FIRST_Championship

FIRST Championship

FIRST Championship

Annual student robotics championship

The FIRST Championship is a four-day robotics championship held annually in April at which FIRST student robotics teams compete. For several years, the event was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri in 2011, where it remained through 2017. In 2017, the Championship was split into two events, being additionally held at the George R. Brown Convention Center and Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. In 2018 and 2019, the Championship was held in Houston and Detroit, Michigan at the TCF Center and Ford Field. The event comprises four competitions; the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship, the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship, the FIRST Lego League World Festival, and the FIRST Lego League Junior World Expo.[3]

Quick Facts Frequency, Venue ...

The FIRST Robotics Competition is a ten-week program in which high-school students build 125-pound (54 kg) robots designed to compete in a game that changes each year. Students are given sets of parts to use, but they can also use off-the-shelf or custom-made parts. The FIRST Tech Challenge is a mid-level competition program for middle school and high school aged students with a more accessible and affordable robotics kit. FIRST LEGO League is a competition program for elementary and middle school students using LEGO Mindstorms robotics kits. Teams for each program compete in tournaments at a state and regional level. The winning teams from each of these tournaments join the global competition at the FIRST Championship.

The FIRST Championship was formally held in conjunction with the FIRST Robotics Conference, which covers a wide variety of topics in science, technology, engineering, and robotics fields.[4]

The 2011 championship was also host to the Collegiate Aerial Robotics Demonstration, a pilot collegiate FIRST program.

In 2015, to expand, it was announced that the FIRST Championship would be divided into multiple venues. The new Innovation Faire featuring displays and demonstrations from FIRST Sponsors, Partners and Suppliers took place at the Renaissance St. Louis Grand Hotel, The FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship and the Junior FIRST Lego League World Festival took place at Union Station (St. Louis), and the FIRST LEGO League World Festival as well as the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship took place at the Edward Jones Dome and America's Center. The new arrangement was designed to give an "Olympic Village" feel and allow for more space to expand each individual program.[5] In 2017, the Championship was split into 2 championships, one occurring in Houston and the other a week later in St. Louis. The second Championship was moved to Detroit for 2018 and 2019. In 2020, FIRST decided to move the closing ceremonies for all programs from Minute Maid Park and Ford Field to the convention centers in Houston and Detroit respectively.[6]

The 2020 FIRST season was suspended on March 12, 2020, resulting in the cancellation of the Championship events in Houston and Detroit, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] The FIRST LEGO League World Championship was held as a virtual competition on April 18 and 19, 2020 and hosted by FLL Share and Learn.

The 2021 FIRST Championship in Houston and Detroit were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] The events were replaced by a virtual ceremony at the 2021 FIRST Global Innovation Awards on June 28–30, 2021.

Despite originally announcing dates for both Detroit and Houston for 2022, the 2022 FIRST Championship was later scheduled solely for Houston and was held from April 20 to April 23, 2022.

Host cities

1992 was the first year of the FIRST Robotics Competition. Just over 20 teams competed at one event, which was held at Memorial High School in Manchester, New Hampshire.[8] In 1993, the sole competition was held at Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua, New Hampshire.[9] In 1994, the competition was held at Nashua High School.[10] In 1995, FIRST had grown to the point to which they had outgrown the one competition, so they moved to a regional qualifier system, and thus the FIRST championship was born. From 1995 through 2002, the championship was held at Epcot Center in Orlando.[11] Reliant Park in Houston was the venue for 2003.[12] Atlanta served as host city from 2004 through 2010.[13][14] In 2005, the contract with Atlanta was extended through 2007 with options for 2008 and 2009.[13] In 2009, St. Louis was selected, from three finalists, to serve as host city for 2011 through 2013. In 2012, the tenure at St. Louis was extended until 2014.[15] In 2013, the tenure in St. Louis was once again extended for three additional years through 2017.[16]

The 2017 through 2019 championships consisted of two championship events, located in two different cities on back to back weekends. The 2017 championships was held in St. Louis, centered at the Edward Jones Dome, and in Houston, Texas, at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Toyota Center, and Minute Maid Park. 2017 marked St. Louis's final hosting of the event for the foreseeable future, ending its seven years hosting the event, as well as the FIRST Championship's return to Houston, following the 2003 Championships at NRG Park. In 2018 and 2019, Houston continued to host a championship, with Detroit, Michigan taking St. Louis's place. The Detroit championships took place at Cobo Center and Ford Field.[17]

FRC World Championship

Main article: FIRST Robotics Competition

The FIRST Robotics Competition Championship is the final and largest event of the season. The winners of each regional competition as well as the top teams from each district advance to the FIRST Championship. They are placed into one of the 8 divisions, named after influential individuals in STEM, to compete. The winning alliance from each division (a set of 4 teams) moves on to compete on the Einstein Field. The winning alliance on the Einstein Field is declared the FIRST Champion.

The FIRST Robotics Competition Championship was initially divided into 4 divisions:

In 2015, the 4 divisions were further divided into 8 divisions (not including the final Einstein Field) and expanding naming to share more breadth in hero innovators:

In 2017, the first year of the split championship, 4 more divisions were added[18] bringing the total to 12 divisions (not including the final Einstein Field in each city), with six divisions in each city. The six division winning alliances played a round-robin tournament to determine their location's champion, who then played the other city's champion in July at the FIRST Festival of Champions in New Hampshire.[19][20] On February 6, 2018, FIRST announced that the Festival of Champions would not happen from the 2018 season onward. Due to this, the winners of both championships would now be considered world champions.[21] Houston:

St. Louis/Detroit:

In 2022 with the return to a single championship event[22] FRC teams were divided into the 6 Houston divisions seen through the 2019 championship. In 2023 2 additional divisions,[23] Johnson and Milstein, were added to the 6 from 2022 bringing the total to 8 FRC divisions.

There are many awards that are presented to FRC teams at the Championship. These awards include the Engineering Inspiration Award, the Industrial Design Award, the Gracious Professionalism Award, the Entrepreneurship Award, the Industrial Safety Award, the Rookie All-Star Award, the Rookie Inspiration Award, the Woodie Flowers Award, and the Dean's List Award. The most prestigious award is the Impact Award (previously called the Chairman's Award), which recognizes the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate both on and off the field.[24]

Recent winners

More information Year / Theme, Award name ...

FTC World Championship

Main article: FIRST Tech Challenge

Before 2014, after all FTC teams have competed in state / regional championship tournaments, the winning teams move on to the FTC World Championship. The Inspire Award-winning teams and the captain teams of the Winning Alliance in the regional tournaments are automatically eligible for the world championship. If there are still spots available, additional teams may be picked by a lottery system.

From 2014 and on, teams compete in Qualifying Tournaments in order to qualify for their state/regional Championship. At that Championship, teams compete for a spot at one of 4 Super-Regionals. Depending on the presence/number of teams in each state, determines the number of teams that move on to a Super-Regional. Teams then advance from their Super-Regional to the World Championship. In the 2018–2019 season, Super-Regionals were abolished and FTC teams advanced to the World Championship directly from their state/regional Championship.[31]

At each championship, awards are presented to recognize teams for their performance in the competition, their robot's design, and their efforts to spread the message of FIRST. These awards include World Championship Finalist and Winner, the Design Award, the Connect Award, the Innovate Award, the Motivate Award, the Think Award and the Judges' Award. The most notable awards are the World Championship Inspire Award and the award given to the winning alliance.[32]

The FTC World Championship was held in Houston and Detroit through the 2019 championship. The event is currently held in Houston.

FTC has four divisions that teams are randomly divided into.[33]

  • Franklin
  • Jemison
  • Edison
  • Ochoa

Up until the end of the 2016 season, winning alliances from Franklin and Edison went on to compete in the finals on the DaVinci Field. In 2017, FTC teams joined FRC teams to play their finals matches on the Einstein Field.

Recent winners

More information Year / Theme, Award name ...

FLL World Festival

Main article: FIRST Lego League

The top competitions in FLL program are FLL Open Championships and FLL World Festival. The Open Championships are managed by FLL Partners with a goal to bring teams from different regions to complete and showcase their achievements. Currently, there are two Open Championships, FLL Open European Championship and FLL US Open Championship. FLL Open Asian Championship was held in 2008 in Tokyo, Japan. However, it did not return in 2009.[39]

FLL World Festival is hosted and managed by FIRST. The teams are often the Champion's Award team at the state or national level with some other criteria including special nomination from FLL Operational Partners globally. In 2009, there were 84 teams from 27 countries that joined the festival with the theme Climate Connections. The award categories include Innovative Design Award, Quality Design Award, Programming Award, Research Quality Award, Innovative Solution Award, Creative Presentation Award, Teamwork Award, Team Spirit Awards, Against All Odds Awards, Outstanding Volunteer Awards, Adult Coach/Mentor Awards, Young Adult Mentor Awards, and Judges' Awards. The most notable awards are Champion's Award and Robot Performance Award.[29]

[40]===Recent winners===

More information Year / Theme, Award name ...

References

  1. [1]
    "FIRST Robotics Competition 2019 Season Facts" (PDF). www.firstinspires.org. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  2. [2]
    Cohen, Larry (March 12, 2020). "COVID-19 Impact on FIRST Events (Updated March 12, 2020)". FIRST. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  3. [3]
    FIRST Championship Archived April 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, FIRST - accessed May 23, 2009
  4. [4]
    2009 FIRST Robotics Conference[permanent dead link], FIRST - accessed May 23, 2009
  5. [5]
    "FIRST Championship | USFIRST.org". Archived from the original on June 26, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  6. [6]
    "Championship Closing Schedule Updates". FIRST Championship. FIRST. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  7. [7]
    "2021 FIRST Championship Update". FIRST. March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  8. [8]
    "List of Teams in The Competition-1992" (PDF). technokats.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  9. [9]
    "List of Teams in The Competition-1993" (PDF). technokats.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  10. [10]
    "Procter & Gamble/Walnut Hills High School team bests 43 teams at the 1994 U.S. FIRST Championship" (PDF). FIRST. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 21, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  11. [11]
    FIRST 2003, p. 7.
  12. [12]
    FIRST 2003, p. 8.
  13. [13]
    "Atlanta to Host 2007 FIRST Championship" (PDF). atlanta.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  14. [14]
    Staff (January 10, 2010). "Intelligent sport: BREAKAWAY Game revealed at 2010 FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff". Gizmag. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  15. [15]
    Kurtovic, Amir (October 18, 2012). "Robots to invade downtown St. Louis annually...now until 2014". St. Louis Business Journal. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  16. [16]
    "FIRST Newsletter - October, 2013 - FIRST Selects the City of St. Louis as the Site of the Annual FIRST Robotics Championship for 2015-2017 | USFIRST.org". Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  17. [17]
    "FIRST® Enables More Students to Participate in Life-Changing Robotics Event with Expansion of Annual Championship". USFIRST.org. For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  18. [18]
    "FIRST Robotics Competition Blog". For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. August 23, 2016.
  19. [19]
    "2017 Game & Season Manual" (PDF). For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. p. 121.
  20. [20]
    "FIRST Festival of Champions | FIRST Championship". www.firstchampionship.org. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  21. [21]
    Bossi, Don (February 6, 2018). "2018 FIRST Championship and Beyond". Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  22. [22]
    "FIRST Championship News". FIRST. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  23. [23]
    "2023 FIRST® Championship Information". FIRST. October 20, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  24. [24]
    "2017 Complete Awards Chart" (PDF). FIRST. 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  25. [25]
    "18,000+ Students Bring Their Custom-Built Robots and Team Spirit to the Largest Sport for the Mind™ Showdown, the 2015 FIRST® Championship". FIRST. April 25, 2015. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  26. [26]
    "12,000+ Students Bring their Custom-Built Robots and Team Spirit to the Ultimate Sport for the Mind™ Showdown at 2014 FIRST® Championship". FIRST. April 26, 2014. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  27. [27]
    "10,000+ Students From Around the World Put Custom-Built Robots to the Test at 2013 FIRST® Championship". FIRST. April 27, 2013. Archived from the original on April 28, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  28. [28]
    "2012 FIRST Championship Celebrates Science, Technology and Robots". FIRST. April 28, 2012. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  29. [29]
    20,000 Cheer FIRST Students at the Ultimate Celebration of Science and Technology, Reuters (from Business Wire), April 19, 2009 - accessed May 23, 2009
  30. [30]
    2009 FIRST Championship Archived September 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, FIRST - accessed May 23, 2009
  31. [31]
    "Super Regionals - Then and Now". Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  32. [32]
    "FIRST Tech Challenge Game & Season Info". FIRST. August 13, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  33. [33]
    "CENTERSTAGE presented by RTX Season: FIRST Championship Updates". Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  34. [34]
    "2015 FIRST® Championship". FIRST. May 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  35. [35]
    "2015 FIRST® Championship". FIRST. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  36. [36]
    "2011 FIRST® Championship" (PDF). FIRST. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 17, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  37. [37]
    "2009-2010 FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship Awards". FIRST. Archived from the original on December 26, 2010. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  38. [38]
    2009 FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship Awards, FIRST - accessed May 23, 2009
  39. [39]
    Open Asian Championship Archived February 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, FIRST Japan - accessed May 23, 2009
  40. [40]
    https://www.firstinspires.org/about/press-room/50K-Gather-to-Celebrate-Youth-Robotics-Teams-From-58-Countries-at-FIRST-Championship-in-Houston
  41. [41]
    "Team and Event Search". May 5, 2015.
  42. [42]
    "Team and Event Search". May 5, 2015.
  43. [43]
    "Team and Event Search". May 5, 2015.
  44. [44]
    "Team and Event Search". May 5, 2015.
  45. [45]
    FIRST LEGO League World Festival Awards - Climate Connections Season, FIRST - accessed May 23, 2009
  46. [46]
    FLL Awards - 2008 Championship - Power Puzzle[permanent dead link], FIRST - accessed May 23, 2009

Bibliography
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article FIRST_Championship, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.