PRESS ROOM & NEWS

Record Crowd Inspired by World’s Largest Celebration of Young Innovators and Changemakers at FIRST Championship in Detroit

More Than 40,000 People Attended FIRST Championship Presented by Qualcomm Incorporated This Week to Watch Students Compete with Team-Built Robots

‘FIRST Launch 2019’ Theme Celebrating Outer Space Announced for Upcoming Robotics Season Across All Four FIRST Programs
 

Select program name to jump to awards section:

FIRST® Robotics Competition   FIRST® Tech Challenge
FIRST® LEGO® League   FIRST® LEGO® League Jr.
Dean's List Award    


DETROIT, April 29, 2018 – This week, more than 15,000 students from around the world traveled to Detroit, putting their innovation skills to the test at the annual FIRST Championship Presented by Qualcomm Incorporated, held at the Cobo Center and Ford Field.

The four-day event, attended by more than 40,000 people, came down to a heart-pounding conclusion Saturday night in front of thousands of cheering fans at Ford Field when teams competed in match finals for the FIRST® Robotics Competition and FIRST® Tech Challenge world championships. Four teams from Kalamazoo, Michigan; Clarkston, Michigan; Kingston, Ontario, Canada; and State College, Pennsylvania, were the FIRST Robotics Competition Winning Alliance for this year’s game, FIRST POWER UPSM. Teams from Lexington, Massachusetts; Baden, Pennsylvania; and Lexington, Massachusetts, were the FIRST Tech Challenge RELIC RECOVERYSM Winning Alliance.FIRST Championship Detroit

Students ages 6-18 participated in FIRST Championship Detroit. FIRST Championship, the world’s largest celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for students, kicked off last week with 15,000 students in Houston.

Selected Quotes:

  • FIRST President Donald E. Bossi said: We’re marking the culmination of another fantastic FIRST season, and once again, we’ve had fantastic growth. More than half-a-million young people directly participated in our programs, which engaged 61,000 teams, an impressive 23 percent increase from just last year. We will not stop [growing] until all students have access to the education and experiences that FIRST programs provide.
  • Mary Barra, Chairman and CEO of General Motors and FIRST Championship Detroit Host Committee Co-Chair, spoke at the Closing Celebration: I can say with complete confidence that I see many future GM engineers in this room tonight. You are a natural fit and you’re getting a head start on exactly what we’re working on today – autonomous and electric vehicle technology – and this will change tomorrow for everyone.
  • Rick Snyder, Governor of Michigan and FIRST Championship Detroit Host Committee Co-Chair, welcomed FIRST Championship to Detroit: To all the participants, I want to thank you for what you're going to do in the future. If you look at the world, a couple of things are happening. One, the world is only going to become more global. Two, the rate of change is only going to go faster and faster. To be ready to go faster and faster, we need the best people in the world excited about STEM, and that's who you are.
  • Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, addressed FIRST supporters: What you do right here at FIRST is extraordinarily important. It’s not just about robotics. It’s not just about science. It’s about people. It’s about collaborating. It’s about making it happen. It’s about forming teams, mentoring teams, sharing your experience. Whether you are a volunteer, a donator, a sponsor, a supporter, a participant, a parent, a teacher, you make a difference, and here we just use the incredible world of science and technology to do so and we prepare the future in so many different ways.

Among the participants, many earned honors for design excellence, competitive play, research, business plans, website design, and teamwork. A not-for-profit organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) inspires innovation and leadership in young people through engaging, team-based robotics challenges.FIRST Championship Detroit

In Detroit, 700 robotics teams from 37 countries across the four FIRST programs participated.

FIRST Championship Detroit honored significant supporters of the FIRST mission, including Gail Drake, Mentor, Team 1885, ILITE Robotics, was the recipient of the Woodie Flowers Award, founded by Dr. William P. Murphy Jr. to recognize an outstanding engineer or teacher who best demonstrates teaching excellence in science, math, and creative design.

At the conclusion of FIRST Championship, in a video narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, FIRST announced a unified season theme for all four programs, FIRST Launch 2019. The upcoming 2018-2019 season will have all FIRST teams exploring outer space in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that put the first humans on the moon. The season will also mark the 30th anniversary of FIRST as a youth-serving nonprofit and the 20th anniversary of FIRST LEGO League. Watch the launch video on firstinspires.org.

2018 FIRST Championship Winners

The 2018 winners of the competitions and awards announced in Detroit are as follows:

Dean’s List Award – This award celebrates outstanding student leaders whose passion for and effectiveness at attaining FIRST ideals is exemplary.

From FIRST Robotics Competition:

  • Gabrielle Malson, Team 1506, Metal Muscle, Flint, Mich.
  • Erik Boesen, Team 1418, Vae Victis, Falls Church, Va.
  • Malachi Patrick, Team 1660, Harlem Knights, New York, N.Y.
  • Sanket Nayak, Team 4384, Benzene Bots, Troy, Mich.
  • McKenna Hillsdon-Smith, Team 135, Penn Robotics, Mishawaka, Ind.

From FIRST Tech Challenge:

  • Zoe Berg, Team 7190, Green Girls Robotics, Saint Paul, Minn.
  • Karris Krueger, Team 5975, CYBOTS, Denver, Iowa
  • George Rak, Team 12211, Trial & Error, Lodi, Ohio
  • Zachary Simon, Team 9790, Vier Left, Granger, Ind.
  • Tania Najnin, Team 13368, The Plugs, New York, N.Y.

1. FIRST® Robotics Competition Championship – FIRST Robotics Competition combines sports excitement with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams are challenged to fundraise, design a brand, exercise teamwork, and build and program robots to perform tasks against competitors. The 2018 challenge, FIRST POWER UP, finds teams and their robots trapped in an 8-bit video game. The alliance with the highest score at the end of the match, which includes autonomous and teleoperated periods, defeats the boss and wins the game.

More than 91,000 students on 3,660 teams from 27 countries competed during the 2018 season.

  • Team 2834, Bionic Black Hawks, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., won the Chairman’s Award, the highest honor given at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship, recognizing the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST. Team 2220, Blue Twilight, Eagan, Minn., and Team 1816, "The Green Machine", Edina, Minn., were Chairman’s Award Finalists.
  • The Winning Alliance of the FIRST Robotics Competition was Team 2767, Stryke Force, Kalamazoo, Mich.; Team 27, Team RUSH, Clarkston, Mich.; Team 2708, Lake Effect Robotics, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; and Team 4027, Centre County 4-H Robotics, State College, Pa.

The FIRST Robotics Competition Volunteer of the Year Award winner was Carol Perrotto.

Other FIRST Robotics Competition Awards included:

Championship Finalists –

Carson Subdivision

  • Team 217, ThunderChickens, Sterling Heights, Mich.
  • Team 3357, COMETS, Grand Rapids, Mich.
  • Team 4967, That ONE Team-OurNextEngineers, Belmont, Mich.
  • Team 4130, The Blue Devils, Richmond, Mich.

Subdivision Winners –

Archimedes Subdivision

  • Team 868, TechHOUNDS, Carmel, Ind.
  • Team 4003, TriSonics, Allendale, Mich.
  • Team 4541, CAV-ineers, Severn, Md.
  • Team 5422, Stormgears FRC, Westford, Mass.

Carson Subdivision

  • Team 217, ThunderChickens, Sterling Heights, Mich.
  • Team 3357, COMETS, Grand Rapids, Mich.
  • Team 4967, That ONE Team-OurNextEngineers, Belmont, Mich.
  • Team 4130, The Blue Devils, Richmond, Mich.

Curie Subdivision

  • Team 3707, Brighton TechnoDogs, Brighton, Mich.
  • Team 195, CyberKnights, Southington, Conn.
  • Team 333, MEGALODONS, Brooklyn, N.Y.
  • Team 70, More Martians, Goodrich, Mich.

Daly Subdivision

  • Team 2767, Stryke Force, Kalamazoo, Mich.
  • Team 27, Team RUSH, Clarkston, Mich.
  • Team 2708, Lake Effect Robotics, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
  • Team 4027, Centre County 4-H Robotics, State College, Pa.

Darwin Subdivision

  • Team 494, Martians, Goodrich, Mich.
  • Team 865, WARP7, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Team 4917, Sir Lancerbot, Elmira, Ontario, Canada
  • Team 51, The Wings of Fire, Pontiac, Mich.

Tesla Subdivision

  • Team 2056, OP Robotics, Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada
  • Team 1241, THEORY6, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
  • Team 2869, Regal Eagles, Bethpage, N.Y.
  • Team 6090, Wayland Wildcats, Wayland, Mich.

Subdivision Finalists –

Archimedes Subdivision

  • Team 1756, Argos, Peoria, Ill.
  • Team 4237, Team Lance-A-Bot, Stevensville, Mich.
  • Team 3620, Average Joes, Saint Joseph, Mich.
  • Team 1322, Genesee Robotics Area Youth Team (GRAYT), Fenton, Mich.

Carson Subdivision

  • Team 71, Team Hammond, Hammond, Ind.
  • Team 1640, Sab-BOT-age, Downingtown, Pa.
  • Team 5254, HYPE, Trumansburg, N.Y.
  • Team 422, Mech Tech Dragons, Richmond, Va.

Curie Subdivision

  • Team 3538, RoboJackets, Auburn Hills, Mich.
  • Team 1747, Harrison Boiler Robotics, West Lafayette, Ind.
  • Team 2826, Wave Robotics, Oshkosh, Wis.
  • Team 4607, C.I.S., Becker, Minn.

Daly Subdivision

  • Team 141, WOBOT, Holland, Mich.
  • Team 2013, Cybergnomes, Clearview Twp., Ontario, Canada
  • Team 2706, Merge Robotics, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • Team 1189, The Gearheads, Grosse Pointe, Mich.

Darwin Subdivision

  • Team 56, R.O.B.B.E., Bound Brook, N.J.
  • Team 4028, The Beak Squad, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Team 1391, The Metal Moose, West Chester, Pa.
  • Team 365, Miracle Workerz, Wilmington, Del.

Tesla Subdivision

  • Team 2614, Mountaineer Area RoboticS (MARS), Morgantown, W.Va.
  • Team 2590, Nemesis, Robbinsville, N.J.
  • Team 708, Hatters Robotics, Horsham, Pa.
  • Team 1720, PhyXTGears, Muncie, Ind.

Engineering Inspiration Award –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 4481, Team Rembrandts, Eindhoven, Netherlands
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 2137, TORC, Oxford, Mich.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 772, Sabre Bytes Robotics, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Autonomous Award sponsored by Ford –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 4003, TriSonics, Allendale, Mich.
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 4678, CyberCavs, Breslau, Ontario, Canada
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 4028, The Beak Squad, Cincinnati, Ohio

Creativity Award sponsored by Xerox –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 33, Killer Bees, Auburn Hills, Mich.  
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 3624, ThunderColts, Huntington Station, N.Y.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 250, The Dynamos, Colonie, N.Y.  

Entrepreneurship Award sponsored by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 27, Team RUSH, Clarkston, Mich.  
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 103, Cybersonics, Kintnersville, Pa.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 548, Robostangs, Northville, Mich.

Excellence in Engineering Award sponsored by Delphi –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 610, Crescent Coyotes, North York, Ontario, Canada
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 1640, Sab-BOT-age, Downingtown, Pa.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 1625, Winnovation, Winnebago, Ill.

Gracious Professionalism® Award sponsored by Johnson & Johnson –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 2729, Storm Robotics Team, Marlton, N.J.
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 1676, The Pascack PI-oneers, Montvale, N.J.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 2337, EngiNERDs, Grand Blanc, Mich.

Imagery Award in honor of Jack Kamen –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 1756, Argos, Peoria, Ill.
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 4531, STEMpunk, Two Rivers, Wis.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 5712, Hemlock's Gray Matter, Hemlock, Mich.

Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 1114, Simbotics, St Catharines, Ontario, Canada
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 4004, M.A.R.S. Rovers, Muskegon, Mich.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 1684, The Chimeras, Lapeer, Mich.

Safety Award sponsored by UL –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 2220, Blue Twilight, Eagan, Minn.
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 1676, The Pascack PI-oneers, Montvale, N.J.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 2451, PWNAGE, Saint Charles, Ill.

Innovation in Control Award sponsored by Rockwell Automation –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 2202, BEAST Robotics, Brookfield, Wis.
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 1731, Fresta Valley Robotics Club, Marshall, Va.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 910, The Foley Freeze, Madison Heights, Mich.  

Quality Award sponsored by Motorola Solutions Foundation –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 1024, Kil-A-Bytes, Indianapolis, Ind.  
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 2614, Mountaineer Area RoboticS (MARS), Morgantown, W.Va.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 3707, Brighton TechnoDogs, Brighton, Mich.

Team Spirit Award sponsored by FCA Foundation –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 1629, Garrett Coalition (GaCo), Accident, Md.
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 4476, W.A.F.F.L.E.S., Kingston, Ontario, Canada
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 4905, Andromeda One, Ayer, Mass.

Highest Rookie Seed –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 6875, Build A Dream Robotics -  Amazon Warriors, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 7226, Error 404, Lansing, Mich.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 6869, Gladiateurs, Saint-Jerome, Québec, Canada

Rookie All-star Award –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 6868, Cadet Robotics, Hilton, N.Y.
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 6911, SO BOTZ, Orangeburg, N.Y.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 7198, TL Fearsome Gears, Monticello, Ind.

Rookie Inspiration Award sponsored by NI –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 7329, The Afghan Dreamers, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 6909, SAKURA Tempesta, Chiba, Japan
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 6823, Wildcats, Milwaukee, Wis.

Judges’ Awards –

  • Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 5413, Stellar Robotics, Shelby, Ohio  
  • Carson-Tesla Division: Team 2474, Excel, Niles, Mich.
  • Curie-Darwin Division: Team 125, NUTRONs, Boston, Mass.  

2. FIRST® Tech Challenge World Championship – FIRST Tech Challenge students learn to think like engineers.  Teams build robots from a reusable kit of parts, develop strategies, document their progress, and compete head to head. In the 2017-18 game, FIRST RELIC RECOVERY, teams work in an alliance to go on a robot adventure. The goal is to score more points than the opposing alliance during 150 seconds of game play that includes autonomous and driver-controlled periods.

Approximately 60,000 students on 6,013 FIRST Tech Challenge teams competed during the 2017-2018 season. FIRST Tech Challenge Global Sponsors include Official Program Sponsor Rockwell Collins, Official 3D Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Sponsor PTC, and Season Presenting Sponsor Qualcomm.

  •  The FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship Inspire Award, recognizing excellence in robot design and teamwork, went to Team 9794, Wizards.exe, from Rockville, Md.
  • The Winning Alliance was Team 8644, The Brainstormers, Lexington, Mass.; Team 8393, The Giant Diencephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team, Baden, Pa.; and Team 4029, 2 Bits and a Byte, Lexington, Mass.

The FIRST Tech Challenge Volunteer of the Year Award winner was David and Lydean Spangler.

The Compass Award for excellence in coaching/mentoring was awarded to Jim Irvine, coach of Team 8686, Height Differential, from Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Other FIRST Tech Challenge awards included: Blue alliance

  • Division Winners –
    • Edison Division: Team 8644, The Brainstormers, Lexington, Mass.; Team 8393, The Giant Diencephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team, Baden, Pa.; and Team 4029, 2 Bits and a Byte, Lexington, Mass.
    • Ochoa Division: Team 11115, Gluten Free, Hollis, N.H.; Team 7182, Mechanical Paradox Cubed, Catonsville, Md.; and Team 9971, LANbros, Vincetown, N.J.
  • Division Finalists –
    • Edison Division: Team 8645, Robotic Doges, Hollsopple, Pa.; Team 7261, Omega Robotics, Sioux City, Iowa; and Team 5029, PowerStackers, Englewood, Ohio
    • Ochoa Division: Team 5040, Nuts & Bolts, Loveland, Ohio; Team 8680, Kraken-Pinion, Mequon, Wis.; and Team 11316, Weapons of Mass Construction, Indianola, Iowa
  • Promote Award – Team 6347, Geared Up, from Clayville, N.Y.
  • Control Award – Team 10091, N.Y.A.N. Robotics - Not You Average Nerds, Mundelein, Ill.
  • Motivate Award – Team 3954, Pink to the Future, Den Haag, Netherlands
  • Design Award – Team 11115, Gluten Free, Hollis, N.H.
  • Rockwell Collins Innovate Award – Team 10435, Circuit Breakers, Waukee, Iowa
  • Connect Award – Team 7129, Robo Raiders, Lebanon, Ill.
  • Think Award – Team 7182, Mechanical Paradox Cubed, Catonsville, Md.
  • Judges’ Award – The Rainbow Award – Team 3595, Schrödinger’s Hat, Alexandria, Va.
  • Judges’ Award – The Cultivation Award – Team 8338, Team Shatterdome, Cheonan, Chungcheongnamdo, South Korea

3. FIRST® LEGO® League World Festival – FIRST LEGO League introduces younger students to real-world engineering challenges by inviting them to conduct research projects and build LEGO-based autonomous robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface. FIRST LEGO League teams, guided by their imaginations, discover exciting career possibilities and learn to make positive contributions to society. This year’s challenge, HYDRO DYNAMICSSM, tasked more than 280,000 students on 35,226 teams representing nearly 90 countries with improving the human water cycle.

Top honors went to Champion’s Award winner, Team 51, Not the Droids You’re Looking For, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Champion’s Award Finalist, Team 3436, the Hydro HAULks, Oakville, Ontario, Canada; and Champion’s Award Finalist, Team 37289, FIRST FUJISAN, Kofu, Japan.

Other FIRST LEGO League awards included:

  • Robot Performance Award – Team 37411, Water In Need (WIN), Taichung city, Chinese Taipei.
  • Strategy & Innovation Award –  Team 37363, FSINGENIUM Team, Pamplona, Spain.
  • Programming Award – Team 182, Hotshot Hotwires, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
  • Mechanical Design Award – Team 37406, Goethe RobotX, Bensheim, Germany.
  • Research Award – Team 8631, St. Peters Brickbusters, East Troy, Wis.
  • Presentation Award – Team 37362, iDB TECH-NO-LOGIC, Verona, Italy.
  • Innovative Solution Award – Team 1948, Comet Warriors, Kingston, Ont., Canada.
  • Teamwork Award – Team 37332, GLIC, Glasgow, Scotland.
  • Inspiration Award – Team 3952, Jamestown Robowolves, Jamestown, R.I.
  • Gracious Professionalism® Award – Team 7507, Boa Constructors, Union, W.Va.
  • Volunteer of the Year Award – Diane Michalczuk, Arlington Heights, Ill.
  • Coach/Mentor Awards – Susan Eckert of Davenport, Iowa; Jeff Hafting of Annapolis Royal, N.S., Canada; Jonathan Blumann of Bensheim, Germany; and Alenka Malej of Koper, Slovenia.

Judges’ Awards

  • Team 5352, Brain Busters, Sherborn, Mass.
  • Team 26647, Einstein Narwhals, Clarksville, Md.
  • Team 31562, Spockbots, Bloomington, Ind.
  • Team 18290, Water BuffaLEGOs, Ellicott City, Md.
  • Team 2791, World Changers, Davenport, Iowa.
  • Team 34821, MPI Panthers, Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

4. FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. World Festival Expo – FIRST LEGO League Jr. introduces children ages 6 to 9 to the exciting world of science and technology. In this year’s Challenge, AQUA ADVENTURESM, 16,767 teams used LEGO® elements to build and LEGO® Education WeDo 2.0 to program a moving model and share their discoveries about where water comes from and what happens on its way to people.

 FIRST LEGO League Jr. awards went to:

  • Building and Discovery Awards –  Team 9819, Purple Panthers, of Birmingham, Mich.; Team 110227, WBSD Gretchko Team 1, of West Bloomfield, Mich.; and Team 14606, Team Water Emoji, of Detroit.
  • Cooperative Model Awards – Team 8260, Eaglets, of Howell, Mich.; Team 12218, Green-I, of Seoul, South Korea; and Team 14419, Water player, of Nagoya, Japan.
  • Cooperative Poster Awards – Team 13588, Never Eat Soggy Waffles, of Farmington, Mich.; Team 14605, Team Ocean, of Detroit; and Team 14607, Team Shark Divas, of Detroit.
  • Cooperative Research Awards – Team 11470, Jr. Mountaineers, of Iron Mountain, Mich.; Team 12208, Hydro Hornet Hubots, of Chanhassen, Minn.; and Team 14413 Water Works Japan, of Nagoya, Japan.
  • Creative Model Awards – Team 4756, Blockhead Builders, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; Team 9136, The Beluga Builders, of Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Team 11642, Ice Dragons, of Richmond Hill, Ont., Canada.
  • Creative Programming Awards – Team 11320, Hydrodynamic Engineers, of Sylvania, Ohio; and Team 13943, Little Einsteins, of Naperville, Ill.
  • Creative Research Awards – Team 11553, Stanton Academy – The Masterbuilders, of London, Ont., Canada; and Team 14586, RObot Academy Junior, of Bucharest, Romania.
  • Creative Show Awards – Team 11618, Team Mighty Dolphins, of Detroit; Team 12506, Aquatic Crocodiles, of Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Team 14548, Professorium, of Elista, Russia.
  • Design and Show Awards – Team 1049, Jr. BannekerBots, of Kansas City, Mo.; Team 3475, Okapi, of Farmington, Mich.; and Team 7199, Jr. Bobcaticians, of Kansas City, Mo.
  • Discover and Program Awards – Team 9617, WBSD Jr. Aqua Bots, of Keego Harbor, Mich.; Team 12442, St. William Aquabots, of Walled Lake, Mich.; and Team 13589, Aqua Sharks, of Farmington, Mich.
  • Discover and Show Awards – Team 6240, NovaBots, of Novi, Mich.; Team 8622, Pink Fluffy Unicorns, of Wolcott, Conn.; and Team 11727, Team of Lions, of Detroit.
  • Innovative Model Awards – Team 7961, Team Tidal Wave 6, of Novi, Mich.; Team 11898, Aga Khan Education Board – Ontario, of North York, Ont., Canada; and Team 14598, DREAMTEAM, of Seoul, South Korea.
  • Innovative Poster Awards – Team 7718, LEGO Gear Masters, of Navarre, Ohio; Team 9614, WBSD Scotch: D2 Destroyers, of West Bloomfield, Mich.; and Team 14599, Blue Star, of Seoul, South Korea.
  • Innovative Programming Awards – Team 4867, Waterblast, of Midland, Mich.; Team 14143, Mayim Mensches, of West Bloomfield, Mich.; and Team 14593, GO!WATER, of Taichung, Chinese Taipei.
  • Innovative Research Awards – Team 7878, FLLJr. Team 2, of Rogers, Minn.; Team 14524, Water girls, of Gjovik, Norway; and Team 13970, Hydro Farmers, of Pewaukee, Wis.
  • Model Design Awards – Team 8992, Aqua Avengers, of Fresh Meadows, N.Y.; Team 12442, St. William Crusaders Robotics, of Walled Lake, Mich.; and Team 14501, MSKWaterJumpers, of Wies, Austria.
  • Programming Design Awards – Team 13587, Turtle Divers, of Farmington, Mich.; and Team 14594, Grandpa’s Fish Farm, of Tianan, Chinese Taipei.
  • Research and Design Awards – Team 12309, LEGO Masters, of McHenry, Ill.; Team 12647, DynamicBots, of Morgantown, W. Va.; and Team 13775, Daycroft Creators, of Ann Arbor, Mich.
  • Research and Discovery Awards – Team 12215, Techno Queens, of Jericho, N.Y.; and Team 13202, LEGO DESIGNERS, of Columbus, Ohio.

 

Watch highlights from FIRST Championship Detroit on the FIRST Twitch Channel and view select photos on the FIRST Facebook page.  Visit the FIRST Championship website to learn more.

 

2018 FIRST Championship Sponsors

Qualcomm is the 2018 FIRST Championship Presenting Sponsor.

2018 FIRST Championship Lead Sponsors include: Google, Inc and Magna International Inc.

2018 FIRST Championship Event Sponsors include: ABB Foundation, The Abbott Fund; BAE Systems; Bechtel Corporation; Booz Allen Hamilton; Delta Air Lines, Inc.; Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau; The Dow Chemical Company; DTE Energy Co.; FCA Foundation; FedEx Corporation; Ford Motor Company; General Motors Company; Houston CVB, Nokia Bell Labs; NRG Energy; TE Connectivity; Twitch; U.S. Air Force; United Technologies; ZF.

2018 FIRST Championship Key Sponsors include: American Axle & Manufacturing; The Boeing Company; Bosch; The Coca-Cola Company; Consumers Energy; DoD STEM; Kettering University; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Mouser Electronics; PwC US, Southwest Airlines; Quicken Loans; Texas Instruments; Two Sigma; Walt Disney Imagineering.

Other 2018 FIRST Championship Supporters include: Aptiv; Arm; Blue Origin; J.R. Automation; KUKA Robotics; Miksa Honey Farms.

Save the date! The FIRST Championship will be held in:

2019: Houston: April 17-20 and Detroit: April 24-27

2020: Houston: April 15-18 and Detroit: April 29-May 2

 

About FIRST® 
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies and more than $70 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST® Tech Challenge for Grades 7-12; FIRST® LEGO® League for Grades 4-8; and FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. for Grades K-4. Gracious Professionalism® is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.firstinspires.org.