Championship Eligibility Criteria

In order to compete at the 2013 FIRST Championship, a 2013 registered FRC team must compete at the regional level, or qualify via the Michigan State Championship/Mid-Atlantic Robotics FRC Region Championship Event.

FRC Teams are eligible to register for the FIRST Championship if:

• They are a "Pre-Qualifying" Team;
• Become a Merit Based Qualifier during the 2013 FRC Season;
• Have Veteran Team Status and wait list register during the open enrollment phase.

2013 Rookie Teams
2013 FRC rookie teams are not eligible to register for the FIRST Championship via open Registration, but must qualify to attend per the Merit Based criteria set forth in the chart below.

Pre-Qualifying FRC Teams
Pre-Qualified FRC Teams can register for the FIRST Championship beginning on October 11, 2012 at 12 noon EST.

The following teams are considered Pre-Qualified:

• FIRST Championship Chairman’s Award winners in prior years (Hall of Fame teams);
• Original and sustaining teams from 1992 on;
• 2012 FIRST Championship Rebound Rumble winners (3) plus all other teams that participated on Einstein at the 2012 Championship (9);
• 2012 FIRST Championship Engineering Inspiration Award winner (1);

See Chart below for additional details

Merit Based Qualifying FRC Teams
Merit Based qualifying focuses on two of the FIRST Robotics Competitions core values - outstanding team performance and outstanding robot performance.  For a rookie team, a balanced combination is the way to qualify.  Merit Based Qualifying Teams are automatically given the opportunity to register for the Championship at the time of their win at either a Regional Event or at the Michigan FIRST Robotics State Championship/Mid-Atlantic Robotics FRC Region Championship.

See the chart below for full details on what constitutes Merit Based Qualification for 2013.     

Learn more about the Merit Based Awards (and all our awards) in the 2013 FIRST Robotics Competition Manual.

Veteran FRC Team - Open Wait List Registration

(New Process 2013)

As the number of FRC teams and events continue to grow, the number of merit-based qualifying teams also grows. We can't predict the exact number of slots that will be availble to veteran teams through an open registration process, but the number is likely to be small.

Therefore, new this season open registration has changed to open wait list registration. During this enrollment period, FRC teams will immediately go onto a wait list for the FIRST Championship.

We will release FIRST Championship slots to wait listed teams as the season progresses and we become comfortable that all merit-based qualifying teams (teams winning awards at 2013 events that qualify them to go to Championship) are being accomodated.

Wild Card Slots for the 2013 Championship

(New Process 2013)

New this season, we’ve developed a Wild Card system that will provide a broader distribution of merit-based Championship slots.

If a team who wins a Regional in 2013 – in other words, if a team who is a member of the Winning Alliance – has already qualified for Championship at an earlier Regional in 2013, a Wild Card slot is created at the Regional which they just won. 

Wild Card slots are filled in the order of:

1. Finalist Alliance Captain

2. Finalist First Pick

3. Finalist Second Pick

4. Finalist Backup Team

Wild Card slots are passed to the next team in the order specified above only if the team occupying that Wild Card slot has already qualified for Championship at an earlier 2013 Regional. The number of potential Wild Card slots created at each Regional is equal to the number of teams on the Winning Alliance who had already qualified for Championship at an earlier Regional in 2013.   

Only teams on the Finalist Alliance are eligible for Wild Card slots.  It’s possible for a Wild Card slot to go unused. Unused Wild Card slots cannot be replaced or backfilled.

District model teams that attend a traditional Regional are eligible for Wild Card slots in the same way as all other teams at the Regional.    

Please note: Championship status based on pre-qualification (Original and Sustaining Teams, Hall of Fame Teams, 2012 FIRST Championship Winners and Einstein Teams) has no effect on this system.  Only performance during the 2013 season is considered.

Open Wait List Registration

Veteran FRC teams who did not compete at the 2012 FIRST Championship may wait list register for the 2013 FIRST Championship beginning October 25, 2012 at 12 noon EST

Veteran FRC teams who did compete at the 2012 FIRST Championship may wait list register for the 2012 FIRST Championship beginning November 8, 2012 at 12 noon EST

Wait List - A wait list will be maintained for any openings that become available.

2013 FIRST Championship Registration Information