We have a lot happening in the world of FIRST Robotics, throughout our region this school year. US FIRST Robotics programs are represented well in Eastern Washington. Our Eastern Washington FIRST Robotics planning committees have been busy coordinating FIRST LEGO League (FLL), FIRST TECH Challenge (FTC), and FIRST Robotics Challenge (FRC) events in our area and the programs are well underway.
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Highlights:
Local teams competed at Salk Middle School on December 9th and 10th in the FIRST Hydro Dynamics Challenge. FLL Semi-finals and the State Championship competitions will be held in January and February 2018 with the World Championships in April 2018.
FIRST TECH Challenge (FTC) Highlights:
Local teams are currently competing in the FTC FIRST Relic Recovery Challenge with their first event completed November 5th, 2017 at Gonzaga Prep and a second competition on December 2, 2017 at West Valley High School. The FTC State competition is scheduled for February 2018 and the FTC West Super Regional will be hosted in Spokane March 22-24, 2018.
FIRST Robotics Challenge (FRC) Highlights:
This season’s FIRST Robotics Challenge competition will be unveiled at the FRC Kickoff event hosted at Eastern Washington University on January 6th, 2018. This year’s challenge is FIRST Power Up Challenge. West Valley High School will host the Eastern Washington District Event March 22-24, 2018. The Pacific Northwest District Championship will be April 4-7, 2018 in Portland, Oregon.
Earlier this fall West Valley High School hosted Robotics Rewind II for FRC teams competing with last season’s robots in the FIRST SteamWorks Challenge. It is a chance to play FIRST SteamWorks again on the PNW District’s competition field. It is a great opportunity to get new team members involved early in the year. Robot Rewind II was once again a popular success with 22 robots competing from teams around Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon! West Valley’s Team 2147 (Chuck) entered two robots taking both First and Second place in the contest.
