We are proud to announce the 2022 – 2023 FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship sponsored by Honeywell for the PowerPlay season. This event will allow those Texas FIRST Tech Challenge teams that earn advancement from their Regional competition to compete in a true state championship for advancement to the 2023 FIRST World Championship. This event will be live streamed on FIRSTinTexas.TV

**NOTE** FIRST in Texas Consent and Releases are required. Please use our online system to complete. All coaches, students, and volunteers must complete prior to arriving.

This event will host both the FTC State Championship and the FTC UIL State Championship together under one roof.

UIL State Championship:   24 1A-4A Teams // 24 5A Teams // 24 6A Teams // The UIL State Championship is March 24 with Team Load-In @ 9am.  UIL Trophies for Gold, Silver & Bronze will be awarded.

UIL Judging:  There will be three onsite judged awards:  Innovate, Design and Team Spirit. No presentation nor portfolio is required. Winners are determined based on pit interviews and match observations.

FTC State Championship:  72 teams in a dual division format // March 25 – 26 with Load-In @ 7:30am. (Official FTC Competition Awards and Inspire Banner).

FTC State Judging: For the FIRST in Texas, FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship: all team presentations and pit interviews will be conducted remotely using the ftc-scoring.firstinspires.org embedded, cloud conferencing system. (See page 24 on this team guide on how to use the system.)

Here is the timeline for judging:

• Mon. 03/20/2023: 9:00pm – The team portfolio, control award document and judging feedback form is due by 9:00pm. Late submissions will be taken but will be marked tardy in the system.
• Tues. 03/21/2023: 6:00pm – 8:00pm – Team 5-minute pitch and Q&A. See ftc-scoring.firstinspires.org for your 15-minute session time.
• Wed. 03/22/2023: 6:00pm – 9:00pm – “Pit” Interviews. See ftc-scoring.firstinspires.orgfor your 45-minute window.

Drivers’ Meeting

Mon. 03/20/2023: 6:00pm. If you missed the Drivers’ Meeting, Review it here.

General Event Information:

Pits: Teams will be provided a 10’x10′ pit and 110v @ 10amp power. Teams are expected to bring their own 50′ extension cord to connect to our power breakout locations. Remember to include tape to secure the cable to the floor.

Registration Fee: Teams attending UIL only will pay $500.00/ea. Teams attending just the FTC State Championship will pay $700.00/ea. Teams attending both UIL and the FTC State Championship will pay $1,000.00/ea.

After you are advanced from your Regional, you will receive an invoice from FIRST in Texas (via email to the coach). Invoices must be paid before attending. Team grants are available to help offset some or all of your advancement fee. Please reach out to teamgrants@firstintexas.org for more information.

Safety:  Teams are required to bring their own safety glasses / side shields, wear closed toe and heel shoes and be prepared to secure any hair or jewelry that may become in contact with moving parts of the robot. Participants / Coaches are expected to follow any safety directions signs and instructions by FIRST in Texas volunteers / staff while onsite. Safety FIRST in Texas!

Tech Notice:  Teams are expected to have the latest version of software  on control systems and all devices set to AUTO for channel assignments. We will be looking for this during your field inspection. Reminder, NO personal hotspots. We will be actively tracking down interference and those offenders not following instructions will be asked to leave.

Advancement to FIRST World Championship:  FIRST in Texas will advance a total of 13 teams from Texas to the 2023 FIRST World Championship. This includes the 1st Place Inspire Award winners from each of our five regions; leaving 8 for teams in attendance at the FTC State Championship.  FIRST has drastically reduced advancement allocations for Texas over the last two years and is not something we control.

Update: Feb 9 // FIRST has granted us one additional slot to the FIRST World Championship for this season only. Total of 9 teams will advance from our FTC State Championship.

Update: Feb 16 // For those teams advancing as their regional Inspire Award Winner (1st Place), those teams do qualify for all awards at the FTC State Championship, but will not earn any additional advancement opportunity other than the one already earned regionally. They will be marked as “already advancing” on the advancement report but can earn any award.

ADA Accommodation Information:   Bell County Arena\

Prohibited Items: weapons, outside food, drinks, balloons, pets and items general prohibited at FIRST events.

Hotels: FIRST in Texas has pre-negotiated rates with local hotels. FIRST in Texas receives no financial compensation from any of the listed hotels.

• Expo Inn and Suites Belton – 235 W Loop 121 Belton, Tx 76513 254.613.5289 $119 a night / Booking Code: FIRST Tech Challenge
• Holiday Inn – Temple-Belton, 5247 S General Bruce Dr. Temple, TX 76502, Booking Link:  Click Here to Stay at Holiday Inn Temple-Belton,  Starting at $124 Per Night
• Hampton Inn – Temple – 3816 S General Bruce Dr. Temple, TX 76502, Booking Link, Click Here to Stay at Hampton Inn, Starting at $94 Per Night
• Hampton Inn – Killeen – 2702 O.W. Curry Drive Killeen, Texas 76542 – Booking Phone:  254-554-7110 – Starting at $81 Per Night

///// Team Attending this Event /////: Teams may be listed in both the UIL Division and the FTC State Championship if they have earned the opportunity. Please contact your local Program Coordinator for more information on advancing from your Regional event.

FTC STATE CHAMPIONSHIP:

• Katherine Johnson Division
• Nikola Tesla Division

SPONSORS:   Qualcomm, Honeywell, Panasonic, TI , Texas Workforce Commission, and Citgo

Updated: Mar 20, 2023