CT FTC State Championship

The CT FTC State Championship is Connecticut’s culminating FIRST Tech Challenge robotics tournament, bringing together leading middle- and high-school teams after the state’s qualifier season. Teams compete with student-designed robots while also being evaluated for engineering, teamwork, outreach, and other FIRST awards, with advancement opportunities to higher-level events.

How the championship works

FTC teams spend the season designing, building, programming, and operating robots for that year’s challenge, then compete in alliance-based matches at tournaments. The Connecticut championship gathers teams that have advanced through the state competition structure; the 2026 championship featured 30 teams, followed by qualification rankings, alliance playoffs, awards, and advancement selections.

More than robot matches

A defining feature of FTC is that success extends beyond the scoreboard. Teams develop engineering and programming skills while documenting their work, conducting STEM outreach, collaborating with mentors, and practicing FIRST’s emphasis on Gracious Professionalism; judging and awards recognize these broader accomplishments alongside robot performance.

Connecticut’s FTC community

Connecticut FTC is part of the broader FIRST ecosystem, with NE FIRST serving as the state’s FTC program delivery partner. For the 2026–27 season, FIRST’s event system lists 48 Connecticut teams and a schedule of scrimmages and qualifiers leading to the state championship.

Upcoming championship

The next listed championship is February 27, 2027, from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at Ratcliffe Hicks Arena on UConn’s Storrs campus. UConn FIRST describes it as a competition for Connecticut’s top 30 FTC teams, with advancement opportunities to the FIRST Championship and FTC Premier Events.