Click the circles below to walk through the season calendar. Dates represent the tentative dates planned and are subject to change.
Skill Development
The time before kickoff is a great opportunity for teams to improve their skill sets in preparation for designing, building, programming and competing.
Make sure to check out the resources on the FIRST website for handy team management resources!
Team Registration
Each team needs to register annually.
This is done through the FIRST website at www.firstinspires.org. The coach or purchaser will need to create an account and sign-in to access the team registration dashboard.
Each team will need to identify 2 adult coaches. These coaches will need to go through FIRST’s background screening process before the team’s registration can be finalized.
Once the two coaches are screened, an online storefront will be enabled in the team registration dashboard. This storefront allows for the team’s registration to be paid and equipment to be ordered.
Getting Ready for Kickoff!
Kickoff is held each year in early September.
Veteran teams are encouraged to participate in the kickoff by putting together workshops to share with other teams.
Does your team have an idea to share?
When
For the 2016 Season, FIRST Tech Challenge will kickoff its season with the official game unveiling on Saturday, September 10th at 12:00pm EDT. (9:00AM PDT)
Where
The NorCal FIRST Tech Challenge Kickoff event will take place at:
Encinal HS
210 Central Avenue
Alameda, CA 94501
What
The Kickoff event will consist of:
- 2016 FIRST Tech Challenge Game Unveil
- Q&A Session
- up to 18 workshops (in three tracks) — details coming
Why
See the game fully setup and up close!
Get a chance to ask questions about the game!
Teams that have fully registered with FIRST will receive an official game element to keep!
Take advantage of the many workshops to improve your team’s skills!
Meet other teams!
From late October through early February, NorCal FIRST Tech Challenge teams participate in one or more qualifying tournaments.
The tournaments are full-day competitions with 1 or 2 competition fields, supporting 16 (1 field) to 28 (2 fields) teams.
Registration for tournaments takes place in “waves”, with a month’s worth of tournaments being available in each block of registration.
This post explains the registration process.
Details on the season’s qualifying tournaments should be available by early October.
The NorCal FIRST Tech Challenge season concludes with the NorCal FTC Regional Championship.
This tournament is a 48-team 2-division event. Teams advance to the NorCal Regional Championship based on the criteria defined in Part 1 of the FIRST Tech Challenge Game Manual.
The tournament is held each year in mid to late February.
Details for the 2016 Regional Championship will be published as soon as the venue is confirmed.
The FIRST Tech Challenge West Super-Regional Championship is a two and a half day long 72-team, 2-division event for teams from the western United States.
The FIRST Tech Challenge West Super-Regional Championship takes place in mid to late March each year. Teams advance from their regional championships based on the advancement criteria published in the FIRST Tech Challenge Game Manual Part 1.
Information for the FTC West Super Regional can be found on the FTC West website
The culmination of each FIRST Tech Challenge season takes place at the FIRST World Championships.
All of the FIRST programs come together to celebrate the accomplishments of the teams.
For the 2016 season, FIRST is hosting 2 World Championship; Houston and St. Louis.
FIRST LEGO League Jr holds an Expo
FIRST LEGO League puts on a World Festival
FIRST Tech Challenge holds a World Championship
FIRST Robotics Competition holds a World Championship
During the post-season timeframe, NorCal FTC has traditionally hosted an off-season tournament as part of the Bay Area Maker Faire (typically held in mid-May each year).
The tournament takes place over two days with plenty of time for teams that are participating to wander and explore the various exhibits at the Maker Faire.