(BLOOMINGTON) – On March 7th and March 8th, thousands of students, parents, teachers, and industry professionals will convene at Bloomington High School South for the FIRST® Robotics FRC competition. More than 3,600 high school teams worldwide will participate in the FIRST® Robotics Competition this year.
FIRST® INFINITE RECHARGE has high school robotics team students around the world eager to capture a championship. After the game was revealed back in January, students have been brain-storming and drawing up designs for robots that will compete at several events this season. Teams had about 8 weeks to build their robots and now the competition season is underway. This event is the first in a series of four competitions that qualify teams to compete at the state championship where teams will qualify to move on to the world championship.
This event is the first one for the 2020 season. Presented by the Indiana Army National Guard it is the first time a FIRST FRC competition has been hosted in Bloomington.
Natalie Edwards, Director of Undergraduate Recruiting at the IU School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering said, “The IU School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering (SICE) is very excited to partner with the Quadrangles FRC Team 3494 and IndianaFIRST as a district host site for the first time! Over the past few years, SICE has hosted several FIRST events as a way to support robotics-interested students living in the southern Indiana area. It is vital that we continue offering these events to encourage students’ passion in STEM fields.”
Alexander Mervar a current IU Freshman in the class of 2023 at the IU School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering and also a FIRST Alum of Cyber Blue FRC Team 234 said, “Hosting this event here in Bloomington really shows the drive and push that the IU School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering has for preparing its students for the future. So much so, that it has now driven them to create a district event here, which will not only improve the quality of students here at Bloomington already, but it will also help future Hoosiers as well.”
“FIRST isn’t about competing, it’s about cooperating, and recognizing that if you have the right tools, you’ll be able to make this world a better place for yourself and for the country,” said Dean Kamen, president of DEKA Research and Development and FIRST Founder, adding, “There is no stimulus package that will have as much return as stimulating a bunch of kids to become the workforce of the future, the problem-solvers, the creators of the future.”
While the students are attracted to the challenge of building a robot, the main focus of FIRST® is on the skills the students develop in the program.
The atmosphere of a robotics competition is markedly similar to a basketball game; fans decked out in spirited clothing, constant cheering, and the moments of euphoria when a team scores just before the buzzer rings. It’s a truly incredible experience for all involved.
Schedule:
Friday, March 6, 2020
- 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm – Pits Open
Saturday, March 7, 2020
- 8:00 am – 10:30 am – Pits Open, Practice Rounds, Inspections
- 10:30 am – 11:00 am – Opening Ceremonies
- 11:00 am – 1:00 pm – Qualification Matches
- 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Lunch
- 2:00 pm – 6:30 pm – Qualification Matches
- 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm – Closing Ceremonies
- 8:00 pm – Pits Close*
Sunday, March 8, 2020
- 8:00 am – Pits Open
- 9:00 am – 9:30 am – Opening Ceremonies
- 9:30 am – 11:30 pm – Qualification Matches
- 11:45 pm – 12:15 pm – Alliance Selections
- 12:15 pm – 1:15 pm – Lunch
- 1:15 pm – 4:00 pm – Playoff Matches
- 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm – Awards Ceremony
- 6:30 pm – Pits Close*
*Schedule subject to change. All times are estimated based on flow of rounds. See Pit Administration table for updated times.
Links
Event Details: https://www.firstindianarobotics.org/2020-bloomington-frc-district-event/
Printable Event Schedule: https://www.firstindianarobotics.org/media/2020-Bloomington-District-Presented-by-the-Indiana-Army-National-Guard-Public-Schedule.pdf
FRC Robotics 2020 Season Schedule
http://media.indianafirst.org/nr20/ela20/2020EventsBanner.png
Bloomington District Event Team List
| Team Number | Team Name | School/Organization | Location | Twitter Handle * | Team Website * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 234 | Cyber Blue | Perry Meridian High School | Indianapolis, Indiana | @cyberblue234 | http://cyberblue234.com/ |
| 292 | PantherTech | Western School Corporation | Russiaville, Indiana | @FRC_Team_292 | https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/292 |
| 447 | Team Roboto | District Troup 447 | Anderson, Indiana | @FRC447 | http://www.teamroboto.org/ |
| 829 | Digital Goats | Warren/Walker Career Center | Indianapolis, Indiana | @DigitalGoats | http://www.warrenrobotics.net/ |
| 868 | TechHOUNDS | Carmel High School | Carmel, Indiana | @TechHOUNDS868 | http://www.techhounds.com/ |
| 1024 | Kil-A-Bytes | McKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology | Indianapolis, Indiana | @FRC1024 | http://www.mckenzierobotics.org/wp/ |
| 1501 | Team THRUST | Huntington County 4-H Robotics | Huntington, Indiana | @Team1501 | http://huntingtonrobotics.org/ |
| 1720 | PhyXTGears | Home School Group | Muncie, Indiana | @Team1720 | http://phyxtgears.org/ |
| 1741 | Red Alert | Center Grove High School | Greenwood, Indiana | @RedAlert1741 | http://www.redalert1741.org/ |
| 1747 | Harrison Boiler Robotics | Harrison High School | West Lafayette, Indiana | @1747robotics | http://www.hbrlive.com/ |
| 2960 | Automation Nation | Birmingham, Michigan | |||
| 3147 | Munster HorsePower | Munster High School | Munster, Indiana | @HorsePower3147 | http://munsterhorsepower.com/ |
| 3176 | Purple Precision | Brownsburg High School | Brownsburg, Indiana | @team3176 | http://team3176purpleprecision.weebly.com/ |
| 3180 | Blaise of Glory | Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson United | Trafalgar, Indiana | https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/3180 | |
| 3487 | Red Pride Robotics | Plainfield High School | Plainfield, Indiana | @Team3487 | http://earthquakers.wixsite.com/3487 |
| 3559 | Thundercats | Greater Jasper Consolidated Schools | Jasper, Indiana | @FRC3559 | http://www.jasperrobotics.com/ |
| 3947 | The Last Crusaders | Knightstown High School | Knightstown, Indiana | @frc3947 | https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/3947 |
| 4008 | Theodore Roosevelt’s Disco Haircut | Pike County School Corp | Pike, Indiana | ||
| 4272 | Maverick Boiler Robotics | McCutcheon High School | Lafayette, Indiana | @Team4272 | http://www.team4272.com/site/ |
| 4580 | Conductors | Ben Davis High School | Indianapolis, Indiana | @BenDavisRobots | https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/4580 |
| 4926 | GalacTech | Community Team | Columbus, Indiana | @FRC4926Robotic | https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/4926 |
| 5010 | Tiger Dynasty | Fishers High School | Fishers, Indiana | @FRC5010 | http://tigerdynasty.org/ |
| 5188 | Area 5188: Classified Robotics | West Vigo High School | Terre Haute, Indiana | @Area5188 | http://area5188classifiedrobotics.com/ |
| 6451 | Wired Warriors | Clark-Pleasant Community Sch Corp | Whiteland, Indiana | @WhitelandRobo | https://whitelandrobotics.com/ |
| 6498 | Castle High School Robotics | Warrick County School Corp | Newburgh, Indiana | #FRC6498 | https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/6498 |
| 6721 | Tindley Trailblazers | Charles A Tindley Accelerated Sch | Indianapolis, Indiana | #FRC6721 | https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/6721 |
| 6956 | Sham ROCK Botics | Westfield-Washington Schools | Westfield, Indiana | @shamrockbotics | https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/6956 |
| 7454 | North High School | Evansville North High School | Evansville, Indiana | https://www.facebook.com/northengineering | |
| 7457 | suPURDUEper Robotics | Purdue Polytechnic | Indianapolis, Indiana | @FRC7457 | |
| 7617 | University High School of Indiana Robotics Team | University High School of Indiana | Carmel, Indiana | @roboblazers | https://uhsroboblazers.weebly.com/ |
| 7657 | ThunderBots | New Tech Institute | Evansville, Indiana | ||
| 8103 | East Noble High School | East Noble High School | Michigan City, Indiana | Twitter Handle * | Team Website * |
| 8116 | Hatchet Robotics | Washington High School | Bloomington, Indiana | Twitter Handle * | Team Website * |
* Not all teams have websites or twitter handles. ** New team this year
FIRST® is tackling the trend of declining enrollment in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs by using a competition sports style model that makes STEM learning fun and inspiring for students. Some have questioned if something “fun” can be an effective tool to change peoples lives but initial data from a three year study by FIRST® on students in their first year of college indicates that FIRST’s® positive impacts continue into post secondary education, with FIRST® alumni continuing to show impacts on STEM-related attitudes, as well as impacts on interest in engineering and technology-related majors, engineering course-taking, and STEM-related internships and summer jobs. Results to date indicate that FIRST ® is already making a lasting difference in career interests and educational choices for the young people who participate in the program. So students can learn and have fun at the same time! See the full study results at https://www.firstinspires.org/about/impact.
This competition is part of the larger organization, FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), and their FIRST® Robotics Competition for high school students. Over 3,600 teams, more than 91,000 students, and nearly 26,000 professional mentors across the world from 27 countries (including places like Canada, Mexico, China, Israel, and Australia), will be participating in District, Regional, and State-level events in hopes of qualifying for the 2020 FIRST World Championship in Detroit, MI. and Houston, TX.
FIRST® was founded in 1989 to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. Based in Manchester, NH, the 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit public charity designs accessible, 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® robotics competition combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, robotics teams of 25 students or more are challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. These competitions create “real-world engineering” experiences for all participating students.
In addition to teacher mentors, volunteer professional mentors lend their time and expertise to help guide the work and development by each FIRST robotics team. For more information about this event, or FIRST Robotics, please contact: Renee Becker-Blau, IndianaFIRST Executive Director, at 414 704-1415. Additional information is also available at the website: http://www.indianafirst.org/ or http://www.firstinspires.org/.
More Links
Locate teams in your area: http://www.firstinspires.org/team-event-search
Interesting season facts from last year – FRC 2019: https://www.firstinspires.org/sites/default/files/uploads/resource_library/frc/game-and-season-info/competition-manual/2019/frc19-fr023-season-facts-.pdf
Link to study showing how FIRST® makes a lasting difference in career interests and educational choices for the young people who participate in the program. Impact Study: https://www.firstinspires.org/about/impact
Additionally here is a link to some story angle ideas for coverage of these robotic competitions. Story Angles For Robotics Competitions: http://media.indianafirst.org/CommonFiles/StoryAngleForRoboticsProgram.pdf
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 $90 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-3. 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 http://www.firstinspires.org/.
About IndianaFIRST – FIRST Indiana Robotics
IndianaFIRST is an organization dedicated to growing FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics programs in the state of Indiana. FIRST is a multinational non-profit organization that aspires to transform our culture, making science, math, engineering, and technology as cool for kids as sports are today. Founded in the fall of 2001 as the Indiana-based affiliate of FIRST, IndianaFIRST brings FIRST programming to students in grades K-12, teaching them hands-on skills in engineering, science, and technology that they can relate back to their class work. Kids compete against other kids in district, state, and world championship competitions in what is frequently called “The Super Bowl of Smarts.”
