Merge pull request #620 from srobo/sr2026-kickstart

Prepare website for SR2026

Author: RealOrangeOne

_events/sr2026/kickstart.md

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+---
+title: Kickstart
+date: 2025-11-08 11:00:00 Europe/London
+end_date: 2025-11-08 17:00:00 Europe/London
+layout: event
+type: kickstart
+location: Southampton University and Student Robotics' YouTube Channel
+---
+
+Kickstart is the event which kicks off a competition year.
+The structure of the competition and the game rules will be announced and of course any questions you have will be answered.
+
+Throughout the day we'll have Blueshirts (our awesome volunteers!) around in person, ready to answer any questions you may have and to help you through the microgames.
+These microgames will help your team become familiar with the Kit you've been provided and should help inspire your robot's design.
+
+We will also be live streaming the introductory presentation for those unable to attend in person.
+
+We will soon post some pre-kickstart activities to get started with ahead of Kickstart.
+
+Please [let us know][teams-contact] if your plans change regarding your
+attendance at Kickstart.
+
+## Schedule
+
+| Time  | Info                                                                                                            |
+| ----- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| 11:00 | Introductory presentation, where the game of SR2026 will be announced.                                          |
+| 12:30 | There will be a lunch break. Teams should bring their own lunches or get them from food vendors near the venue. |
+| 13:30 | Microgames, a set of tasks to familiarise you with the kit.                                                     |
+| 17:00 | Finish.                                                                                                         |
+
+## What to bring
+
+- Any tools which might be useful to work with your kit, especially wire cutters and strippers
+- At least 1 laptop to program your robots with. Note that the USB stick for your robot needs a [USB Type-A socket](https://www.viewsonic.com/library/tech/usb-c-usb-b-and-usb-a-whats-the-difference/#USB_The_Basics)
+
+Kits will be issued to teams at kickstart. If you're unable to attend in person, we'll ship your kit to you. We'll confirm further details soon.
+
+## Directions
+
+Kickstart is being held at the University of Southampton at:
+
+Building 46,<br>
+University Road,<br>
+Southampton,<br>
+SO17 1BJ
+
+For public transport or driving instructions, see the University of
+Southampton's information on [getting to our campuses][soton-campus-directions]
+(click the 'Campus map and directions' tab).
+
+## Livestream
+
+Our livestream will start at <time datetime="2025-11-08T11:00:00+01:00" title="Sat, 9 Nov 2025 11:00:00 +0100">11am UK time</time>: Watch link TBC.<br>
+If you can't watch live, you can watch the stream back afterwards.
+
+[teams-contact]: mailto:[email protected]
+[soton-campus-directions]: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/student-life/campuses/highfield

_posts/2025-09-06-sr2026-registration-open.md

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+---
+title: Registration opens for Student Robotics 2026
+---
+
+{% include figure.html src="/images/content/blog/sr2025/sr2025-photo.jpg"
+           caption="All the teams from SR2024" %}
+
+We're excited to announce that registration for the 2026 season of Student
+Robotics is now open!
+
+Based in the UK, Student Robotics challenges teams of 16 to 19 year-olds to
+design, build and program fully autonomous robots to compete in our annual
+competition. Teams will have just six months to engineer their creations. As
+well as supplying teams with a [kit][kit], which they can use as a framework for
+their robot, we mentor the teams over this period to help them build 
+the best robot they can and get the most out of the competition. 
+Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we provide all of this to our
+teams at no cost.
+
+The [competition cycle][programme-structure] will start with an in-person
+[Kickstart event][kickstart] hosted at the University of Southampton on November
+8th. During the event the game and the structure of the competition will be
+announced.
+
+The competition year will culminate with an in-person competition over two days
+around Easter 2026. This will see the robots compete through a league stage and
+a seeded knockout. As usual the prizes will recognise not only the teams which
+come top in the knockouts, but also those who excel in other ways.
+
+Details of the game and prizes will be revealed at [Kickstart][kickstart].
+Details of the competition events will be published when they are available.
+We expect to confirm places towards the latter half of September.
+
+We have also created some [pre-Kickstart activities][pre-kickstart-activities]
+which enable anyone to start learning about robotics and our simulator.
+
+If you would like a chance to [compete][compete] in Student Robotics 2026,
+please fill in the [entry form][entry-form] with the required information.
+Places are limited, so sign up soon to avoid disappointment.
+
+We look forward to seeing your teams!
+
+<div class="text-center">
+  <a class="button button-primary" href="{{ site.baseurl }}/compete#signup">
+    Register your interest
+  </a>
+</div>
+
+[kit]: https://studentrobotics.org/docs/kit/
+[programme-structure]: https://studentrobotics.org/docs/robots_101/programme_structure
+
+[kickstart]: {{ '/events/sr2026/kickstart' | prepend: site.baseurl }}
+[compete]: {{ '/compete' | prepend: site.baseurl }}
+[entry-form]: {{ '/compete#signup' | prepend: site.baseurl }}
+[pre-kickstart-activities]: https://studentrobotics.org/docs/competitor_resources/pre_kickstart_activities

compete.html

@@ -140,17 +140,12 @@ <h3>Building a robot</h3>
       <a name="signup"></a><h2>Want to compete?</h2>
       <div class="column m-8-12 m-offset-2-12 text-left">
         <p>
-          Registration for the SR2025 competition year has now closed.
-        </p>
-        <p>
-          If you would like to register your interest in applying for a place in
-          a future competition, please enter your details below and we'll
-          contact you once applications have opened.
+          Please register your interest below, we'll let you know when your place is confirmed.
         </p>
         <p class="text-heavy">
           You must be over 18 to run a Student Robotics team and so you must also be over 18 to fill in this form.
         </p>
-        {% include team-signup.html %}
+        <p><a href="https://forms.gle/bPnLVwsJ8xQLVaoQ8">Sign up for SR2026</a></p>
       </div>
     </div>
   </div>