Massachusetts FTC Information

Massachusetts FTC + NE FIRST

MA FTC Key Individuals

NE FIRST Staff

• Michael Fantom – Executive Director
• Scott Heaton – Director of Logistics and Robotics
• Sam Spain – Director of Advancement and Communications
• Jacob Janssens – MA FTC Program Delivery Partner

MA Key Volunteers

• Laurel Higham – Head Referee
• John Robinson – Head Referee
• Zach Harel – FTA
• Miriam Sinton-Remes – FTA
• Bob Cullen – Judge Advisor
• Claire Houston – Judge Advisor

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Qualifiers and States

6 Qualifiers Locked In So Far

• Returning Venues, Some New

Looking for More Venues

• Places – Greater Boston, Western MA, Anywhere
• Times – Early December, February

States

• More than 36???

Rest In Peace Steve Cremer

General Season Information

Key Season Dates

• September 28: Team Q&A Opens
• October 19: Earliest date for official events (League Meets, League Tournaments, or Qualifying Tournaments)
• Your local season timeline may start later
• November 16: Total of registered teams per region helps set FIRST Championship Allocations
• March 21: Last date for Regional Championship Events to advance to the FIRST Championship
• Your local season timeline may end earlier
• April 9: Last day to complete payment and housing registration for the FIRST Championship
• Payment and housing is a 2-week rolling deadline from when the team is first invited to attend
• April 28 - May 1: FIRST Championship

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Key Season Dates Blog

Competition Manual Updates

Teams should make sure to read the updated Competition Manual in its entirely – and don’t assume that just because something was true in previous seasons that it’s true this season as well. The following sections have undergone significant changes worth highlighting:

• Section 1 – The Spirit of the Competition: Every student, mentor, coach, and volunteer must read this section, which outlines what it means to be a FIRST Team. This section includes the Competition Integrity Contract, which outlines principles to protect the integrity of the competition while providing a great experience for teams at all levels.
• Section 3 – Inspection: Additional information about what to expect during the inspection process
• Section 6 – Awards: Changes to the Initial Interview structure
• Section 12 – Robot Construction Rules:
• Many robot rules have been reorganized to match the additions in section 1
• Best practices were removed to focus on rules – best practices will be included in educational resources on our website
• Several rules have been combined and/or simplified

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Team Updates and Team Q&A

• The Competition Manual is updated weekly throughout the season to improve the clarity and intent of rules, and to fix any errors found.
• When the manual is updated a Team Update (TU) document is published which shows a summary of the changes.
• Adults can sign up to get an email notification for all Team Updates.
• ftc.game/tu-combined links to a PDF of all the team updates this season.
• Team Q&A is available for teams to ask questions about things they believe are not already clarified by the rules.
• Answers may point teams to a specific rule or sometimes questions will result in a Competition Manual update.
• At events, the Head Referee and Event Director make the final decision based on the Competition Manual Rules.
• Team Q&A opens on Sept 28th.
• Instructions: ftc.game/q-a-help
• Log in here: https://ftc.game/qa

Coaches: Sign up here to get Team Update emails

Team Avatars

• Avatars are small images teams can create and use to strengthen their brand or team identity and are shown in the scoring system and other official locations.
• If your team had an avatar last season, it will automatically roll over to this year.
• Lead Coach 1 & 2 can submit new or updated avatars by logging into https://ftc-scoring.firstinspires.org/
• Avatar submission is only available for fully registered teams.

Image Credit Rhett Adam FRC 7525

FIRST Ethos & Competition Integrity

Updates to Section 1 for BIOBUZZ

• The 2026-2027 Season includes a deliberate change in how we designed BIOBUZZ and wrote its Competition Manual.
• BIOBUZZ rules are written to emphasize "intended gameplay" and make it simpler for participants and volunteers to understand the spirit and intent of the rule.
• This change can only be possible if we all commit ourselves to the ethical standards described by the FIRST Ethos and FIRST Core Values.
• Through the Spirit of Competition and the Competition Integrity Contract, we ask that all students, volunteers, mentors, follow specific guidelines and exhibit certain behaviors while participating in FIRST.

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Advancement and Judging

Points-based Advancement Model

• FIRST Tech Challenge will continue with the points-based advancement model for the BIOBUZZ season with no changes.
• Everything a team does well at an event helps contribute to their advancement points.
• Teams will be ranked based on the points they earn at an individual event.
• This model rewards well rounded teams who excel in both Awards and Robot performance.
• No math required! The scoring system will do the math, but you can see how points are calculated in Section 4: Advancement.

FIRST Championship and Premier Event Opportunities

• FIRST Championship will continue to have 336 FIRST Tech Challenge teams this year.
• FIRST Tech Challenge Premier Events are back and bigger! We have several returning and new locations:

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New England Premier Event

Mexico Premier Event

Michiana Premier Event Presented by GEARS

Run for the Robots Kentucky Premier Event

European Premier Event

Chicago Robotics Invitational Premier Event

Canadian Rockies Premier Event @ KDays

Canada Cup - Niagara Premier Event

China Premier Event

Almaty TechCup Kazakhstan Premier Event

Western Edge Premier Event

FIRST Tech Challenge Australia Premier Event

FIRST Championship and Premier Event Selection Process

• Specific details will be announced in a blog by November.
• General Process Notes:
• Teams will be able to submit a ranked choice event list for which events they would like to attend in FTC Scoring.
• Teams will be able to indicate if they have sibling teams for travel logistics.
• If there are unfilled spots at an event, teams will be able to indicate if they would like to attend more than one event.

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Section 6: Awards (A)

• Structured Interviews will now be referred to as “Initial Interviews.” Initial Interviews may be conducted in one of three formats:
• Scheduled in-person: scheduled interview time with the Judges in a dedicated judging space
• Unscheduled in-person: unscheduled interview time, interview takes place in the pit area or in a dedicated judging space
• Remote: scheduled interview with Judges held online via a video conferencing platform
• PORTFOLIOS may only include content from January 1, 2026 or later. This universal date helps Judges and Teams understand what content can be included in the Portfolio.
• Teams may include content from before January 1, 2026 to use as a reference point to show current seasons progress, however it will not be considered as an in-season accomplishment

FIRST Leadership Award Deadlines!

December 15, 2026 is the deadline for all FIRST Leadership Award nominations, for all regions.

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ROBOT Rules and Inspection

Section 12: ROBOT Construction Rules (R)

• Many “best practice” rules have been removed. Teams should read Robot Best Practices and seek the advice of mentors.
• Android device and gamepad restrictions have been lifted. Rules such as “no other wireless communication” still apply.
• The maximum number of allowed servos is reduced to 8.
• Expansion limits are back!
• Expansion limit rules are: R105 and G415

Robot Inspection

• Inspectors are not expected to check every rule!
• Teams are still expected to follow the rules. Sneaking an illegal part or configuration on the robot is against the Competition Integrity Contract.