2025-26 Season Resources

Registration & Event Selection

FLL Explore: Festival registration selection opens Friday, October 31, 2025. Be sure to sign up early to secure your spot!

FLL Challenge: Event selection remains open until November 15, 2025. Get your team ready and choose your event before the deadline!

Volunteer Training

Referees, Head Referee, and Tournament Directors/Host
Date: Saturday, November 1, 2025
Time: 09:00 AM - 11:00 am Central Time (US and Canada)

Head Referee Follow-Up Session
Date: Saturday, November 1, 2025
Time: 11:00 am - 11:30 am Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83826060065

Judge, Judge Advisors, and Volunteer Coordinator
Date: Saturday, November 8, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM - 11:00 am Central Time (US and Canada)

Judge Advisor Follow-Up Session
Date: Saturday, November 8, 2025
Time: 11:00 AM - 11:30 am Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88941787515

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We know there’s a lot to keep track of before your first competition. To help your team get event ready, we’ve outlined the key action items below. Each step ensures your team is fully registered, compliant, and prepared for check-in at your first event.

FIRST Team Registration

Every team must register through the official FIRST Team Registration System. To be considered eligible (“event-ready”), teams must:  

1. Create/login to their FIRST account  

2. Pay the Season Registration Fee to FIRST. 

3. Have both Lead Coach/Mentor 1 and 2 complete the required Youth Protection screening

4. Be in good standing in the FIRST system  

FIRST in Texas Season Fee

Every team must register with FIRST in Texas and pay the FIRST in Texas Season Fee.  

1. Create/login to FIRST in Texas account: After registering with FIRST all Lead Coaches, Team Mentors, and Admin will receive an email to join the FIRST in Texas coach portal system 

2. Register the Team: Fill out the team profile information to start the registration process 

3. Pay the Texas Season Fee: this covers registration in leagues (or 2 qualifiers for some teams in North).  

4. Pay Additional Event fees: Participation in events beyond what is covered in the initial Season Fee will incur additional costs. Please visit https://firstintexas.org/first-tech-challenge for specifics about event costs (additional details about season fees included in this newsletter)

Need help navigating how to pay using the FIRST in Texas Coaches Portal? Check out: New Coach Portal Overview which provides step by step instructions on how to use our system!

Ensure Team Members and Mentors are Registered to the Team in the FIRST System

Team Members and Mentors must be registered to a team through the FIRST Dashboard.This process ensures all students and adults affiliated with a team have a completed FIRST Consent and Release form.

For information on how to Register Youth to your team, please review the Youth Registration System Overview Resources. Review the Team Roster in the FIRST Dashboard to confirm that your team members are registered. 

Ensure Team Members, Coaches, and Mentors have Completed FIRST in Texas Waivers

FIRST in Texas requires a separate Consent and Release Form from the standard FIRST waiver due to Texas-specific legal requirements. This form must be completed by all participating students, coaches, and mentors before attending any event.

Each team has a unique waiver link available through the FIRST in Texas Coaches Portal. Coaches can share this link with parents and verify completion for their team directly from their dashboard.

Step-by-step instructions for locating and sharing your team’s waiver link are available in the New Coach Portal Overview, which also covers how to register, submit payments, and manage team information.

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Age Requirements & In-Person Judging 

Over the past several weeks, our staff has collaborated closely with the FLL Advisory Council to review feedback and identify key areas for improvement. While this work is ongoing, we’re excited to announce two important updates for the upcoming season: a clarification of our age and grade requirements, and a strategic transition to in-person judging across all events.

Age Requirements

FIRST in Texas is committed to providing every student with a meaningful, engaging, and equitable competition experience. To strengthen the quality and consistency of that experience, we are excited to announce a transition to in-person judging.

Beginning in the 2025–2026 season, the State Championship and all Regional Events (except for South) will move to in-person judging. In addition, every effort will be made to transition as many Qualifier Events as possible to in-person formats, with the goal of achieving 100% in-person judging across the state by the 2026–2027 season.

We recognize a shift to in-person judging demands additional coordination and support. To ease this transition, we are committed to assisting with volunteer recruitment, providing clear event guidelines, and defining volunteer roles and expectations. We will also share statewide standards for judging and the overall event experience to ensure that every student enjoys a high-quality, inspiring, and equitable competition.

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What are the different kinds of FLL Events? 

In FIRST® LEGO League Explore, students in grades K–3 work together to research a real-world theme, build and program a LEGO model, and share their project at an event called a Festival. Festivals are designed to be fun celebrations, where teams present their work, meet other teams, and learn from one another in a non-competitive environment. Explore teams are encouraged to attend more than one Festival throughout the season. Each Festival has a $65 registration fee. 

In FIRST® LEGO League Challenge, which is open to students in grades 4 – 8, teams go a step further by designing, programming, and operating a robot to complete themed missions. Challenge teams have the opportunity to attend two different event types. Both events are included in the Texas Season Fee.  

1. Get Ready Event - a practice-style gathering where teams can try out their robots and prepare for the season.
2. Qualifier Event - the official competition where teams showcase robot design, coding, and innovation projects while competing for advancement. Teams may only select 1 Qualifier Event.  

Is my team eligible to select an FLL event?  

Teams based in Texas must complete two separate registrations:

1. FIRST® Headquarters through the FIRST HQ site
2. FIRST in Texas through the Coach Portal 

Learn more at: Register a Team

For FLL-Explore, once a team has completed the FIRST in Texas Coach Portal sign-up process and signed the waiver, they will be eligible to select and pay for a Festival.

For FLL-Challenge, your team needs to complete the FIRST in Texas Coach Portal sign-up process, sign the coach waiver, and pay the Texas Season Fee. Payment can be completed by credit card, check, or Purchase Order. Once your payment has been processed, your team will be eligible to select available events. 

How do I select an FLL event?

All event registration happens exclusively through the FIRST® in Texas Coach Portal. After logging in, head to your Team Dashboard and look for the Events Section. There, you’ll see a list of all available events. Each listing includes important details such as venue, dates, and schedule. These details will continue to be updated as the event is being finalized.  

Here are the steps:  

1. Log into the FIRST in Texas Coach Portal  
2. Go to your Team Dashboard 
3. Find the Events Section – all available events will be listed.  
4. Click on “View/Select”. Review the event details.  
5. Once ready, click on “Select this event for my Team” 
6. The Status for this event will change to “Selected”  

For Challenge teams, it is important to remember that all event selections must be finalized by November 15th. Teams may make changes to their selections at any time until this deadline. To change your event selection, first remove your team from the event before selecting a new one.

Access to events is on a first-come, first-served basis. Once event capacity is reached, it will show "at capacity." However, teams may choose to drop an event so we encourage you to check back for openings! 

We look forward to an amazing season! 

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Teams based in Texas must complete two separate registrations:

1. FIRST Headquarters through the FIRST HQ site. 
2. FIRST in Texas through the Coach Portal. This includes a one-time payment of $225, which covers advancing from the qualifier rounds to the Championship. 

These registrations serve different purposes, but both are required for your team to participate in local events.

For Parents: Here is a step-by-step guide for express enrollment. 

Learn More Coach Portal Overview

Teams form in local communities and recruit as needed. FIRST^® does not match youth to existing teams due to our privacy policy. We encourage those looking for a team to contact local schools, libraries, or youth organizations that may have a team in place or an interest in starting one. An online search may also be helpful, as some teams share contact information through websites and social media pages.

If you contact a team regarding collaborating, mentoring, or accepting new team members, they are under no obligation to respond. Please do not contact FIRST Customer Service regarding your outreach to a FIRST team.

Find a Team

A team is considered eligible for a "Rookie" event if it is the first year for both Lead Coach 1 and Lead Coach 2 to coach FLL-Challenge. 

Lead Coach 1 and Lead Coach 2:

• Adult volunteers that lead the day-to-day activities of the team
• Have the authority to make leadership decisions for the team and are the primary contacts for the team.
• Each team must have two (2) adults in this role. One is recommended to be at least 25 years old.
• Leads can create new teams, manage team contacts, edit team information, make registration payments, register team participants, and view youth information
• Lead Coach 2 cannot invite Lead Coach 1 or Team Administrator.

 Mentor:

• Individuals (18+) with technical or non-technical knowledge who teach and assist a team.
• Mentors provide valuable support and serve as a resource in their area of specialty.
• Regular relationship with the team but may not attend every meeting or event.
• This role is assigned on the FIRST Dashboard. It does not have administrative permissions.

 Team Administrator:

• Individuals (18+) who do not collaborate directly with the team but have access to financial information to procure resources for the team
• Create a team
• Can invite/remove Lead Coaches only (no other rostered roles)
• Cannot invite parents/guardians, accept youth team members, or view youth team members in the Team Contacts page.
• The utilization of this role on a team roster is OPTIONAL.

Note: A Lead Coach 1 can do all the functions of a Team Administrator role and does not need to also be assigned to this role in addition to being a Lead Coach 1.

Youth Mentors:

• An individual, who could be a veteran team member, serving as youth mentor to a team with younger participants.
• These individuals are between the ages of 13-17 years old.
• The utilization of this role on a team roster is OPTIONAL
• This role is assigned on the FIRST Dashboard
• It does not have administrative permissions.

Team Volunteers:

• Individuals (18+) who regularly volunteer with and support the team, but they are not a mentor or the coach.
• The team may be chaperoned and/or supported in another way by this individual.
• The utilization of this role on a team roster is OPTIONAL
• Teams that have additional adult support could roster these individuals as “Team Volunteers” (ex. support logistics) or “mentors” (ex. teach/guide) whichever role is appropriate.
• This role is assigned on the FIRST Dashboard.
• It does not have administrative permissions.

Many people support teams. Here are some examples of other non-rostered roles:

Subject Matter Experts: This individual has infrequent or inconsistent interactions with a team. The individual may be a temporary consultant sharing expertise. (ex. An individual indirectly assists a team with something such as fabrication.) The role may be held by different individuals from season to season.

 Supporters: Individuals who indirectly support the team and do not consistently or directly engage with the team. (ex. individuals who are parents or guardians.) If an individual directly and consistently engages with youth they should be rostered as “Team Volunteers” and take Youth Protection Program training and undergo Youth Protection Program screening.

Infographic

Returning parents can use Express Enrollment. 
Click for Express Enrollment

Instructions for parents new to FIRST:

1. Visit www.firstinspires.org and click “Register” in the upper-right-hand corner

2. Create an account with your name, date of birth, and email address (NOT your youth’s information)

3. Once you are logged into your account dashboard, click the “Parent/Guardian – Youth” tab

4. Click the blue “Add a Youth” button

5. Enter your youth’s profile information and click the blue “Next” button

6. Enter your youth’s school information and click the blue “Next” button

7. Type in your name in the field at the bottom of the form

8. Click the blue “Accept & Submit” button at the bottom of the Consent and Release Form

9. Select the program and enter your youth’s team number on the “Apply to Team” page – if you do not know your youth’s team number, please contact the lead coach to request this information