Expert Overview

FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) is FIRST’s season-long robotics competition for students in grades 7–12, in which teams design, build, and program a robot to play a new game released each fall. Teams advance from local events through regional championships toward the FIRST Championship.

Format

Team

Judging Format

Criteria based, Scoring based

Monetary

Recognition

Grade Eligibility

Rising Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors

Geographic Eligibility

US, International

Discipline

RoboticsProgrammingEngineeringComputer Science

Entries

87,400+

Percent Awarded

Important Dates

2026-2027 Season Kick-off

September 12, 2026

Local competition dates vary

National Team Registration Deadline

Mid-April 2027

Passed

Open

Approaching: < 1 mo.

Priority: < 2 weeks

Urgent: < 1 week

Registration Cost

Season registration

$350

Supporting materials

$1,500

About

Teams register for $350 a season, and FIRST estimates a robot kit at about $1,500; event fees are set by local program partners and vary by region. A season opens at the September kickoff (BIOBUZZ for 2026–27), moves through league meets and qualifiers from October and regional championships from November 30 to March 21, and ends at the FIRST Championship, April 28–May 1, 2027. Judged awards recognize teamwork, innovation, and the engineering design process alongside match performance.

The 2026 FIRST Championship drew over 330 FTC teams in six divisions. Advancement from a regional championship is the threshold that counts; a league or qualifier result shows a season of work but not selection. Because the cost and the season-long build fall on a team, a student’s role on that team is the substance of the credential.

FTC is the right competition for a student who wants to spend a season on a team that builds and programs a robot to a new game each year, with a path from local events to the FIRST Championship.