Season:

The UIL Robotics season will run in conjunction with the normal FIRST season and shall correspond with all dates, official events, and guidelines outlined by the FIRST Robotics Competition.

Game/Challenge:

Teams will participate in the 2016 FIRST Robotics Competition Game: FIRST Stronghold. Rules changes can be found here.

Contest:

The pilot UIL Robotics State Championship – FIRST Division for FIRST Robotics Competition is scheduled to coincide with the Texas Robot Roundup held on Friday, July 29th and Saturday, July 30th at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX. 32 UIL eligible FIRST Robotics Competition teams will qualify based on their performance at all their FIRST Regional competitions in Texas (See Qualification section below). An additional 10 spots will be reserved and allocated by the event planning committee. In total, 42 FIRST Robotics Competition teams will compete at this event.

Robot Requirements:

Teams will follow the rules and guidelines of the FIRST Robotics Competition. Each robot must be able to fully pass inspection to be allowed to compete, although only a cursory inspection will take place. All teams (with the exception of any pre-rookie teams registering for an open spot) must use their 2016 FIRST Robotics Competition robot, although alterations are acceptable. Robots do not need to be bagged as per FIRST competition requirements.

Team Eligibility and Membership:

To be eligible for UIL recognition, an FRC team must meet the following criteria:

1. Each member of the team must be a full-time student at a UIL member school.
2. Each student on the team must be eligible for participation as determined by applicable Texas law and school district policy.
3. The majority of team members must be composed of students in grades 9-12. The team must be identified as a high school based team.

Questions regarding eligibility for UIL recognition can be sent to dtrussell@uiltexas.org.

Qualification:

Teams qualify based on their performance at Texas FIRST Regional Competitions. Texas teams are ranked via points calculated using an altered District Model scoring (see section 7.4 of the Admin Manual); See Qualification Rank Scoring below. Qualification Rank Scores and Ranking will be posted on the FIRST in Texas website. The top 32 UIL eligible teams will receive an invitation to Texas Robot Roundup. Given that teams play at many different events on different weeks, invitation to the State Championship will take place after the FIRST Regional events have concluded. Many of the point entries are manual operations and, consequently, errors may occur in point totals. Every effort will be made to correct any errors. Teams must accept their invitation to the State Championship within two weeks of notification. If a team does not respond or chooses not to attend, the next highest ranked team will receive an invitation. Any invitations not accepted by June 1st will become open registration spots. Qualification questions can be sent to info@firstintexas.org.

Qualification Rank Scoring:

For each event in Texas that the team competes at:

1. Determine the Qualification points for the team as described in 7.4 of the Admin Manual
2. Determine the Alliance Selection points for the team as described in 7.4 of the Admin Manual
3. Determine the Elimination points for the team as described in 7.4 of the Admin Manual
4. For each “general” award the team wins at the event, add 5 points
5. Sum 1 through 4 to calculate the “Event Score.”

After Event Scores have been calculated:

1. Determine the team’s average Event Score (see above)
2. If the team wins the Chairman’s Award at any event, add 10 points
3. If the team wins Engineering Inspiration or Rookie All-Star at any event, add 8 points
4. If the team is a Rookie, add 10 points
5. If the team is a Second Year, add 5 points
6. Sum 1 through 5 to get the team’s Qualification Rank Score

Qualifying Points

Awards and Recognition:

UIL eligible teams on the Texas Robot Roundup Champion and Finalist alliances will receive recognition from the UIL as UIL Robotics State Champions and Runners-Up. In the event that the Champion and/or Finalist alliances are comprised of no UIL eligible teams, the highest ranked UIL eligible team(s) will be recognized. All teams on the Champion and Finalist alliances will receive Texas Robot Roundup Champion and Finalist trophies regardless of UIL eligibility.

Other awards may be presented both by the UIL and Texas Robot Roundup and will be announced at a later date.

Season:

The UIL Robotics season will run in conjunction with the normal FIRST season and shall correspond with all dates, official events, and guidelines outlined by the FIRST Tech Challenge.

Game/Challenge:

Teams will participate in the 2015-2016 FIRST Tech Challenge Game: FIRST RES-Q.

Contest:

The pilot UIL Robotics State Championship – FIRST Division for FIRST Tech Challenge is scheduled to coincide with the Texas Robot Roundup held on Thursday, July 28th and Friday, July 29th at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX. 64 UIL eligible FIRST Tech Challenge teams will qualify based on their performance at their FIRST Texas Region Championship tournaments. An additional 8 spots will be reserved and allocated by the event planning committee. In total, 72 FIRST Tech Challenge teams will compete at this event.

Robot Requirements:

Teams will follow the rules and guidelines of the FIRST Tech Challenge. Each robot must be able to fully pass inspection to be allowed to compete, although only a cursory inspection will take place. All teams (with the exception of any pre-rookie teams registering for an open spot) must use their 2016 FIRST Tech Challenge robot, although alterations are acceptable.

Team Eligibility and Membership:

To be eligible for UIL recognition, an FTC team must meet the following criteria:

1. Each member of the team must be a full-time student at a UIL member school.
2. Each student on the team must be eligible for participation as determined by applicable Texas law and school district policy.
3. The majority of team members must be composed of students in grades 9-12. The team must be identified as a high school based team.

Questions regarding eligibility for UIL recognition can be sent to dtrussell@uiltexas.org.

Qualification:

Teams qualify based on their performance at their FIRST Tech Challenge Texas Region Championship tournaments. Qualification is based on the FIRST Tech Challenge Advancement Criteria (see section 4.8 of the Game Manual Part 1). Qualification Ranking will be posted on the FIRST in Texas website. The top 16 Texas UIL eligible teams from each region (Alamo, North, Southeast, and West) will receive an invitation to Texas Robot Roundup. Teams must accept their invitation to the State Championship within two weeks of notification. If a team does not respond or chooses not to attend, the next highest ranked team in that region will receive an invitation. Any invitations not accepted by June 1st will become open registration spots. Qualification questions can be sent to info@firstintexas.org.

Advancement Ranking

Awards and Recognition:

UIL eligible teams on the Texas Robot Roundup Champion and Finalist alliances will receive recognition from the UIL as UIL Robotics State Champions and Runners-Up. In the event that the Champion and/or Finalist alliances are comprised of no UIL eligible teams, the highest ranked UIL eligible team(s) will be recognized. All teams on the Champion and Finalist alliances will receive Texas Robot Roundup Champion and Finalist trophies regardless of UIL eligibility.

Other awards may be presented both by the UIL and Texas Robot Roundup and will be announced at a later date.