---
title: What's the buzz about BIOBUZZ™ presented by RTX?
description: We successfully kicked off the new season! Now, learn about useful resources and key season dates.
image: https://www.firstinalabama.org/hubfs/biobuzz.png
---

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 September 30, 2026

# What's the buzz about BIOBUZZ™ presented by RTX?

On September 12th, Alabama kicked off our *FIRST*® Tech Challenge (FTC) BIOBUZZ presented by RTX season with a massive and exciting event hosted by the Kevin Duke Career and Innovation Academy. Close to 20 different teams and 150+ students, mentors, volunteers, and parents attended our four workshops and watched the livestream together.

I wanted to extend a special thank you to *FIRST* Tech Challenge Team #18664 Viking Robotics for hosting this year! It was very exciting to explore a new venue and connect so many people in celebration of the start of the season.

Key Season Dates

In case you missed the event, here are a few important dates and resources to help keep us all on track.

- September 28, 2026 - Team Q&A Opens
- October 24, 2026 - Athens Qualifier
- November 14, 2026 - HCMS Qualifier
- December 12, 2026 - NCT Qualifier
- January 23, 2027 - UAB Qualifier
- February 19-20, 2027 - Alabama Championship
- April 28 - May 1, 2027 - *FIRST*® Championship (Houston, TX)

Make sure to mark your calendars!

Key Resources

- [Game and Season Page](https://ftc.game). Be aware - some school networks block the ftc.game redirect. You can access the page directly using [this URL](https://ftc-resources.firstinspires.org/ftc/game) if that's the case.
- [Competition Manual PDF](https://ftc-resources.firstinspires.org/ftc/game/manual)
- [Combined Team Updates PDF](https://ftc-resources.firstinspires.org/ftc/game/tu-combined)
- [Team Updates Email Sign-Up](https://share.hsforms.com/17DpZvmk3RFSVK5iK9AAWhw11gi4?hsCtaAttrib=176887616024)
- [Alabama Event Schedule](https://firstinalabama.org/events)
- <https://firstinalabama.org/events>[Team Q&A](https://ftc-resources.firstinspires.org/ftc/game/q-a-system) - Open now!
- [AI Rules Assistant](https://ftc-cmchatbot.firstinspires.org/)

If you have any questions, ideas, or just want to get more involved, don’t hesitate to reach out!

[ftc](https://www.firstinalabama.org/blog/tag/ftc), [news](https://www.firstinalabama.org/blog/tag/news), [event-recap](https://www.firstinalabama.org/blog/tag/event-recap), [partner-updates](https://www.firstinalabama.org/blog/tag/partner-updates)

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---

![Caitlin Wildhagen](https://www.firstinalabama.org/hs-fs/hubfs/caitlin.png?width=100&height=100&name=caitlin.png)

#### Written by [Caitlin Wildhagen](https://www.firstinalabama.org/blog/author/caitlin-wildhagen)

Caitlin is the Program Delivery Partner for *FIRST*® Tech Challenge in Alabama. She is a *FIRST*® alum, volunteer, and mentor who lives in Huntsville, AL.

[mailto:cwildhagen@firstpartners.org](mailto:cwildhagen@firstpartners.org)

---

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Copyright © 2025, *FIRST*® in Alabama

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