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Getting Started with FRC·Lesson 4 of 28

The Annual Season: Kickoff to Championship

The FRC calendar from the January game reveal through the six-week build to events and the World Championship.

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The season is a yearly cycle

Every FRC season follows the same rhythm. Understanding this calendar is the single most useful thing a rookie can learn.

1. Kickoff (early January)

The season begins with Kickoff, a worldwide simultaneous broadcast on the FIRST YouTube channel. At Kickoff, FIRST reveals the new game, releases the Game Manual, and shows the field. The 2026 Kickoff was on Saturday, January 10, 2026, revealing REBUILT presented by Haas. From this moment, every team on Earth has the same information and the clock starts.

2. Build Season (about six weeks)

For roughly six weeks after Kickoff, teams design, prototype, build, wire, and program their robot. This is the famous crunch — long nights, rapid iteration, and learning by doing. Historically robots were 'bagged and tagged' at the end of build season; that rule was removed in 2020, so teams may now keep working, but the ~6-week window before the first event still defines the sprint. Teams use this time to:

  • Read and re-read the Game Manual
  • Decide a strategy and a robot 'archetype'
  • CAD the design (often in Onshape)
  • Fabricate, assemble, wire, and write software
  • Drive-practice before the first event

3. Competition Season (late February through April)

Teams travel to events. There are two models:

  • Regional model: a team attends one larger Regional event; top teams there qualify for the FIRST Championship.
  • District model: in certain areas, teams play two District events, earn district points, and the best advance to a District Championship, then potentially to the FIRST Championship.

4. FIRST Championship (late April)

The season culminates at the FIRST Championship in Houston, Texas (at the George R. Brown Convention Center). The 2026 Championship runs April 29 – May 2, 2026. Thousands of qualifying teams compete in multiple divisions (Archimedes, Curie, Daly, Galileo, and more); division winners advance to the Einstein Field for the world final, and major judged awards (including the FIRST Impact Award) are presented.

5. Offseason (summer/fall)

After Championship, teams attend offseason events (community-run), recruit new members, train rookies, fundraise, and prototype mechanisms — then the cycle restarts at the next Kickoff.

A quick mental model

January: get the game. February–April: build and compete. Late April/early May: Championship. Summer/Fall: train and prepare.

Why the calendar matters for rookies

Registration and the Kit of Parts logistics happen before Kickoff, so a brand-new team must register in the fall to be ready in January. Missing that window means missing the season — plan ahead.

Learn more

Key takeaways

  • The season runs on a fixed yearly cycle: January Kickoff, ~6-week build season, late-Feb to April events, then the FIRST Championship in Houston in late April (April 29 – May 2 in 2026).
  • Teams compete either in the Regional model (one big event) or the District model (two events plus a District Championship).
  • Rookies must register and arrange the Kit of Parts in the fall to be ready for January Kickoff.

Go deeper

Lesson quiz

Required

Answer all 3 questions correctly to complete this lesson.

1.What event officially starts the FRC season and reveals each year's new game?

2.In what order do FRC events generally occur over a season?

3.Where is the FRC season's pinnacle event, the FIRST Championship, held?

Answer every question to submit.