About FIRST
What is it?
A unique varsity sport of the mind designed to help high-school-aged young people discover how interesting and rewarding the life of engineers and scientists can be.
What is unique?
» It is a sport where the participants play with the pros and learn from them
» Designing and building a robot is a fascinating real-world professional experience
» Competing on stage brings participants as much excitement and adrenaline rush as conventional varsity tournaments
» The game rules are a surprise every year
How it works
The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) stages short games played by autonomous and remote-controlled robots. The robots are designed and built in 6 weeks (from of a common set of parts) by a team of 15 to 25 high-school-aged young people and a handful of engineers-mentors. The students remotely control the robots in competition rounds on the field.
Each school year, teams are formed in the fall. The FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff in early January starts the six-week "build" season. Competitions take place in March and April. The FIRST Robotics Competition Regional events are typically held in university arenas. They involve 40 to 70 teams cheered by thousands of fans over two and a half days. A championship event caps the season. Referees oversee the competition. Judges evaluate teams and present awards for design, technology, sportsmanship and commitment to FIRST. The Chairman’s Award is FIRST’s highest honor and recognizes a team that exemplifies the values of FIRST.
More information on the FIRST Robotics Competition:
More information on other FIRST programs: