragging rights only - game on, everyone!

To participate in the encore, please complete this form by Thursday, April 20 at 2:00 p.m. CT. 

Prayer Room Availability:
There will be two prayer rooms available for anyone wishing to observe religious practice onsite during event hours.  Prayer rooms are located on the 2^nd level of the Marriott Marquis Houston in Montgomery rooms A&B.  The Marriott Marquis Houston is attached to the George R. Brown Convention Center and can be accessed from the level 2 skybridge located north of Mezzanine A.  

We are looking forward to seeing you next week! Share your event experience on social media using #FIRSTCHAMP.