Question: What was the first FIRST competition you attended?

[Dan 1038]

My first regional was 2007 in Pitt, Rack 'N Roll. Wayne was the MC and it was awesome! In 2006 I mentored by did not attend any events - MISTAKE! Pitt was also the first time I met our friends at Delphi Elite - complete with a YouTUBE moment on Thursday - search "48 Flips" to see it! In Travis' defense, they were driving without thier ramps installed - light robot with lots of power meets inner tube and 1038... Great competition. We had a stong 'bot that hung on the top row in Auton and got to the finals with 48 as a partner, unfortunately they broke down and we lost, later in the year at Buckeye we were beat by 48 in the finals, when our alliance partner blew thier drivetrain - they sat in the home zone all match - but they had great ramps, so we got the elevation bonus - which was not quite enough! Great season, we didn't win regionals, but we were finalists in both and I learned about GP and the addictive FIRST environment! That year is what really hooked me!

[BJT]

My first competition was as a mentor at the 2005 Boilermaker regional. Our alliance of 135, 93 and 876 ended up loosing in the finals in 4 intense matches to 71 1024 and I think 294. the whole experience definitely got me hooked.

When we got there to set up, I saw a team pulling their partially assembled robot and a bunch of pvc pipes out of their crate. I vividly remember feeling kind of bad for them and thinking that they were probably in for a long weekend with that thing. Well, this will tell you how clueless I was at the time, it was team 71, Yeah.

[SarahBeth]

My first FIRST competition was in Manchester last March. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life - I'd had fun working with the kids at school during the previous 6 weeks, but I'd never experienced anything like competition and that was when I really drank the kool-aid. I nerded out and wandered around the pits - it was like being at the coolest science fair ever to see what all the other teams did with the same time constraints. Even though our team didn't place into the finals, it was still a blast.

Once the Boston competition was over 2 weeks later, I felt a bit let down, like, "OMG, I have all this extra TIME, what do I do with myself"

Ever since then I've been in deep.

[CLandrum3081]

My first FIRST competition was the 2012 Minnesota 10,000 Lakes Regional. Never have I experienced anything so breathtaking. The rest of the team tries to tell me I even DANCED in front of the field in between elimination matches, but I have no idea what they're talking about

The energy was incredible. Call me a stereotypical Minnesotan, but I've played and watched hockey my whole life. The energy in Williams arena when filled with high school kids excited about FRC was infinitely more intoxicating than the energy in an NHL playoff game between rivals.

That competition was the first time I had had real FUN in years. It was also my first time eating fast food since about the fifth or sixth grade. And, as my teammates say, my first time dancing (I still deny this...)

One thing I do want to add:
Really, only people in Minnesota (and most likely the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area) would know this, but Kennedy (where 3081 is from) and Jefferson (where 2470 is from), both in Bloomington, are big rivals. I played hockey and lacrosse for Kennedy so I know how bitter this rivalry is. But when 3081 made it to the finals and 2470 didn't, we didn't have enough batteries. So 2470 loaned us theirs. That's what we should be doing. We compete, do our best, and help everyone else do their best. It took me sixteen years (on the dot! My birthday was the Monday before 10K) and joining an FRC team to figure it out, but I did.

All in all, I wouldn't have traded it for the world. I've got a long way to go, but the last day of that regional was the best day of my life, and it would've been even if we hadn't won that regional or even made it to the finals. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world.

[NXTGeek]

The first FIRST competition I went to was actually a post-season scrimmage for lunacy at a local science museum, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. My best friend invited me, and I remember it being fun to take up all the duct tape holding the field together.
The FIRST official regional I participated in was an FLL regional event at a Western Digital HQ.

[2348humanplayer]

Ha! I got on of the best stories for my first regional!

Out here in Hawaii, we didn't have a regional. However, a couple of schools found interest in the competitions, and wanted to start some teams. Thus, my dad became the lead engineering mentor for team 359, the Hawaiian Kids in 2000. I went probably 2-3 times a week to go and watch them....and play with the balls. After build season, I went with my parents and sister with the team to San Jose to watch them compete in the Silicon Valley Regional. They did.....pretty bad, with a robot that basically put all their weight high in the air, resulting in much toppling over. But, the biggest thrill for me was that during lunch on Saturday, my dad took my sister and I to the pits to look at robots. Halfway through looking, he brought us to meet the emcee I now admire and love, Mark Leon. He took us on the field, and the three of us danced the YMCA in front of the entire audience! He's the emcee at the Hawaii Regional now, and every year I make it a mission to go and have a chat with him at lunch, and the best thing is, he still remembers me from that one moment. That was a great moment for me, and what helped greatly in solidifying my love for FRC. FIRST Forever!

(BTW, if Mark's the emcee at your local regional, if you can get him while he's not busy, ask him about a guy named Todd from Hawaii. He'll most likely remember me )

[Whippet]

My first FIRST event was the 2011 Dallas regional. I was in 7th grade at the time, but I was already one of the more active members of my team. Since we had to send in team representatives for the practice members, and everyone else was working on the robot in the pit, I got to be the "driver" for half of our practice matches. Even with no robot, the energy was incredible. I got to meet several volunteers like that, and they were all very excited to see that there were some young(er) people on the teams. In the end, I never actually drove the robot, but the experience of being out on the field in front of all the other teams, watching the first tube placed at the event, and seeing all of the amazing creations of the other teams really sealed the deal for me. Although I am no longer with the team I was with that year, I have remained in FIRST, and I have now begun my freshman year with more experience than any of the people on my current team. I definitely have no plans of leaving FIRST now. I am hooked.

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by 2348humanplayer

Ha! I got on of the best stories for my first regional!

Out here in Hawaii, we didn't have a regional. However, a couple of schools found interest in the competitions, and wanted to start some teams. Thus, my dad became the lead engineering mentor for team 359, the Hawaiian Kids in 2000. I went probably 2-3 times a week to go and watch them....and play with the balls. After build season, I went with my parents and sister with the team to San Jose to watch them compete in the Silicon Valley Regional. They did.....pretty bad, with a robot that basically put all their weight high in the air, resulting in much toppling over. But, the biggest thrill for me was that during lunch on Saturday, my dad took my sister and I to the pits to look at robots. Halfway through looking, he brought us to meet the emcee I now admire and love, Mark Leon. He took us on the field, and the three of us danced the YMCA in front of the entire audience! He's the emcee at the Hawaii Regional now, and every year I make it a mission to go and have a chat with him at lunch, and the best thing is, he still remembers me from that one moment. That was a great moment for me, and what helped greatly in solidifying my love for FRC. FIRST Forever!

(BTW, if Mark's the emcee at your local regional, if you can get him while he's not busy, ask him about a guy named Todd from Hawaii. He'll most likely remember me )

Sorry Todd, but Mark wont be there.
He will be at SVR during week 6.
Instead we have our former student and current Miss Hawaii USA Brianna Acosta as the MC and Jenny Yang from team 604 as her backup.
I tried to get Karthik and managed to get our Hawaii ROC to pay for his expenses.......however, he plans to be at the inaugural Calgary regional that week as well.
Karthik, there is always next year!

[midway78224]

My FIRST Competition was in '04. In was the only texas regional at the time. The Lone Star Regional in houston texas. That yr. start off bad. We only had a running platform that was very strong. We can push like two goals and two robots all at once. We had a simple dead wrecking auto that work well. We were not fast at all and was a second round pick by 57 and 364. We ended up going 6-0 in playoffs and taking home the gold. I was apart of 457 that yr. It was a hard but rewarding season that ill never forget. My FIRST yr. and My FIRST medal. So many memorys since then and i would not take any back.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by waialua359

Sorry Todd, but Mark wont be there.
He will be at SVR during week 6.
Instead we have our former student and current Miss Hawaii USA Brianna Acosta as the MC and Jenny Yang from team 604 as her backup.
I tried to get Karthik and managed to get our Hawaii ROC to pay for his expenses.......however, he plans to be at the inaugural Calgary regional that week as well.
Karthik, there is always next year!

Glenn,

As long as there are no conflicts next year, I plan on being there!

[MysterE]

My first FIRST competition was the Bayou Regional of 2011. Let me quickly build up to it. In 2011 I was hired as a second year Language Arts middle school teacher to teach High School level Social Studies. When the hiring principal found out that I was pretty good with computers, he said the most fateful words I had heard since "It's a girl." "You can help with our robotics team"

He did not know, then, that the old teacher was not going to be running the team for a second year. I became a robotics coach. Of a FRC team. After almost not raising the funds to compete, learning what build season meant, working harder than I ever had in my life... I was going to quit.

It was just too hard. And then we won the regional. And then we raised 25k in three weeks to go to World Championship. And then I met freakin Morgan Freeman.

Yeah... That was my first time with FIRST.

And now... Well. . . Who needs sleep, relaxation, sanity, family, gaming time, grading time . . . I'm designing robots here darn it. I'll be normal later.

[nicholsjj]

I got to shake hands with Dean Kamen. Nuff said.

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by Karthik

Glenn,

As long as there are no conflicts next year, I plan on being there!

Sounds good. I hope it works out.
Imagine both you and Mark here!

[tsaksa]

My first competition was just this last year, Rebound Rumble in Portland Oregon. I had seen a small off-season event before that, but Portland was my first, and so far my only real event. I am told that Portland lacks the energy of some of the larger events, but I find that hard to believe. That place was rocking. I did not see anyone that was not caught up in the excitement and who did not return changed in some way for the better.

[MDAWG25]

Pittsburgh 2011, LogoMotion!