Hello,

As we are now two weeks away from the competition, we have a last few additional pieces for you. In the days after the last announcement we got a final confirmation that the venue indeed will be open from 7:00 to 23:00. While we have updated the times in the schedule we currently do not plan to extend the matches, so that the additional time will purely be for you to work on the robots and your software. Also anyone must have left the venue by 23:00, so we will start to clear the SSL area from 22:45 on and in case everything runs smoothly, we might be able to push back that time for later nights.

Also another small update regarding the power: Each team table in the team area will have a power budget of 3 kW instead of the 2 kw we got as info beforehand. Plus a small reminder, the deadline for [Open Source Submission](https://ssl.robocup.org/robocups/robocup-2026/robocup-2026-awards/) is today (June 16th) AoE, so if you haven't sent your submission yet, you have about another 15 hours till the deadline.

Radio Information Request

Please fill out the radio information survey so we know what radio technologies your team is using. This will let us allocate you a frequency and deconflict teams and the venue. The link is: https://forms.gle/MUN482c2oF8e1uJY8

Technical Challenges (Reminder)

As already announced we will be hosting two technical challenges this year. The [radio communications challenge](https://robocup-ssl.github.io/technical-challenge-rules/2026-radio-communica...) aims at providing a list of known good radio solutions in the future, to reduce the entry barrier for new teams. The [SSL RCJ Soccer Junior Cooperation Challenge](https://robocup-ssl.github.io/technical-challenge-rules/2026-ssl-rcj-soccer-...) is a challenge hosted together with RoboCup Junior Soccer and will see Junior and Major teams solving a task together. While the challenge itself will only be published on the Wednesday of the competition, it might make sense to already take a look at the [communication module](https://github.com/robocup-junior/soccer-communication-module) used in RCJ Soccer. Will it definitely won’t be required, I have heard that it might be helpful.

To submit a radio solution to the Tech Challenge you need to make that submission to the SSL mailing list by June 26th (AoE). To join the Cooperation Challenge with Junior you need to fill out the [form](https://forms.gle/az63vys8jpErBj9e6) before June 30th 18:00 o’clock (KST). As this is the same form as in the announcement of the Tech Challenge all teams that have already done so, do not need to do it again. After the deadline has passed, we will get in contact with all teams directly to tell you the next steps and see if you are still up for the challenge.

Award Voting, Excellence Award and Scientific Publications

Like last year we will be doing the voting this year via online forms. As we especially wanted to give you more time to evaluate the Open Source Submissions (can be found [here](https://ssl.robocup.org/robocups/robocup-2026/robocup-2026-open-source-submi...) after the deadline) as well as the (E)TDPs ([list of eligible teams](https://ssl.robocup.org/robocups/robocup-2026/robocup-2026-awards/)/%5B(E)TD...)), we also already set up the voting forms for both of them: - [Open Source Ballots](https://forms.gle/oAUmnhBLL5SgbGKz7) (already available, but final form will only be available after all submissions have been made) - [Best (E)TDP](https://forms.gle/7rLdcD1yF28XEXhS8)

But as in the previous years the voting will only be due during the RoboCup as the Open Source Presentation is an essential part of the award. Also as last year you will be getting a unique team code, so that malicious votes can be eliminated. In case you already want to look at the questions beforehand, feel free to use “test” as team name as well as the unique code, which allows us to easily delete these votes.

As part of the excellence award, teams who have contributed to the SSL shared projects can receive two additional points. Therefore if non-committee members of your team have made changes to any of the shared projects, please send a mail to the OC mailing list with links to the contribution(s) (PRs, Issues, etc.). The OC will have a look at them and get back to you, whether the contribution qualifies for the additional points in the Excellence Award.

In addition to that, we are also looking for scientific publications made in the last or previous years by members of SSL teams as part of their work, so that we can add them to the list of the scientific publications on the [homepage](https://ssl.robocup.org/scientific-publications/). If yours is still missing there or you now of any, please also send that as mail to the EC committee.

Streaming

Like every year, we’re going to stream our SSL matches to YouTube. This year, the aim is to professionalize our streams and create a foundation for future tournaments. This includes a [dedicated SSL Youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@smallsizesoccer), a unified look and feel, and tools needed to quickly set up your own streams.

Make sure to join the Discord channel [#streaming-and-youtube](https://discord.com/channels/465455923415220234/1483367409904783492)

The South Korean RoboCup organisation has provided us with three streaming PCs, one for each match field. Therefore, ideally, every match will be streamed. This however requires your help, therefore, a Call To Action:

If you are excited to livestream one of the fields during RoboCup, then reach out to the OC/TC. You won't be expected to stream every match, but together we can ensure that all matches get streamed.

If you have any hardware that you are willing to lend to the SSL ( cameras / webcams / microphones / stream decks / encoder boxes / gimbals / .. ), please reach out to the OC/TC.

If you have design experience, and want to help with creating OBS stingers / SSL logos / streaming layouts / RC2026 banners / .., please reach out to the OC/TC.

Referee Quiz As a quick reminder from the last mail, every team participating in the RoboCup2026 needs to be able to fill out their assigned impartial roles for matches, when they do not play. These members have to take the [referee quiz](https://forms.gle/oRRTrdaw3VqyCdHs7) beforehand.

In case you have any open questions or any trouble during your travel, please let the OC/TC know as soon as possible. This allows us to see whether we can help you in any way.

See you in Incheon!

David. (on behalf of the SSL committees)