FIRST Technology Challenge

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We asked Andrew Dornbier, a 2016 FIRST Tech Challenge Dean’s List Award Winner from Garner, Iowa, “What does inclusion and equity mean to you, and how has FIRST helped show your identity and relate to others more positively?” We're happy to share his awesome response with our community! FIRST has defined me as who I am today. I started with FIRST when I was in 4 th grade on our 4-H county’s first ever FIRST Lego League team.  My FIRST Lego League team was more than just playing with Legos. I couldn’t wait until the end of August when the mission pieces would come with a huge book of instructions and wondering what my team was going to build and program. My FIRST Lego League team did team building exercises every time we met. My coach was competitive and wanted us to do well on the robot but she always said that the score on the robot meant nothing unless we demonstrated Gracious Professionalism no matter how good or bad we did at the table. FIRST has core values that teach life...

It is well into the FIRST Tech Challenge Season and events are in full swing. If your team has not done so, make sure to connect with your local Affiliate Partner and register! If your event is just around the corner, this blog post is for you. Events can be stressful, not only for Rookie teams, but also Veterans. You may ask yourself, "Do you have all the tools you will need? Do you have your Engineering Notebook? Did you remember to pack the Robot?" What to Pack When asked what to pack, the same response is often given by Veteran teams, "Pack everything…and just in case, pack it twice." The point they are getting at is that at an Event, you never know exactly what you will need. Your Robot could break down during a Match and you will need spare parts; the code you have been working weeks on may not initiate properly and you will need your laptop to proofread; your team may want to show off their team spirit and pride with team swag, banners, and an exciting pit ...

Why has FIRST Tech Challenge added a waitlist component to the World Championship? In April of 2016, FIRST announced the addition of a second FIRST Championship. We did this so that we could make the life-changing excitement and inspiration of the FIRST Championship more accessible, available, and affordable to more kids and teams. This decision doubled the number of spots available for FIRST Tech Challenge teams at the World Championship, and created some interesting opportunities for advancement. Our FIRST Tech Challenge Super-Regionals were instituted over three years ago to address the growing number of Regional Championships, and the relatively smaller number of teams advancing to the next level. It solved that problem with great success as we head into year four of the Super-Regional format. This year FIRST Tech Challenge will expand the percentage of teams advancing from countries outside North America, expand the percentage of teams advancing from Super-Regionals, and institut...

2016 Dean’s List Award Winner Anika Yardi was chosen to speak at the 2016 Supporters Summit this past July. The Supporter Summit runs in conjunction with the Dean’s List Summit, where the 10 FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition Dean’s List Award Winners are invited to Manchester for a whirlwind of events! Anika was chosen to speak at Dean Kamen’s house, with Dean, Woodie Flowers, Don Bossi, and numerous vendors and supporters of FIRST in the audience. We’re excited to share her speech, which is a story of her journey of starting out as a student with no robotics experience, to a leader of her FIRST Tech Challenge team! It was the fall of my freshman year, 2013. My robotics journey was supposed to last for five minutes. It was the beginning of the year in ninth grade, and I had promised my new friend Delia that I would go with her to Room 361 to check out a robotics club. It was the end of lunch, and as a result, the end of the interest meeting the club had planned for ...