drawer / General
FRCThe flagship high-school program where teams have a few weeks to design, build, and program an industrial-size robot to play that season's game.
where you actually meet FRC
FRC is the specific program you are in: a six-to-eight week build, then two-and-a-half minute matches played three robots per side. The distinction matters at events, where FTC and FLL rules do not apply, and on paperwork, where your FRC team number is the identity judges, sponsors, and The Blue Alliance all use to look you up.
Free and structured, and none of them need an account to read.
3lessons
the jargon travels in packs
General
The event in early January that opens the season: the new game is revealed and the build period begins.
read the entryGeneral
The intense period after Kickoff (historically ~6 weeks) when teams design and build their robot before competitions.
read the entryMechanical
The components FIRST provides to every team each season as a starting point for the robot.
read the entryGeneral
The middle/high-school FIRST program using smaller robots — a common stepping stone to FRC.
read the entryFIRST Robotics Competition is one of 70 entries in the catalogue. The guides are where these words get used in order, instead of one at a time.