FIRST Robotics Competition 101
FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is a high school engineering competition where teams design, build, program, and operate robots that play a new game each year. Pro tip: these robots do not “fight” each other. In fact, FRC emphasizes Gracious Professionalism®: competing fiercely while treating others with respect, helping fellow teams, and celebrating the success of the entire robotics community. That spirit of collaboration is built right into the competition, where teams form alliances and work together to achieve a common goal. At our 2026 event, for example, robots shot balls into a hub, similar to a basketball hoop, and climbed a ladder. With two alliances of three robots competing at the same time, six teams are working together and competing against one another on the field. At the start of each match, robots follow programs created by students. For the remainder of the match, students use controllers to drive their robots.
News coverage of our District Event from 2024 from FIRST's Crescendo season. The anchors cover how important Michigan is to FIRST Robotics as our state has produced more national champions than any other state and any other country.
Current version of the FIRST Robotics official rules and regulations regarding alliance selection and drafting processes.
What's an Alliance?
"Alliance" refers to a group of teams that work together during elimination matches, typically consisting of three individual teams joining forces to compete against other alliances. For standard qualification matches, alliances are completely random, but after these rounds of matches complete, a draft occurs and the top 8 teams select their alliance partners for the remainder of the competition (AKA Playoffs). Undrafted teams leave the competition.
Competition Timeline
Teams have only six weeks to build their robot after the game is revealed at Kickoff in early January. This quick turn around showcases the sheer skill and knowledge of these teams. Competitions take place throughout March and April, culminating in the FIRST World Championship that takes place in Houston, Texas, annually.
"What's Your Favorite Thing About The GVSU District Event?"
- Attendee of the 2026 FIM West Michigan District Event Sponsored by GVSU
- Attendee of the 2026 FIM West Michigan District Event Sponsored by GVSU
Additional Event Information
Grand Valley State University hosts the FIRST Robotics West Michigan Regional Competition. More than 1,000 students from 54 high school teams from around the Midwest gather at GVSU to compete each March. The environment of the competition is part robot extravaganza, part rock concert, and part pep rally.
Complete information, including a detailed schedule and a list of teams, is available at firstinmichigan.org
More information about the FIRST Robotics Competition is available at firstinspires.org.
Please click the provided link to view last year's 2026 FIRST Robotics West Michigan Regional Competition program.