Teams in the District Model play two district qualifier events for their initial registration fee. Learn more about FIRST Robotics Competition team registration fees on the FIRST website.

In addition to traditional awards, teams at these events earn District Points that rank them in the district. This ranking is used to advance teams to the District Championship.

Teams cannot advance directly to the FIRST Championship from a district qualifier event.

Teams in the District Model play two district qualifier events for their initial registration fee.

Learn more about FIRST Robotics Competition team registration fees on the FIRST website.

Quick Answer: Teams are assigned to the District or Regional model based solely on their location. Any Team that is not in a District geography is automatically a Regional model team.

Additional Detail:

District Model Teams have the opportunity to compete at two smaller-scale District Events as part of their season registration. Some District Teams will earn enough ranking points at these District events to earn their way to the District Championship Event.

Each District sends a representative number of Teams to the FIRST Championship through the District Championship Event (see Championship Eligibility Criteria for details). District Teams are allowed to compete at Regional Events, under some restrictions.

Regional Teams compete at one, usually larger-scale, Regional Event as part of their season registration. From each of these Regional Events, a few teams qualify for the FIRST Championship (see Championship Eligibility Criteria for details). Regional Teams are currently not allowed to compete at District Events.

For 2026, nothing is changing regarding the District Model of play. This means that teams from areas in the Regional Model cannot play at Wisconsin events.

Beyond 2026, FRC staff is looking into working on a way for Districts to open capacity to all teams outside their District, not just through inter-district play.