Kickoff is here at last!!! COME SEE WHAT ALL THE BUZZ IS ABOUT!

BIOBUZZ IS HERE AT LAST!!!

Arizona Kickoff

• Saturday, September 12
• Valley Christian Schools K-8 Campus (6101 S. River Dr, Tempe, AZ 85283)
• Schedule: 
• 7:30 am: Doors Open
• 8:30 am: AZ welcome & season updates
• 9:00 am: BIOBUZZ broadcast!
• 9:30 am: Game key points with head referees
• 10:15 am: Workshops begin
• 11:20 am: Lunch on your own
• 12:00 pm: Workshops continue
• 3:15 pm: Workshops end
• SEE THE DESCRIPTIONS & SCHEDULE FOR WORKSHOPS HERE!

Four Corners Kickoff

• Friday & Saturday September 18 & 19
• Holiday Inn, Chinle, AZ
• RSVP to Nathan (nathan.tohtsoni@navenergy.com)
• Friday: 
• 2:00 pm: Coach registration & check in begins
• 3:00 pm: Intro to FIRST & RezBotics
• 4:00 pm: BIOBUZZ game & season updates
• 5:00 pm: Tournament 101
• Saturday: 8:00 - 3:00 pm
• New Coaches: basic robot build & programming
• Returning Coaches: autonomous programming 
• Returning coaches - please bring a basic robot drive base or last year's robot to training to work on autonomous programming
• All coaches - please bring a laptop

Qualifying Tournament Schedule & Registration

• Teams can begin registering for qualifying tournaments on Saturday, September 12 at 10 am using THIS FORM
• First two events will be assigned September 21
• Third events will be assigned September 28
• All payments due November 1
• Season Cost: 
• Two qualifiers: $250
• Three qualifiers: $325
• Championship: $300
• Arizona Tournament Schedule: 
• Nov. 7: High Country, Coconino High School, Flagstaff
• Nov. 7: Quail, Cactus High School, Glendale
• Nov. 14: Roadrunner, Gilbert Christian School, Glendale
• Dec. 12: Diamondback, San Miguel High School, Tucson
• Dec. 12: Red Rock, Microchip, Chandler
• Dec. 12: Quartz, American Leadership Academy West Foothills, Waddell
• Jan. 16: Ironwood, Copper Canyon High School, Glendale
• Jan. 23: Desert Vista, Glendale Prep, Peoria
• Jan. 23: Saguaro Blossom, Microchip, Chandler
• Feb. 6: Copper, American Leadership Academy, Queen Creek
• Feb. 6: Estrella, Copper Canyon High School, Glendale
• Feb. 13: Palo Verde, ASU Health Future Center, Phoenix
• TBD: Qualifier in Surprise
• FEB 26 & 27: ARIZONA CHAMPIONSHIP, NAU Fieldhouse, Flagstaff
• Four Corners Tournament Schedule:
• Nov. 7: High Country, Flagstaff, AZ
• Dec. 5: Monument Valley, Kayenta, AZ
• Jan. 16: Rock with Wings, Shiprock, NM
• FEB 6: FOUR CORNERS CHAMPIONSHIP, Kayenta, AZ

FIRST Tech Challenge Hardship Grant Funding - Application Now Open

• Veteran and rookie teams can now apply for hardship grants through FIRST Tech Challenge. 
• Veterans can apply for assistance with season registration and game elements. 
• Rookies can apply for assistance with season registration, game elements, and robot parts. 
• PDPs (Dave and Christine) will submit requests each week on Thursday afternoons. 
• Grant requests are reviewed the following Wednesday (beginning August 5) until funding runs out. 
• Grant amounts are $325 - $995
• Please complete this application to request a nomination for a hardship grant. 

Registration Grants from the CocoNuts

• Teams experiencing financial hardships can apply for partial registration discounts from the CocoNuts. 
• Deadline to apply is September 25. 
• Award letters will go out with tournament invoices in early October. 
• APPLY HERE!

New Financial Guarantor Set Up

If your team plans to apply a sales tax exemption certificate or purchase registration or product using a purchase order, the team profile will need to be associated with a financial guarantor.  

 

The financial guarantor is an organization or institution with an EIN (or international equivalent) that will allow a team to utilize the guarantor’s sales tax exemption certificate and complete payments with a purchase order from that organization. Each guarantor has an “organization administrator” responsible for reviewing the teams associated with the financial Guarantor. This individual also can make purchases for any teams under their financial guarantor.  

 

More information about the financial guarantor and organization administrator setup will be available through the FIRST Help Center when registration opens. These new roles provide greater flexibility for schools and organizations managing multiple teams while maintaining proper documentation and accountability.

Please be aware, with the start of the FLL and FTC programs, this could take time so please be sure to update the team profile to include this new role as soon as possible.

QUESTIONS? Come see Patti during her office hours at Kickoff!!!

Start a FIRST^® Tech Challenge team in your community: 

A limited FIRST Tech Challenge grant opportunity will help you expand FIRST access to more students in your school or community. New FIRST^® Tech Challenge teams associated with a current FIRST Robotics Competition or FIRST Tech Challenge team can apply for a $175 grant to help cover the cost of one 2026-2027 season registration. Learn more and apply.