FIRST Robotics Competition
FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)
Build a 125-pound robot in six weeks, then compete in a stadium alliance game.
Run by FIRST
Key facts
- Eligible grades
-
Grades 9 to 12
Source, checked 2026-09-01
- Eligible ages
-
Ages 14 to 18
FIRST publishes both a grade range and an age range for this programme. FIRST notes that ages may vary by region.Source, checked 2026-09-01
- Individual or team
- Team · Not confirmed
- Where it runs
- In person · United States, Canada, International
- Entry cost
- Several thousand dollars per team, with grants widely availableFIRST does not publish a single headline registration figure on its cost page, and regional bodies add their own charges. One state Program Delivery Partner published a $6,500 FIRST registration plus $5,500 local registration for 2026-27, which indicates the scale but is region-specific and should not be treated as a national price. Registration fees do not cover duties, taxes or shipping of Kit of Parts, Kickoff Kits or FIRST Choice material. From 2026-27, grant funding applied to team accounts carries over across more than one season.
- Registration deadline
- Kickoff selection runs 24 September 2026 at noon ET to 17 November 2026 at noon ET. Only teams that have selected a kickoff location and secured their registration fee by the payment due date will receive their Kickoff Kit at kickoff. 69 days leftFor the 2027 BIOCORE season, every team had to select a Kickoff location or shipping address by 17 November 2026 at noon Eastern. Event registration and payment deadlines follow. Confirm the full calendar on the FIRST site.
- Competition dates
- The BIOCORE presented by Haas game releases 9 January 2027, with the season kickoff celebration and game reveal at 12:00 p.m. ET on the FIRST Robotics Competition YouTube channel. BIOCORE is part of the FIRST CANOPY 2026-27 season.
- Difficulty
- CompetitiveSerious preparation over a season. Advancing past the first round separates prepared students from unprepared ones.
- Prizes
- Scholarships worth tens of millions collectively, plus awardsJudged awards rather than cash prizes, including the FIRST Impact Award for veteran teams only, the student FIRST Leadership Award and the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award. Team members and alumni get access to the FIRST Scholarship Program.
What FIRST Robotics Competition is
FRC is the flagship high school robotics league. Every January, FIRST reveals a new game and every team in the world gets the same challenge and roughly six weeks to design, build and program a large competitive robot. Teams then compete at regional or district events in three-versus-three alliance matches. It is the closest thing in secondary education to running a small engineering company: there is a budget, a deadline, a supply chain and a public demonstration of whether it worked.
How the competition works
Teams start with a Kit of Parts and design, program and build an industrial-sized robot to play the season game as part of a three-team alliance. Teams also create a team identity, raise funds and do community STEM outreach, all of which feed judged awards.
Eligibility notes
You join or start a team; individuals do not enter. Teams are usually school-based but community and home school teams are common.
Is FIRST Robotics Competition right for you?
- Experience needed
- None individually. The team needs mentors and returning members; you do not need to arrive knowing anything.
- Time commitment
- Very high. Six weeks of build season often means evenings and weekends.
- What you actually do
- Your team gets the game in January and six weeks to design, build and program a 125-pound robot, then competes in alliances at regional events. Many roles are non-technical: fundraising, safety, media, scouting.
A good fit if
- You want the closest thing to a real engineering project
- Your school has an established team
- You want a large team with genuinely varied roles
Probably not for you if
- Students who cannot commit six intense weeks
- Schools without funding or mentors, who should start with FTC
Common mistakes
- Underestimating cost. Registration plus parts plus travel is the largest budget in this directory; rookie grants exist and are under-claimed.
- Leaving programming until the robot is built.
- Ignoring the awards judged on documentation and outreach, which are winnable without the best robot.
How to register
- Find out whether your school or a nearby community organisation already has a team. Most do not advertise it well.
- If there is no team, a teacher or parent registers a new one on firstinspires.org. Rookie teams receive extra parts and are eligible for rookie grants.
- Apply for grants early. Many regional organisations have grant deadlines in the summer, well before registration closes.
- Select a Kickoff location or shipping address by the published November deadline, and secure the registration fee by the payment due date, or the team will not receive its Kickoff Kit at Kickoff.
- Register for events. District and regional event registration closes in the autumn for the following season.
What skills you need
- Mechanical design and CAD
- Machining and fabrication
- Programming in Java, C++ or Python
- Control systems
- Project management
- Fundraising and outreach
Recommended resources
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FIRST Robotics Competition official site
Registration, the game manual, calendar, costs and the scholarship directory.
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FIRST cost and registration page
The authoritative page for what registration includes and what it costs each season.
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Chief Delphi
The FRC community forum. Teams publish CAD, code and season post-mortems openly here.
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WPILib documentation
The official free programming library and tutorials for FRC robots in Java, C++ and Python.
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Onshape for FRC
Free browser-based CAD for teams, widely used across the league.
Past problems and materials
Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.
- FIRST season materials and past game manuals
Official archive of game manuals and season documentation.
Helpful videos
- FIRST Robotics Competition channel
Kickoff broadcasts, game animations and full match archives from every event.
Frequently asked questions
How much does FRC actually cost a student?
Usually little or nothing directly. The cost falls on the team, which pays a season registration fee plus event fees, parts and travel, commonly several thousand dollars. Teams fund this through sponsors and grants, and FIRST offers rookie grants specifically to remove the barrier. Ask the team what they expect from families before joining.
When is the 2027 season?
The BIOCORE game is revealed at Kickoff on 9 January 2027. Teams had to select a Kickoff location or shipping address by 17 November 2026 at noon Eastern, and district and regional event registration closes in the autumn.
Can I join if I have no engineering experience?
Yes. FRC teams need programmers, machinists, designers, writers, fundraisers and outreach organisers. Teams actively recruit students with no technical background, and the business and Impact Award side is as competitive as the robot.
What if my school has no team?
You can start one with a teacher or parent as lead coach, and rookie teams receive extra parts and grant eligibility. Alternatively, look for a community or home school team nearby; many accept students from any school.
Reviews, tips and resources from other students
Posts are public. Do not share your full name, school, address or contact details.
Something out of date?
If a deadline, fee or eligibility rule on this page no longer matches the official site, flag it and it goes into the review queue.
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