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The 2025 FIRST® Championship will bring together 600 teams.This page is intended to be an overview of information on FIRST Championship specific to the FIRST Robotics Competition program. Teams can also reference the FIRST Robotics Competition Event Guide (coming soon) for additional details.
FIRST Robotics Competition Volunteers can also reference the Volunteer Event Guide (coming soon) for general volunteer information as well as the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship Volunteer webpage for volunteer information specific to the FIRST Robotics Competition Program.
Preparing for FIRST Championship
Details on how teams earn eligibility to attend the FIRST Championship will be posted on the Championship Eligibility Criteria webpage.
Teams should also check out the FIRST Championship Website for information that is applicable to all programs and attendees and the FIRST Championship Event Guide (coming soon) for information that is applicable to all attendees such as information about badging, Conferences, Innovation Faire, and more!
Badging and Hotel Options
We know teams may have questions regarding changes to the FIRST Championship housing program. More information is available through the below articles in our knowledge base:
Robot Shipping & Packing
Teams attending the 2025 FIRST Championship can choose to either ship their robot using the FedEx voucher or hand-carry to the event.
Teams that qualify and are secured (paid the event registration fee) for FIRST Championship will get an email asking them if they want to hand-carry to FIRST Championship or ship it via FedEx. Teams must select one or the other, as there will be no ‘default’ option. For more information, check out the Robot Transportation webpage.
Please review the Event Experience webpage for suggestions on what to bring to each event.
On-Site FIRST Robotics Competition Championship Specifics
Agenda & Floor Plan
- Teams can reference the FIRST Robotics Competition Public Schedule (coming soon) for the most up to date schedule.
- Please see the images below (coming soon) for the layout of the FIRST Robotics Competition area on the 1st floor of the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Championship Divisions
Division Assignments will be available on this frc-events page closer to the event.
Archimedes
Archimedes was a mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and philosopher. In theoretical mechanics, Archimedes is responsible for fundamental theorems concerning the centers of gravity of plane figures and solids, and he is famous for his theorem on the weight of a body immersed in a liquid, called Archimedes’ Principle.
Coming soon!
Curie
Marie Curie was a Polish physicist and chemist who did ground-breaking research about radioactivity. She was the first woman to have won the Nobel Prize and the first person to have won the Nobel Prize twice, for developing the theory of radioactivity, and for discovering new elements polonium and radium.
Coming soon!
Daly
Marie Daly was an American biochemist, and the first African-American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry. Over almost 40 years, she did important research about histones, protein synthesis, cholesterol and hypertension and creatine.
Coming soon!
Galileo
Galileo Galilei was a philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. He made many important contributions to our understanding of this world. One such contribution is improving the design of the telescope, allowing him to make meaningful discoveries that helped prove the Copernican hypothesis.
Coming soon!
Hopper
Grace Hopper was an American mathematician and a rear admiral in the US NAVY. She was a pioneer in developing computer technology and even coined the term bug to refer to unexplained computer failures. Additionally, she helped to devise the first commercial electronic computer.
Coming soon!
Johnson
Katherine Johnson, an African American woman, worked as a mathematician who worked at NASA. She was responsible for calculating orbital mechanics which were critical for first and later US crewed spaceflights. Known as the "human calculator" she was a master at complex manual calculations and pioneered the use of computers for this task.
Coming soon!
Milstein
Cesar Milstein was an Argentine biochemist researching in the field of antibodies. In 1984 he was a co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the production of monoclonal antibodies. His discovery allowed mass creation of these antibodies to allow for diagnosis and treatment of many diseases including some cancers.
Coming soon!
Newton
Isaac Newton was an English physicist and mathematician. He’s well known for his discovery of the three laws of motion, the original discovery of calculus, and laying the foundation for modern physical optics.
Coming soon!
Judging & Awards
FIRST Robotics Competition celebrates the excitement of competition both on and off the field. Through our awards, we celebrate the FIRST Core Values which makes us so much #morethanrobots.
Pit Judging
Judges come around in the pit to interview teams for the Judged Awards just like they do at local District or Regional Competitions. Judges may Interview and observe teams in the Pit, on the playing field, and other areas of the event. Visit the FIRST Robotics Competition Awards page for a full description of the awards. To be eligible for any award, teams will be required to follow FIRST Core Values, demonstrate Gracious Professionalism®, and implement and follow appropriate safety practices.
Teams are eligible for all awards presented at FIRST Championship with the exception of the FIRST Impact Award (which requires winning it at the Regional or District Championship level to be eligible) and the Rookie Awards (which only rookies are eligible to win).
Award Ceremonies
Awards for each field will be presented in between the playoff matches. The entire team will be invited to the field to receive an award and take a team picture if they like (team must take the photo themselves).
The FIRST Impact Award Finalists will be announced Saturday Morning prior to Alliance Selection.
The FIRST Impact Award, Volunteer of the Year, and Woodie Flowers Award winner will be announced during Einstein.
FIRST Impact Awards Interviews
The FIRST Impact Award interview schedule will be posted in each Pit Admin on Wednesday. FIRST Impact Award Interviews will be on Thursday and Friday.
There are four FIRST Impact Award Interview rooms on site are located (coming soon). Swapping interview times is not encouraged, but if you must change your time, switch with a team (once you have their consent) that is assigned to the same interview room as you and notify Pit Admin. Pit Admin must approve the change and they will work with the judges to keep them apprised of changes.
Teams can reference the Hall of Fame webpage to see what other teams who have won the Championship FIRST Impact Award have accomplished.
Logistics
Load In
All teams must follow the Load-In process as outlined in the Team Load-In Instructions (coming soon) in order to bring materials into the Pits from their vehicles. Teams may only unload into the Loading Dock and not onto Chartres Street. Teams cannot leave vehicles unattended at any time.
Early Load In
- (coming soon)
Load Out
Coming soon!
Use of 53' Trailers for Load In & Load Out
Use of a 53' Trailer that has not been authorized by FIRST is not allowed. Any 53' Trailer that has not been given authorization risks lengthy delays, transportation penalties and fees. Rules, guidelines, and sign-up process for authorization can be found in the Community 53' Trailer Option Information document (coming soon).
Meals & Breaks
Each division is assigned a 1 hour 30-minute break for lunch on Thursday and Friday. Teams should listen carefully to announcements on each Division Field, as some matches are replayed during the Lunch Break. Please see the below schedule for Thursday & Friday by field. On Saturday, all Division Fields will break from the end of the Division Field Playoffs at (coming soon) until the Einstein Closing Celebration begins at (coming soon).
There are concessions located within the convention center, with many food options around the George R. Brown Convention Center as well.
The George R. Brown Convention Center is now cashless, a change from our last event there. To accommodate FIRST teams, Convention Center Staff will be setup on the 1st floor (near Main Registration) and 3rd Floor (near the Grand Ballroom lobby) at kiosks that will have the ability to accept cash (in US dollars) and turn that into a GiveX card (a gift card that can be used at concession stands) that can be used throughout the week.
The activation fee will be waived for these cards. Money that is still left on the card at the end of the event can be refunded at those same kiosks, or you can keep the card with the money still loaded and will be able to use it next year.
Local food trucks will be around Discovery Green. View a list of nearby restaurants.
Teams can use the pre-order form (coming soon) to pre-order lunches for your team. Orders must be submitted by (coming soon). Orders submitted after this date are subject to availability and have an additional charge.
|
Divisions |
Day |
Lunch Break Time |
|
Archimedes |
Thursday |
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM |
|
Friday |
12:45 PM – 2:15 PM |
|
|
Curie |
Thursday |
11:15 AM – 12:45 PM |
|
Friday |
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM |
|
|
Daly |
Thursday |
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM |
|
Friday |
12:15 PM – 1:45 PM |
|
|
Galileo |
Thursday |
11:45 AM – 1:15 PM |
|
Friday |
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM |
|
|
Hopper |
Thursday |
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM |
|
Friday |
11:45 AM – 1:15 PM |
|
|
Johnson |
Thursday |
12:15 PM – 1:45 PM |
|
Friday |
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM |
|
|
Milstein |
Thursday |
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM |
|
Friday |
11:15 AM – 12:45 PM |
|
|
Newton |
Thursday |
12:45 PM – 2:15 PM |
|
Friday |
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM |
Division Playoff Pit
There will be assigned pits for FIRST Robotics Competition Division playoff matches closer to the fields to be shared by 4 team alliances. Division Playoff Pits are 15’ x 15’ (4.57m x 4.57m). Alliances must work together to share the space accordingly including tools and equipment. Any pit structures cannot exceed 8’ (2.4 m) in height. Teams may move to these spaces immediately after Alliance Selection.
Parking
Parking is available around the George R. Brown Convention Center, see Downtown Houston Parking webpage for more information.
Practice Fields
There will be 2 complete Competition Fields in each Pit area, as well as several carpeted areas of Practice Field elements Informal (Playground). The Practice Fields are open (coming soon). The Practice Fields will not be available on Saturday. The practice field will not include game piece counters in the Speakers or Amps. Please reference the FIRST Robotics Competition Public Schedule (coming soon) for planned hours of operation as well as the Championship Practice Field Overview (coming soon) that is provided in team's registration packets.
We recognize that teams shipping their robot are at a disadvantage as they cannot work on their robot after it ships. To help level the playing field, teams that ship their robot using the FedEx voucher receive early access to the pits on Wednesday and:
- a fast pass that allows the team to skip the line one time on the Informal (Playground) Practice Area any day they are open.
- a fast pass that allows the teams to skip the line one time on the Formal practice fields any day the practice fields are open.
- Note: Fast passes must be used prior to one hour before the day’s scheduled closing time, i.e. prior to 6:00PM on Wednesday and prior to 5:00PM on Thursday and Friday.
Queuing
Teams are responsible for knowing their match times and are expected to queue 30 minutes prior to their matches without the help of an announcer. Teams need a minimum of 10 minutes to travel from their pit space to the playing fields. Please leave extra time to get back and forth between the pits and playing fields.
For qualification matches, FIRST will make every effort to keep close to the published schedules. Keep close watch of the pit display for any moment-to-moment changes. There will be no audio queuing.
Robot Services
- Control System Advisors (CSAs) - Teams can request general help from Control Systems Advisors for troubleshooting software or electrical issues by stopping by the NI booth in the Robot Service Center or submitting a request online at www.ni.com/frcsupport.
- Inspection - Inspection opens at 10:00am on Wednesday. Each Division has an inspection station and teams should go to the Inspection Station in their Division. Teams should start the inspection process as soon as possible to help every team get through it in a timely manner. Robots must pass inspection prior to accessing the practice fields and competing in Qualification Matches
- Machine Shop - There is a machine shop, sponsored by NASA, located in each Pit area in the back of Halls A & E near the Spare Parts Tables.
- Spare Parts - There is a spare parts table in the back of both Hall A & E and parts are available on a limited basis.
- Robot Service Center - located in the back of Halls B, C, & D and is an opportunity for teams to seek and get support from Suppliers during the competition (e.g. technical help, spare parts, or assistance with repairs).
Einstein Tournament
The 8 Division winning alliances are known as Division Champions. These teams compete in the Einstein Tournament. The tournament will be a Double Elimination Tournament as described in Section 12.4 of the Game Manual.
- Reserved Seating - (coming soon).
Accessibility
- Accessible Seating - Accessible seating is available for all fields. If your team needs accessible seating, please indicate this when you register for badging to help us with planning. There will be space for the person in need plus up to 3 additional members from their team. Due to space constraints, most of the team will need to sit in the reserved stands behind the accessible seating. If a student is the one in need, we ask that at least 1 adult sits in the reserved area.
- Please be aware that anyone sitting in the Accessible Seating area must wear safety glasses. Please see a volunteer for directions to seating.
- Gender Neutral Bathrooms - Gender neutral bathrooms will be available as shown in the layout above as well as layouts on the FIRST Championship website.
- Nursing Room - A Nursing Room is available (coming soon). This amenity offers a clean and comfortable room for traveling mothers to nurse, use a breast pump or care for young children. The Nursing Room features a table and comfortable seating. Please bring all supplies to effectively sanitize and disinfect this space before and after each use.
- Prayer Rooms - There will be two prayer rooms available for anyone wishing to observe religious practice onsite during event hours. Prayer rooms are located (coming soon).
- Quiet Room - A Quiet Room will be available for those participants who need a quiet space to de-stress and take a break from the business of the competition. The Quiet Room location is (coming soon).
- If you would like to donate items (things like playing cards, board games, stress balls, puzzles) for the room, please bring then to the Quiet Room.
- The Quiet Room hours are (coming soon)