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In order to compete at the 2026 FIRST® Championship, a 2026 registered FIRST® Robotics Competition team must be eligible. Teams are eligible to register for the FIRST Championship if they are:
- a Pre-Qualified Team, or
- a Merit-Based Qualifying Team
Pre-Qualified Teams
The following teams will be pre-qualified for the 2026 FIRST Championship based on earning the FIRST Impact Award at a past Championship event. The FIRST Impact Award is the most prestigious award in the program and is the only way FIRST Robotics Competition teams can enter the Hall of Fame. To honor this achievement, Hall of Fame teams that earned their Championship FIRST Impact Award at the last 8 years are pre-qualified teams. These teams are 5985, 2486, 321, 1629, 503, 4613, 1816, 1902, 1311, and 2834.
Merit-Based Qualifying Teams
Merit-Based Qualifying slots are issued based on a team's performance during the season. Eligible teams are automatically given the opportunity to register for the FIRST Championship at the time of their win at either a Regional Event or at their District Championship. Teams who compete in District areas will not be able to advance to the FIRST Championship from Regional events.Teams from Districts are also still not eligible to win the FIRST Impact Award, Engineering Inspiration, or Rookie All-Star award at Regional events.
District Model
Each District determines the number of Dean’s List Finalists, FIRST Impact Awards, Rookie All Star Awards, and Engineering Inspiration Awards to present at their District Championship, within a range established by FIRST. The team counts are based on the team representation of the respective District at the Championship. For the awards, ranges are developed by using ratios agreed upon by FIRST and District Leadership. These ranges allow each District to represent their own community as they see fit.
- For the FIRST Impact Award, the ratios range from one FIRST Impact Award team for every 18 Championship District teams to one FIRST Impact Award team for every nine Championship District teams.
- For the Dean’s List Finalist Award, the ratios range from one Dean’s List Finalist for every nine Championship District teams to one Dean’s List Finalist for every six Championship District teams.
- All Districts, regardless of FIRST Championship Slot allocation, may award one or two Engineering Inspiration and Rookie All-Star Awards.
The following teams competing in the District model earn a Merit-Based Qualifying slot:
- District Championship
- FIRST Impact Award Winners
- Engineering Inspiration Award Winners
- Rookie All-Star Winners (the judges can decide if they present this award or not)
- Winning Alliance members
- as many teams in District-points total order to fill the Allocated FIRST Championship slots granted per the table below.
Districts receive the percentage of 'available slots' at FIRST Championship, rounded up to the nearest whole slot, equal to the percentage of teams they have in their District compared to the total of all FIRST Robotics Competition teams. 'Available slots' are calculated by taking the total number of slots at FIRST Championship and subtracting the number of pre-qualified teams. This overall calculation uses a ‘snapshot’ of teams that have registered and paid as of three weeks after initial season payment was due.
| District | Allocated FIRST Championship Slots | FIRST Impact Award Winners | Dean's List Award Finalists | Engineering Inspiration Award Winners | Rookie All-Star Award Winners | Woodie Flowers Award Finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST Chesapeake | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| FIRST in California | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| FIRST in Michigan | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| FIRST in Texas | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| FIRST Indiana Robotics | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| FIRST Israel | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| FIRST Mid-Atlantic | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| FIRST North Carolina | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| FIRST South Carolina | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| FIRST Wisconsin | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| NE FIRST | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Ontario | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Pacific Northwest | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Peachtree | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Regional Model
Regional teams are ranked throughout the season based on the points they earn at the first 2 Regional events they attend. Points are awarded to teams as described in Section 12.1 of the Game Manual (subject to change for the 2026 season). At every regional event, the 3 teams who earned the most points at that event and who have not already qualified for the FIRST Championship qualify for the FIRST Championship.
Regional Pool
All Regional event teams not already qualified for the FIRST Championship are ranked together in the “Regional Pool” based on the points earned from their first two regional events. The top ranked teams from this pool earn FIRST Championship qualification spots on a bi-weekly basis. This list helps ensure the top performing teams across events qualify for the FIRST Championship and allows for the consideration of performance across multiple events for teams. Awarding points at the first two events, with a projection if a team has only played one event, rewards consistent performance over the season without being punitive to single-event teams.