2017 FIRST Championship Announcement
Dear FIRST® Community:
We are writing today with some truly exciting news!
More than 25 years ago, FIRST® became a game changer in the STEM world.
Over the years, we’ve built an incredible culture with our K-12 FIRST Progression of Programs that celebrates kids’ accomplishments through high-quality, inspiring, life-changing experiences, the culmination of which is our FIRST Championship.
Today, we are proud to announce that FIRST is about to change the game again, for the better! Beginning in 2017, we are expanding the FIRST Championship by bringing our Sport for the Mind™ to two FIRST Championship host cities.
Why are we so excited about this expansion? We all know how transformative the FIRST experience can be. We want more kids to feel the passion and power that comes with being a part of FIRST Championship events.
In addition, by hosting Championships in multiple cities, we seek to reduce the travel distances and associated travel expenses for a significant number of our teams.
We continue to witness substantial growth of interest in our mission, our programs, and our annual Championship. Far beyond what we can currently accommodate, a growing number of young people are eager to participate and compete in our iconic, international celebration; yet due to space limitations, and sometimes travel costs, only a small fraction of teams can participate in the FIRST Championship.
Therefore, in 2017, FIRST will host two Championship events on subsequent weekends, still celebrating our full Progression of Programs at each – one event in Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center, the Toyota Center (home of the Houston Rockets) and Minute Maid Park (home of the Houston Astros) April 19-22, 2017, followed by a second event the following weekend (April 26-29, 2017) in St. Louis.
Beginning in 2018, our dual Championship will be celebrated in Houston, as described above, April 18-21, 2018 and on the second weekend in Detroit at the Cobo Center and Ford Field (home of the Detroit Lions), April 25-28, 2018. This alignment will continue for 2019 and 2020.
FIRST is the oldest and largest student robotics program in the world, and now we can deliver the FIRST Championship experience to thousands more young people worldwide! This expansion increases the capacity of the FIRST Championship by more than 100 percent compared to 2014, allowing us to better align Championship capacity with on-going team growth. With two locations, many more teams will be able to access a Championship event without air travel.
We know there are lots of questions for us to answer. We will be working hard on many details in the months to come, and as that process takes place, we’ll share additional information, so please stay tuned.
As previously announced, between now and 2017, we will continue to hold an expanded, Olympic-style Championship throughout downtown St. Louis, and we look forward to seeing many of you there.
We cannot thank the city of St. Louis, the Volunteers, the Mayor, and the Governor of the state of Missouri enough for all that they have done for our organization since 2011. We look forward to hosting wonderful Championship events in this city for the next three years, and we know that the city and all of its FIRST participants will remain an important part of the FIRST family in the future.
Thank you for the critical role you play at FIRST. Thank you for helping us open the door to the next chapter in which FIRST can reach more students and change more lives around the world.
Best regards,
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| Dean Kamen Founder, FIRST |
Don Bossi President, FIRST |
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| Robert M. Tuttle FIRST Board of Directors, Co-Chair |
Sheri McCoy FIRST Board of Directors, Co-Chair |
See also: April 9, 2015 Press Release
Future FIRST Championship Q&A
Where and when will the FIRST Championship be held in the coming years?
2015: St. Louis, MO: April 22-25, 2015
2016: St. Louis, MO: April 27-30, 2016
2017: Houston, TX: April 19-22, 2017
St. Louis, MO: April 26-29, 2017
2018: Houston, TX: April 18-21, 2018
Detroit, MI: April 25-28, 2018
2019: Houston, TX: April 17-20, 2019
Detroit, MI: April 24-27, 2019
2020: Houston, TX: April 15-18, 2020
Detroit, MI: April 29- May 2, 2020
Why is FIRST holding multiple Championships?
FIRST knows how transformative the FIRST Championship experience can be for students (and for Coaches, Mentors, Volunteers, Sponsors, etc.) and we want more kids to feel the passion and power that comes with being a part of a FIRST Championship.
By expanding to multiple cities for Championship, our goal is to grow capacity and enable more young people, across all of our full Progression of Programs, to experience the thrill of the FIRST Championship.
In addition, by hosting the Championship events in two separate cities, we seek to reduce the travel distances and associated travel expenses for a significant number of teams.
Which Championship will my team attend? Can we go to both?
While FIRST appreciates teams’ enthusiasm for attending either or both Championship celebrations, our goal is to enable as many teams and students as possible to experience a FIRST Championship. Based on geographic location, teams from all four programs will be assigned to attend one of the events.
Each Championship will serve a still-to-be-defined geographic region in an effort to minimize travel distance and travel cost, while balancing team attendance at both events.
Will there now be two sets of Championship Awards and recognition?
Our most prestigious honors, such as the FIRST Robotics Competition Chairman’s Award; FIRST Tech Challenge Inspire Award; FIRST LEGO League Champion’s Award, the Dean’s List Award and other top honors, will be replicated and celebrated at each event - while the FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award and the FIRST Future Innovator Award (for FRC and FTC) will be given outside of the events. Finalists for these two awards will be announced at both events.
I support multiple teams across various FIRST Programs. Will they all be going to the same Championship?
In addition to qualification based on performance or ranking, FIRST will determine what teams attend which event based on geographical location of the team and by balancing team capacity at both events. Hence, it is highly likely that the geography for FTC teams at a given Championship will align with the geographies for FLL and FRC teams at the same event. However, we are still in the process of determining those geographic alignments for each Championship.
For the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Program, how will the new Championship model impact the four FTC Super Regionals?
FIRST is working out all of the details and options associated with the continued high growth of the FTC program. We will review capacity at both the Super Regionals and the Championship level before making a final decision. FTC expects accelerated growth in the coming years with the recently announced Android™ based, Qualcomm Snapdragon powered communications and control platform. The new system will be demonstrated at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, April 22-25, 2015
What activities will be happening in each of the venues in each of the Championship host cities?
In 2015 and 2016, FIRST will host an expanded Olympic-style Championship throughout downtown St. Louis. In 2017, the St. Louis Championship will be similarly sized to the 2014 Championship held there
For the Houston Championship, Opening Ceremonies will be held in the Toyota Center, home of the Houston Rockets. Competition matches for all programs will be held in the George R. Brown Convention Center, followed by Closing Ceremonies in Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros, which has a retractable roof.
For the Detroit Championship, Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be held in Ford Field, an enclosed domed stadium, which is home to the Detroit Lions. Competition matches for all programs will be held in Cobo Center.
Each city has been chosen with our visitors in mind and each location – St. Louis, Houston, and Detroit has many opportunities for outdoor and recreational activities, as well as arts and cultural experiences, and simply sightseeing. We invite you to watch for detailed descriptions on the FIRST website as the dates come closer.
In the meantime, take a look at the tourist attractions as detailed on each of these visitor websites:
http://explorestlouis.com/visit-explore/discover/25-things-to-do-in-st-louis/
http://www.visitdetroit.com/
http://www.visithoustontexas.com/things-to-do/
We realize this is only a small subset of the questions you might have. As we move forward, we welcome your questions and suggestions, and will keep you informed as more details become available. Please send your questions to customerservice@usfirst.org.
Future FIRST Championship Information Session held on April 23, 2015
At the 2015 FIRST Championship, FIRST leadership presented additional information related to this announcement and took questions from those in attendance at the event. Documents and a video related to this information session are provided below.
View presentation slides 
View recording on FIRSTWorldTube
View transcript
