In addition to regional tournaments and the DACH Final, selected teams have the opportunity to participate in international FIRST LEGO League events. As team nominations and participation fees must be confirmed at an early stage, the allocation of international start slots takes place before the DACH Final using a clearly defined and transparent random draw procedure.

Allocation Procedure for International Explore Team Slots

All teams from the qualification tournaments will be informed by email and will be asked to indicate via an online form whether they are generally interested in participating internationally and which international events they prefer (priority ranking).

After all qualification tournaments have been completed, the available international team slots will initially be allocated exclusively among the teams qualified for the DACH Final by lottery. If any slots remain available after this process, they will be allocated by lottery among the remaining interested teams.

The lottery will take place digitally at a predetermined time and will be documented. A random order of all participating teams will be drawn. Based on this order, both the allocation of international team slots and the waiting list will be determined. The drawn order is binding and will not be changed thereafter.

The assignment to individual international events is based on the priorities indicated by the teams and the number of available slots per event. Team performance, ranking, or evaluation in the qualification tournaments has no influence on the allocation of international team slots.

Due to the limited number of available slots, in most cases only the first or second priority can be considered. Additional priorities serve solely as guidance in case a preferred event is already fully booked.

If a team later decides not to accept an allocated international team slot, the slot will be offered to the next team on the waiting list. The waiting list is based on the originally drawn order.

Timeline:

  • from January 2026: Information and expression-of-interest survey sent to qualified qualification teams
  • 21 February – 5 March 2026: Qualification tournaments
  • 6 March 2026: Lottery, allocation of slots, and notification of teams
  • by 13 March 2026: Confirmation by the teams
  • 17 March 2026: Registration of teams for international events by HANDS on TECHNOLOGY

For any questions regarding the allocation procedure, please contact Niklas.

Allocation Procedure for International Explore Team Slots

International Explore team slots will be allocated by lottery. Applications can be submitted by email to Andrea until 27 February 2026. The lottery will take place on 6 March 2026. Teams will be informed after the lottery has been conducted.

In the 2025/26 season, nine international FIRST LEGO League events will be offered. In total, two Explore teams and 19 Challenge teams will be able to participate internationally.

FIRST Championship - World Festival
Date April 29 – May 2, 2026
Venue George R. Brown Convention Center
1001 Avenida De Las Americas
Houston, TX 77010 USA
Available tickets (Challenge) 3
Available tickets (Explore) 2

Event website: https://www.firstinspires.org/programs/first-championship

Participation Fee for the World Festival:
For the 2026 World Festival, the registration fee is 2,000 USD for Challenge teams and 750 USD for Explore teams.

Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact: fllwf@firstinspires.org

 

 

FIRST LEGO League Open International Championship Greece 2026
Date 08–10 May 2026
Venue The Ranch , Sofiko, Korinthos 20004, Griechenland
Available ticktets 4

More information on the venue: The Ranch

Event website: https://fllopengreece.eduact.org/

Host: Eduact https://eduact.org/en/home/

Team information letter

FIRST LEGO League Mexico International Open Championship Mexico
Date 27–30 May 2026
Venue Jalisco, Mexico
Available tickets 2

Event website: https://www.firstlegoleagues.mx/international/

FIRST LEGO League Western Edge Open Invitational, USA
Date 29 May – 1 June 2026
Venue Long Beach Convention Center
300 E Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach, California, USA
Available tickets 1

Event website: https://cafirst.org/westernedge

Participation Fee for the Western Edge Open Invitational
The registration fee for the Western Edge Challenge is USD 2,000 per team. A deposit of USD 1,000 is due no later than April 1, 2026, to secure a team’s spot.

FIRST LEGO League Georgia Ramblin' Robots Invitationals, USA
Date 05–07 June 2026
Venue Atlanta, Georgia, USA (Georgia Tech Campus)
Available tickets 1

Event website: Coming soon

FIRST LEGO League WAFFLE - WPI Open Invitational, USA
Date 12–14 June 20226
Venue WPI’s Harrington Auditorium - 100 Institute Rd. Worcester MA 01604, USA
Available tickets 2

Event website: https://wp.wpi.edu/waffle/

FIRST LEGO League Open International Canada Cup
Date 17-20 June 2026
Date Canada Games Park, 2021 Canada Games Way, Thorold, ON L2V 4Y6
Available Tickets 1

Event website: https://firstroboticscanada.org/canadacupofrobotics/

Registration fee: The event fee is $2500 CAD and needs to be paid by April 3, 2026 latest.

Additional information: Teaser video

FIRST LEGO League Korea Open Invitational
Date 03–05 July 2026
Venue Jeonju-si, Jeonbuk-do, South Korea, 54896
Available tickets 3

Event website: Coming soon

FLL KOREA website: https://firstlegoleague.or.kr/

Host: Sangsang https://imagine.or.kr/

FIRST LEGO League Asia Pacific Open Invitational
Date 09–12 July 2026
(+ optional additional day 13 July)
Venue 1 Central Court, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Available tickets 2

Event website: https://www.firstaustralia.org/asia-pacific-open-championships

Host: https://www.firstaustralia.org/about-first

Participation Fee for the Asia Pacific Open Invitational: The participation fee is AU$380 per person (including participating coaches/mentors/parents, optional), plus GST. It includes full event access, all activities, an event T-shirt, and giveaways.

Additional information:

Extend Your FLL Experience at Macquarie University into the following season!

  • Stay an extra day (Monday 13 July) after the excitement of APOC 2026 and dive into the next season’s challenge before anyone else! Join us for an exclusive day of hands-on workshops, sneak peeks, and interactive sessions exploring the upcoming FLL theme — guided by world-leading experts and researchers in the field.
  • Get a head start on the following season’s project. Discover new STEM concepts, build your knowledge, and be inspired for the season ahead in a fun, collaborative environment. Don’t miss this chance to connect, learn, and lead the way into the next FLL adventure!  Places on this STEM immersion day program are free but limited, so please sign up early.
  • Signup details and a promotional PDF to follow
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