2014 FTC World Championship a huge success
All I can say is "Wow!" I've been to St. Louis for the World Championship three times now, but this year was far and away the most amazing experience I've had since joining the FIRST community. From incredible robots to awesome people, this year's FTC World Championship was a showcase for all the best of what FIRST has to offer.
For starters, let talk about our Volunteers. The week began long before teams arrived, with an amazing crew of Volunteers coming in to organize, setup playing fields and put all the pieces in place for a successful week. I'm convinced FTC has the most fun, energetic and dedicated Volunteers out there. These men and women take time away from their jobs and families and use their personal vacation time and finances to ensure our students have the best experience possible. The amount of attention they pay to every detail is incredible and the concern on their faces when something isn't quite right shows just how deeply they care.
By the end of Tuesday night, everything was in place for team check-in, inspection and judging the next day. The Teams, which represent the top three percent of FTC Teams in the world, arrived at noon and brought so much excitement and enthusiasm. When the doors to the pits opened, it took nearly 10 minutes for 128 teams-worth of students, mentors and robots to fill the space. The teams and volunteers got down to business right away, with inspection and judging running smoothly and efficiently.
At Opening Ceremony in the America's Ballroom, we held an athlete parade, where two members from each team represented with their team colors or mascot. This was led by Don Bossi, the president of FIRST, and was high energy and a lot of fun. The Compass Award was presented to Robert Spath, Coach of Team 5501. The Promote Award was presented to Team 3595, Schrodinger's Hat. Ken Johnson, Director of FTC, Jordan Cox, from PTC, and Dr. Woodie Flowers all delivered great messages.
Dr. Flowers' message was particularly poignant as he encouraged students to pursue meaningful education that teaches them to think critically and not just technical training. He said that as machines replace more and more human labor, it's important to have a strong skill set in areas robots can't replace. He said the ability to innovate, while being both gracious and professional, is key.
Over the next three days, the FTC competition fields would see some of the intense competition from some of the most professionally designed robots I've ever seen on a 12'x12' playing field. These were slick, efficient, block-scoring machines that have really raised the bar in terms of design and function. We saw team scores reach over 400 and alliance scores over 800. Qualifying matches ended Friday night with a mix of familiar and new faces in leading roles as alliance captains.
In the Edison Division Finals, the final alliances were, for the Red Alliance, Teams 4251, 724 and 4318; and 5939, 5069 and 577; for the Blue Alliance, Teams 2753, 4347 and 4029; and 6433, 6424 and 3708. In the Franklin Division Finals, for the Red Alliance, Teams 7013, 5257, and 4240; and 5026, 4507 and 6253; for the Blue Alliance, Teams 8221, 4999 and 5555; and 4997, 6299 and 4211.
Advancing from the Edison Division was the alliance led by last year's World Championship Winning Alliance Captain, Team 4251, Cougar Robotics, and from Franklin was the alliance led by rookie Team 7013, Hot Wired Robotics. The final matches played out between two highly competitive alliances, but in the end, the "W" went to the alliance led by the rookie FTC Team from Portland, OR. For complete event scores and rankings, visit live.theyellowalliance.net.
Following the matches, all the teams gathered in the America's Ballroom once again for the FTC Closing and Awards Ceremony. We were fortunate to hear from Nan Mattai, Senior VP of Engineering and Technology at Rockwell Collins, and Stacey DelVecchio, President of the Society of Women Engineers. Don Bossi, Ken Johnson and Dr. Flowers also spoke again and offered words of encouragement and advice for students as they move forward in their lives. Following the speakers, the judged awards were presented and the top teams on the playing field were recognized. The full award list can be found on the FTC Website.
The Inspire Award, the most prestigious award in the FIRST Tech Challenge, was awarded to Team 3141, the Bears, from Mexico City. The 2nd place Inspire Winner was Team 5421, RM-ed and Dangerous, Rockville, Maryland, and the 3rd place Inspire Winner was Team 4982, Café Bot, Webster, Missouri. Congratulations!
As I talked to students, mentors, coaches and volunteers throughout the week, there was one recurring theme: the people. Just about everyone I talked to said the best part of FIRST Championship was meeting all the different people from all around the world and reuniting with old friends. They knew, just as I do, that the individuals that make up our community are some of the most knowledgeable, kind, engaging and gracious professionals in the world. Being around the students, mentors and volunteers, and all their energy and innovation was invigorating and inspiring and watching them interact, network and engage is an encouraging sign for all of our futures.
And now, to everyone who made the 2014 FTC World Championship a huge success, thank you; FIRST couldn't do this without you!
Below are some links to a variety of videos from the week:
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| Volunteer Judges |
By the end of Tuesday night, everything was in place for team check-in, inspection and judging the next day. The Teams, which represent the top three percent of FTC Teams in the world, arrived at noon and brought so much excitement and enthusiasm. When the doors to the pits opened, it took nearly 10 minutes for 128 teams-worth of students, mentors and robots to fill the space. The teams and volunteers got down to business right away, with inspection and judging running smoothly and efficiently.
At Opening Ceremony in the America's Ballroom, we held an athlete parade, where two members from each team represented with their team colors or mascot. This was led by Don Bossi, the president of FIRST, and was high energy and a lot of fun. The Compass Award was presented to Robert Spath, Coach of Team 5501. The Promote Award was presented to Team 3595, Schrodinger's Hat. Ken Johnson, Director of FTC, Jordan Cox, from PTC, and Dr. Woodie Flowers all delivered great messages.
Dr. Flowers' message was particularly poignant as he encouraged students to pursue meaningful education that teaches them to think critically and not just technical training. He said that as machines replace more and more human labor, it's important to have a strong skill set in areas robots can't replace. He said the ability to innovate, while being both gracious and professional, is key.Over the next three days, the FTC competition fields would see some of the intense competition from some of the most professionally designed robots I've ever seen on a 12'x12' playing field. These were slick, efficient, block-scoring machines that have really raised the bar in terms of design and function. We saw team scores reach over 400 and alliance scores over 800. Qualifying matches ended Friday night with a mix of familiar and new faces in leading roles as alliance captains.
In the Edison Division Finals, the final alliances were, for the Red Alliance, Teams 4251, 724 and 4318; and 5939, 5069 and 577; for the Blue Alliance, Teams 2753, 4347 and 4029; and 6433, 6424 and 3708. In the Franklin Division Finals, for the Red Alliance, Teams 7013, 5257, and 4240; and 5026, 4507 and 6253; for the Blue Alliance, Teams 8221, 4999 and 5555; and 4997, 6299 and 4211.
Advancing from the Edison Division was the alliance led by last year's World Championship Winning Alliance Captain, Team 4251, Cougar Robotics, and from Franklin was the alliance led by rookie Team 7013, Hot Wired Robotics. The final matches played out between two highly competitive alliances, but in the end, the "W" went to the alliance led by the rookie FTC Team from Portland, OR. For complete event scores and rankings, visit live.theyellowalliance.net.
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| Winning Alliance |
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| Finalist Alliance |
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| FTC Inspire Award Winners - 3141, The Bears |
As I talked to students, mentors, coaches and volunteers throughout the week, there was one recurring theme: the people. Just about everyone I talked to said the best part of FIRST Championship was meeting all the different people from all around the world and reuniting with old friends. They knew, just as I do, that the individuals that make up our community are some of the most knowledgeable, kind, engaging and gracious professionals in the world. Being around the students, mentors and volunteers, and all their energy and innovation was invigorating and inspiring and watching them interact, network and engage is an encouraging sign for all of our futures.
And now, to everyone who made the 2014 FTC World Championship a huge success, thank you; FIRST couldn't do this without you!
Below are some links to a variety of videos from the week:
- FTC World Championship Photoset
- FTC World Championship YouTube Playlist
- FIRST Championship Highlight Reel
FTC World Championship Recap
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