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Hello from the FIRST Tech Challenge HQ Team! It�s time to start preparing for our season launch, coming up fast in September! While it may seem early to be thinking about this year�s competition, now is the best time to be reviewing your �Getting Started Checklist�! Rookie teams need to be aware of what should be done in preparation for the season, to make sure your team is ready for FIRST Launch! You can start by finding the 7 Essential Steps for starting a FIRST Tech Challenge team. It all starts with understanding what the FIRST Tech Challenge is, and where you can find help in your own town! Joining FIRST Tech Challenge means becoming part of a team that works together alongside your local community to make it to the World Championship! You�ll work with others who have similar interests, learning how to program and build your robot, while developing important skills that will help you become a STEM professional. The FIRST Tech Challenge is one of four programs  within FIRST ...

We�re excited to share the news that FIRST Tech Challenge will be making World Championships even louder next year! We�re expanding our footprints in both Houston and Detroit from 128 to 160 teams at each event. More teams mean more fun, and higher levels of competition from teams around the world. FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship registration fees will increase to $2,000 per team. This is the first increase in registration fees since we started the program back in 2007. The elimination of Super Regional events and those costs should help teams offset this increase. Season registration fees remain at $275, and we continue to drive down costs for rookie and veteran teams to obtain hardware and electronics. Our goal is to change the culture, inspiring more students by showing them the fun and excitement of STEM and Gracious Professionalism embedded in the FIRST culture. We do that by getting more and more students, coaches, volunteers and sponsors on board. We�re proud of the work...

After reviewing over one hundred amazing applicants, FIRST Tech Challenge and the Game Design Committee are pleased to announce the newest addition to the Committee, Jessica Bollin Smith! Jessica joins us from Ohio, where she pursued Mechanical and Electrical Engineering degree at the University of Toledo. For the past six years, she has worked as an electrical systems design engineer. In her spare time, she mentors two FIRST Tech Challenge teams and referees for FIRST Lego League local and state tournaments. She has become immersed in FIRST over the last seven years. Jessica joins the Game Design Committee just in time to help us finalize the game for the 2018-2019 season. She will then continue on for the next year as we plan for our 2019-2020 game. Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Jessica!

During this season of thanks, we want all our teams to know how appreciative we are of you -- not just because of your participation in FIRST programs, but for all you do to make it loud for our mission. You understand how important it is to inspire young minds and engage kids in STEM, and the statistics prove it � kids who participate in FIRST programs are more interested in doing well in school and going to college. Each and every one of you understand that FIRST is about more than robots; it�s about empowering students everywhere to make the world a better place. We want to encourage even more kids around the world to dream big, and we invite you to join us. On Giving Tuesday (November 28), we�re rallying our #stemsquad and participating in this global day of giving back through a 24-hour marathon fundraiser! Join the movement by setting up your own fundraising  page �the process is simple, and only takes a few minutes.  Customize it, share your page with friends and fam...

Hey FIRST Tech Challenge Teams! We�ve been so impressed with all of the amazing outreach that our teams have done this summer. We�ve seen you guys at state fairs, libraries, community centers, middle schools, high schools, elementary schools, at STEM fairs, Science Days, Innovation Fairs, camps, and even online! We know that recruiting new members to your FTC team or convincing a group of people to join our FTC community as a new team can sometimes be challenging and we wanted to share some resources with you. We�ve compiled them all in one place in this handy dandy blog post. If you have an awesome resource, please feel free to add it in the comments. Now for the fun part. We want to encourage all of our FTC teams to continue your outreach efforts into the fall. Plus we know that the start of school is a great time to recruit new rookies. We want to see your outreach and recruitment efforts in action! Upload a video to Vine, tag us ( FIRST Tech Challenge), and add the hashtag #FTCOu...

The FIRST Tech Challenge community is composed of thousands of amazing teams and people. These folks are changing their own lives, their communities, and the culture of our world by celebrating STEM and spreading Gracious Professionalism . In addition to building and competing with a robot, each season teams log hundreds of hours of community service hours, demonstrating that FIRST is definitely More Than Robots . We�ve collected just a few stories of FIRST Tech Challenge teams making it loud by giving back to their communities. Since 2012, FTC Team #6055 the Gearticks have been an exhibitor at Boston�s First Night activities attended by almost a million people each year. Several FIRST teams get together to exhibit their robots and allow those new to FIRST to have a hands on experience driving robots. The Gearticks love �being able to connect with hundreds of kids and their parents and share their passion for robots. We also get the chance to hang out with other FIRST teams, di...