Agenda

Friday 

5:00 Doors Open

Check-in, Inspections, and Skills and Practice Fields open.  Pits will be open

9:00 Doors Close

Saturday

7:30 Doors Open

8:00 Skills and Practice Fields Open

8:30 Opening Ceremony and Drivers Meeting

9:15 Qualification Matches Begin

12:15 Lunch (Skills Closed)

1:30 Qualification Matches Resume (Be at queuing tables at 1:15) Skills Open

6:35 Qualification Matches End - Skills Closed

7:00 Doors / Pits closed

Sunday

7:30 Doors Open

8:00 Skills and Practice Fields Open

9:00 Qualifications Matches Resume

10:30 Qualifications Matches End / Skills End 

11:00 Alliance selection

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Elimination Matches Begin (Some Awards will be presented between matches)

3:00 Elimination Matches End

3:30 Final Awards

4:00 Closing Ceremony

4:30 Doors Close

Volunteer

Volunteers are essential to the success of any event, and this one is no exception. It takes a dedicated team to bring everything together, and we’re truly grateful for your time, energy, and skills. Your support makes all the difference.

All volunteers receive a volunteer event t-shirt. Volunteers will also receive lunch and a skills fast pass on the day(s) of their shift.  

Please sign up at this link:  https://signup.com/go/uUZDVvK 

Any volunteer queries can be sent to Lori Westphal at [email protected].

Emergency/Bad Weather Policy

Hurricane season ends in Florida on November 30. And since it doesn't snow here, we do not anticipate any weather preventing this event from occurring. 

Refund and Payment Policies

Refunds will only be issued if the event is cancelled due to weather or health-related orders from the relevant local and state agencies for Orlando, FL. Due to fixed costs for this Signature event, any refunds will be allocated after all event expenses have been taken care of.

If the Event Partner cancels the event: 

Refunds will be given to teams per the above statement. Refunds will not include the $10 processing fee assessed by Robot Events for processing.

If a Coach/Mentor completes registration for the event then chooses to withdraw or not attend:

No refunds will be issued. 

Date: 26-Dec-2025 - 28-Dec-2025

Travel Info

Event Location: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at the Entrance to Universal Orlando

DoubleTree Hotel, Orlando, Florida: 5780 Major Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819

Stay to Play Housing Requirements for Sunshine Showdown:

Teams must book their hotel rooms through our partner hotel. We have negotiated the lowest rate and discounted parking fees using our unique link below. This helps us keep our registration fees low. 

Click here for Sunshine Showdown Robotics Competition Hotel Booking Link

At the entrance to Universal Studios Orlando, this modern hotel is a 1-minute drive from Interstate 4 and 18 miles from the Orlando International Airport. Casual rooms feature flat-screen TVs and Wi-Fi, as well as coffeemakers and custom-designed beds. Some rooms offer views over Universal Studios. Suites add separate living areas. There are 2 casual American restaurants, along with a breakfast eatery, and a Starbucks. There's also an outdoor pool and a fitness center. The DoubleTree is a Universal Orlando Partner Hotel, a short walk to Universal Orlando CityWalk, Universal Studios Florida, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and Universal’s Island of Adventure. Universal’s Volcano Bay, the Orlando International Premium Outlets, and the Mall at Millenia are within two miles.

Click the link above or check out our website to book your room!

The Orlando International Airport is the closest airport to the Sunshine Showdown Signature event at 18 miles away, but Tampa and Sanford airports are also possible options. 

Webcast

Thanks to Kettering University stepping up their sponsorship of FUN, Tyler and his "FUN" team will be attending Sunshine Showdown in December!

Not only will he be conducting his signature "FUN" interviews, but he will also be hosting the livestream for the event. This means 40K viewers will have quick access to finding our live stream to cheer you on from around the world!!

Now is the time to apply for your opportunity to participate in a "FUN" interview. Follow this link to submit your application.

https://funroboticsnetwork.com/request

Event Stream Link (will directly take you to live): https://youtube.com/@funroboticsnetwork/live

Channel: https://youtube.com/@funroboticsnetwork

Judging Format

For Sunshine Showdown, team interviews will be conducted in-person at the event. Engineering notebooks will be submitted digitally for evaluation via a link uploaded within the "My Account" panel of the team contact on RobotEvents. The Submission Deadline for your Engineering Notebook is 11:59PM on 12/15/2025. 

 Our judges are members of the business and educational community from the Central Florida area. They will be conducting interviews throughout the day Saturday and Sunday morning. If you are interested in judging, please email our volunteer coordinator at [email protected].

Please note, no parents, coaches, or anyone closely affiliated with a participating organization can judge this event. 

Signature Event Early Bird Policy

• All Signature Events will have a specific Early Bird Registration that is independent of all local/regional Early Bird systems
  • Each team starts the season with three (3) opportunities to register during the Signature Event Early-Bird period
    • An opportunity is taken away each time the team registers for a Signature Event, whether during the Signature Event Early-Bird period or Standard period
    • A Signature Event Early-Bird opportunity is not taken away if a team registers for a tournament hosted by their school or organization (where the team’s coach is the Event Partner)
  • Early Bird Registration will open 16 weeks before the event at 12:00PM EST
    • Note: Modifications to this may be made for events in August and September
  • Standard Registration will open 14 weeks before the event at 12:00PM EST
  • An Event Partner may register their own teams to their Signature Event during Signature Event Early Bird Registration no matter how many other Signature Events they are already registered for  
    • The Event Partner must be the Primary Contact for the teams they are registering