ABOUT FIRST
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization founded in 1989 to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology. Based in Manchester, NH, the not-for-profit public charity designs accessible and innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, while building self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills.
FIRST is More Than Robots. FIRST participation is proven to encourage students to pursue education and careers in STEM-related fields, inspire them to become leaders and innovators, and enhance their 21st century work-life skills.
To learn more about FIRST, visit the FIRST website.
COMPETITIONS
2023
In Charged Up, teams focus on sustainable energy and development. Teams of three compete with each other to be the group that scores the most points using cubes and cones in a point-specific grid. Putting the game pieces in the designated area of the grid will award points. Placing the game pieces to the top row of the grid will result in maximum points and placing them at the lowest row will only result in one point. Teamwork also becomes a main focus of each round as teammates work together to balance on a charging station, resulting in score bonuses.
2022
In RAPID REACT, teams need to utilize creative engineering, thinking, and teamwork to redesign the future of safe and faster travel, along with lightning-fast deliveries to advance the next evolution of transportation. Robots need to collect game pieces and shot cargo from all over the playing field. Robots will aim to shoot the balls into either the lower or upper hub that is located at the center of the field.
2020* & 2021
In INFINITE RECHARGE, teams race to collect and score Power Cells in order to energize their Shield Generator for maximum protection. To activate stages of the Shield Generator, robots manipulate their Control Panels after scoring a specific number of Power Cells. Near the end of the match, droids race to their Rendezvous Point to get their Shield Generator operational.
* Due to partial season cancellation, the Infinite Recharge will also be played in the 2021 season.
2019
Destination: Deep Space is the FIRST Robotics Competition game for the 2019 season. The game has two participating alliances of three teams each. Both teams must perform certain tasks in order to win the competition. Each team earns points by placing poly-carbonate hatch covers and cargo (orange rubber balls) prior to returning to their HAB platform near the end of the match.
2018
FIRST Power Up is the FIRST Robotics Competition game for the 2018 season. The game has a retro 8-bit theme and teams are required to place milk crates, or "power cubes", on large balancing scales to tip the scale and gain ownership. Alliances can also trade power cubes for power ups, giving them a temporary advantage in a match. At the end of the match, robots can climb the tower, giving them additional points.
2017
As in past games, two alliances of three individual teams and their robots compete on a field to score "match" point to win the game and ranking points to advance to playoff rounds. The game has a steampunk theme and teams are required to shoot wiffleballs which represent fuel into a simulated boiler which transfers the generated steam into an airship in the middle of the field. Each alliance has one airship, which they pressurize with steam from the boiler and load with plastic gears from the field. At the end of the match, robots can climb and hang on team-supplied ropes attached to the airship for additional points.
2016
The game was played by two alliances of up to three teams each, and involves breaching the opponents’ defenses, known as outer work as well as capturing their tower by first firing "boulders" (small foam balls) at it, and then surrounding or scaling the tower using a singular rung on the tower wall. Points were scored by crossing elements of the tower's outer works, shooting boulders into the opposing tower's five goals in order to lower the tower strength, and by surrounding and scaling the tower.
2015
It involves picking up and stacking totes on scoring platforms, putting pool noodles ("litter") inside recycling containers, and putting the containers on top of scoring stacks of totes. There is also a co-operation aspect of the game where both alliances of teams can pool their totes and stack them on a step dividing the field to each gain twenty points. Along with these robot actions, human players can attempt to throw the pool noodles across the field to gain four points for each noodle left in the opposing alliance's work zone.
2014
In the game, the alliances win via getting the scoring elements (2'-diameter exercise balls) into the scoring areas located on the far end of the field.
2013
Drivers control their robots, attempting to score discs into the goals at the opposite end of the playing field. The robots also can climb their alliance's pyramid at the end of the match to score additional points. In the final thirty seconds the human players can throw their six colored discs into play over the alliance wall.