Hi to our participating Teams and Volunteers,
Please liberally and broadly share this email with your parents, students, friends, co-workers and acquaintances in and outside of the FIRST robotics community
As always, if you missed our first 16 blasts of the season, please go to our Communications page to reference Announcements and Archive Emails for this and all past seasons.
https://www.ftcpenn.org/communications
We are sending this communication to all PA Registered teams to make you aware that we see the potential for some teams not to get into their preferred and future Qualifiers due to the overwhelming popularity of certain events that have very long Waitlists, especially regarding second and third preference choices (P2 and P3).
This season we added two qualifiers and expanded others with the potential for up to 384 open slots available to teams, more than we have ever offered. However, many teams have shown an interest in the same events and run the risk of not getting an invitation as the Qualifier slots get filled. As such, we are requesting coaches and team representatives to assess their choices and consider making changes that may result in successfully maximizing their potential to compete in 2 or 3 Qualifiers. Please be assured that your first preference (P1) has been confirmed are safe and solid.
Below are a few steps to assist you in seeing your team’s current Qualifier waitlist statuses and predicting your chance of being invited from a particular Qualifier Waitlist.
- Browse to our Team Search page https://www.ftcpenn.org/team-search
- Enter your Team #
- Press Search Teams
- Look for the Upcoming event: team waitlisted records in the Event Results and Awards column
Tip: To focus just on the events where your team is on a waitlist, enter waitlist in the Search: box (above Event Results and Awards) and press enter.
Each waitlist record displays your team’s current Waitlist position and how much space is currently available in that Qualifier. There is also a small Green or Orange colored bar chart. Green is good, it means that the probability of being invited to the event is high and ensured if no other changes are made. If the bar is Orange, it indicates a lower probability of getting invited based on your Waitlist position and number of open slots available.
If the probability of you getting into a particular event is very poor i.e. deep into the Waitlist, now is the time to consider moving to another event by Updating your Registration and moving to another event that still has room and can accommodate your choice.
https://www.ftcpenn.org/event-registration
Reminder: Qualifier Preferences in the Event Registration System correspond directly to event Waitlists. E.g., 2nd Preference => P2 Waitlist, 3rd Preference => P3 Waitlist, etc.
The Qualifiers that have extensive Waitlists are:
- Sunday February 1, 2026 – Bensalem Area Qualifier
- Saturday February 14, 2026 – Eastern PA Qualifier
- Saturday February 21, 2026 – Southwestern PA Qualifier
The Qualifiers that still have open slots and a higher probability of participation are:
- Saturday January 10, 2026 – Seneca Valley Qualifier
- Sunday January 11, 2026 – Raiders Qualifier
- Sat Jan 17, 2026 – South Central PA Qualifier
- Sun Jan 18, 2026 – Greyhound Sprint Qualifier
The remaining Qualifiers may also be considered for updates and changes. Please be aware that Event Registrations are dynamic. Teams update and change their events or withdraw from some on an almost daily basis.
You can see a chart of all qualifier current registered and waitlist sizes at:
https://www.ftcpenn.org/event-registration/registration-and-waitlist-summary
Ultimately the choice is yours, but should you have any questions or seek guidance please do not hesitate to contact Dave or me at ftc.events@pennfirst.org
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We want to ensure we maximize all team competition opportunities in as fair a manner as possible and fill as many slots as possible.
On another note, CONGRATULATIONS to the first 6 teams that have advanced to our Pennsylvania Championship from the Lancaster Area an Blue Streak Qualifiers this past weekend. It was an amazing, fun and rewarding weekend. Pleas check out the results and Awards earned by the teams in the following links, Judges Award narratives included.
Lancaster Area Qualifier Results: https://www.ftcpenn.org/ftc-events/2025-2026-season/lancaster-area-qualifier
1 Team 20153 Silver Wolves, Kennett Square, PA
2 Team 18603 TeraBridges, Pittsburgh, PA
3 Team 21364 First Try, York, PA
Blue Streak Qualifier Results: https://www.ftcpenn.org/ftc-events/2025-2026-season/blue-streak-qualifier
1 Team 8393 The Giant Diencephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team, Baden, PA
2 Team 25650 One Small Step for an Axolotl, Lititz, PA
3 Team 7244 OUT of the BOX Robotics, Thorndale, PA
All the best,
Tom Zawislak and Dave Hackett