Originally scheduled for March 20 to 22 in Belton, Texas, FIRST in Texas (FiT) announced the cancellation of the FIRST Tech Challenge UIL/State Championship. This decision came as a shock to the six robotics teams comprised of Westwood students—Slingshot 20240, Tomahawk 17315, The Disruptingly Robocephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team (BrainStem) 19746, The Shooting Stars 23240, TrinityBots 21323, and ChaiGPT Robotics 24133—who had qualified for and were preparing to compete in the Area Championships, with hopes of advancing to the State and World Championships.

The most significant impact of the cancellation was felt by teams with high hopes of advancing to the World Championship. Originally, 12 teams were set to advance to Worlds based on their performance at the State Championship. But now, only the top two teams from the Area Championship will qualify, dramatically lowering the odds for the teams that hoped to attain the prestigious opportunity. 

“The cancellation of States was shocking and devastating for my team and me. Without it, our path to Worlds became significantly more difficult, and we lost the opportunity to compete at that high level,” Team Slingshot Member Rupal Jain ‘27 said. “When I first heard the news, I felt like we were robbed of our chance to advance. The drastically lower qualification odds left me feeling both defeated and extremely stressed.”

The cancellation of the State Championship was not a decision made lightly. Only the Winning Alliance Captain and Inspire Winner at the Area Championship would now earn spots at Worlds, intensifying the competition and making it much tougher for teams hoping to advance. FiT FIRST Technical Advisor and League Commissioner Mr. Joshua Eversmann explains how staffing challenges, logistical issues, and leadership changes led to this difficult decision, leaving many teams feeling disappointed.

“States was canceled due to a lack of volunteers and the absence of contracts for the venue or audio/visual (AV) equipment. Additionally, leadership turnover within FIRST in Texas meant that those who had previously planned and run the event were no longer there, and the new team was behind schedule on key planning tasks,” Mr. Eversmann said. “Since the cancellation, FiT has re-hired last year’s State Championship organizer, who is now developing a plan for UIL State Champs to take place later this season, likely after World Champs.”

However, what was a bane to some was a boon to others, as the Area Championship which was originally set for Saturday, Feb. 22, has been rescheduled to the original State Championship data, Saturday, March 22, due to inclement weather. The extra time allowed teams to further refine their robots in the face of this new development, and make improvements that could potentially turn the tide at the Area Championship. 

“The extra time from the rescheduling was a relief for us, as it gave us the chance to fix broken parts of our robot and optimize our intake and outtake,” Tomahawk Team Captain Satvik Chawla ‘25 said. “However, I do worry that other teams, especially private teams with fewer scheduling constraints, might make even more progress, which could hurt our chances at advancing to Worlds.”

This sudden change in advancement slots was also reflected in a different FiT Area Championship. Team 12791 Iterative Intentions, who have been known globally for their consistent excellence and even winning the Inspire award at the World Championship in the 2023-2024 season, failed to qualify for Worlds this year, leaving many wondering whether the rescheduling ultimately affected the competition’s fairness. 

FiT’s decision, while carefully considered to balance participant safety and competition integrity, left many teams feeling disadvantaged. As teams prepare for the rescheduled Area Championship on Saturday, March 22, the competition remains intense, though questions about fairness and opportunity persist.

“Central Texas is known for being one of the most competitive regions in the world, home to many Division Winners at the World Championship. Reducing the number of worthy teams that deserve a chance to compete at the highest level is a significant setback. For a 200-team region, having only two advancement slots, only one of which is robot-based, has made it extremely difficult,” Team BrainStem Design Lead Jatin Aggarwal ‘26 said. “Many teams have lost motivation to continuously improve their robots. With FTC being a team-based challenge, where alliances of two teams work together to succeed, only advancing one of those teams is extremely disappointing.”