Mohawk Valley Community College will host a FIRST® (For Inspiration of Science and Technology) Tech Challenge Robotics Regional Championship Tournament on Sunday, March 3, 2024, in the Robert R. Jorgensen Center Field House at the College’s Utica Campus, 1101 Sherman Drive. The competition is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The 28 Regional Championship-level youth robotics teams — from as far away as Buffalo, northern New York, Corning, and Westchester County — have been creating their robots for this competition season since September. These FIRST Tech Challenge robotics teams, comprised of students in grades 6 through 12, collaborate on the design, fabrication, programming, testing, and constant improvement of their robots as they compete in this season’s specific game challenge. Teams earn prestigious judged awards based on robot performance and control, innovation, design, community outreach, connections with STEM professionals as mentors, and the documentation of their engineering process, including obstacles they overcame during their journey. The top three teams from this MVCC Regional Championship will advance to the FIRST World Championship held in Houston, Texas, in April.
During each 2.5-minute match, teams strategize with an alliance partner team to achieve a common goal against another set of two teams. Four robots run on the tournament field at once. In this season's challenge, teams and robots attempt to achieve the highest scores by navigating the 12’x12’ playing field, depositing and interlocking hexagonal scoring elements. Matches start with a 30-second autonomous period in which robots operate using only pre-programmed instructions coded in Java, sensor inputs, and machine-learning. The following two minutes make up a driver-controlled/teleoperated period using game controllers. Many points are won in the final 30 seconds of a match if one or all four robots can pull themselves up to hang from a bar.
MVCC has been a FIRST partner organization since 2020. FIRST at MVCC programming engages over 1,500 youth, supporting their STEM adventures in becoming the next generation of science and technology leaders through education, innovation, and teamwork. For more information about FIRST Tech Challenge, visit mvcc.edu/firstrobotics.
About Mohawk Valley Community College
Mohawk Valley Community College, established in 1946, is New York State’s first community college with a mission to provide accessible, high-quality educational opportunities for everyone. As the community’s college, MVCC is committed to student success through partnerships, transfer and career pathways, and personal enrichment. With campuses in Utica and Rome, MVCC is the region’s primary provider of college education, offering 90 degree and certificate options for its enrollment of 6,000 full- and part-time students. MVCC also serves an additional 6,000 people through its corporate and community education programs, and its campuses welcome more than 50,000 people annually for community events.
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 $80 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; and FIRST LEGO® League Discover, Explore and Challenge for Grades K-8. Gracious Professionalism® is the ethos of FIRST and 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.