Question: What was the first FIRST competition you attended?

[DevilChild]

My first FIRST competition was this year... Wow, it's only been a year. Technically, my first competition was an local off-season called Duel on the Delaware, but that one didn't go very well. There were very few senior members to show us the ropes, so us freshmen just kind of sat around and didn't understand what all the weird pyramids were for. So I will tell you about my second competition, and first true FIRST experience. It was Ramp Riot, another off-season competition. This time, I understood what was going on with the games. Not only that, but there were more members up in the stands that... forcefully... convinced us that cheering was a good thing. At least, they convinced me and some of my friends. Where before there was boredom and lack of understanding, suddenly I saw why competitions would be fun. Not to sound corny or anything, but it brought a side out of me that I used to never show people in public. I danced, cheered, screamed, and had a blast. I could barely talk afterwards, and I was very sore from all the dancing, but I had made some great friends and helped win us the Spirit Award. Ever since, the fire has been lit, and I've loved FIRST and all it stands for.

[anna~marie]

Great Lakes Regional in 1999 (I think... either that or 1998)
It was pretty awesome... still remember it... still have buttons from back then

wOOt for old threads!

[Donut]

The first competition I ever saw was the Arizona Regional in 2003. Our family was good friends with the family of one of the members, and he had been telling me about it and getting me all excited about it, so we came down to see him. I only came for part of Saturday though, so while I finally I got to see these big robots and all these crazy dancing people wearing costumes (I distinctly remember team Cryptonite and 64's Gila Dance there), it didn't prepare me at all for what attending a full regional would be like next year.

2004's Regional was my first true experience since I was there the whole time. We managed to make it to the finals and lose in two to 330's alliance, but we got Sportsmanship, an invitation to Nats, and an award from team 60 (who we all looked up to), so I just loved the whole thing. Ever since coming that close I've wanted to push our robots further and shoot for more.

FIRST competitions are just amazing. I can see why some people would be lost to alot of what is going on if they only come for part of one day, but I honestly think you'd have to walk around with a blindfold and earplugs to be there for a whole competition and not get hooked.

[Pat McCarthy]

My first was the 2003 Great Lakes Regional. It was pretty awesome to have my team win the first competition I ever attended. My only experience before that was of OCCRA competitions the previous fall (2002). No comparison.

[JaneYoung]

My first competition experience with FIRST was the Lone Star Regional in Houston. I'd like to back up to the Kick Off. We traveled to Houston to watch it along with other teams from the surrounding area. The travel with the team was great and the Kick Off was inspiring. I wondered what we were about to do. Then build, then competition. The whole process was one eye opening experience after another. At LSR I loved everything from the teams' spirit to the competition itself. But, my heart was in the pits. I loved the pit area. It was so awe inspiring and fun watching the teams work together on the robots and also how they worked with each other. I loved the volunteers and the staff and their enthusiasm and support. And I could dance in the stands like nobody was watching - because they weren't, they were all dancing too! That was the year I went through the stands with pen and paper and wrote down everyone's email address and information and we formed the Parents' Association to help support the team. We've never looked back since - only forward. It's the hardest fun we've ever had.

[Lisa Perez]

Mine was Buckeye 2003 or GLR 2003, I can't really remember which came first. Feels like so long ago...

It was an eye-opening experience, seeing all the spirit and work involved with the competition. Although I can't remember so much about the actual competition. As a rookie, I was *completely* thrilled to be on the pit team, so I hardly left our 10x10 square...

[Gabe]

I went to the 2004 competition in San Jose. At the time I wasn't aware that that this competition was as large. All I could think of was, "That's really cool." I hadn't ever heard of FIRST. It wasn't until two year later when I joined my high school team that I realized what I had seen, and this made it all the more exciting.

[Alexa Stott]

My first official FIRST competition was the New Jersey Regional this year. It was such an amazing experience, and I met some cool people and had tons of fun. My first unofficial FIRST competition, however, was Duel on the Delaware in 2005. I'm so glad that I attended off seasons, because it helped me to get used to the way an event works and the way everything is run, from our pit schedule to alliance pairings. Also, since we don't do much scouting at off-seasons, some of the veteran members were able to take some time to explain everything that was going on, as opposed to an actual competition where everyone is super busy with their list of things to do.

[Freddy Schurr]

My first robotics competition was the Philadelphia Regional back in 2004.

[dubious elise]

My first was the Saint Louis Regional in 2004. We weren't sure how our robot would run, since we cut off a huge portion of it just a few days before ship (wow, that seems to be a recurring theme with our team...). We ran great and made it into the finals on the 8th seeded alliance but lost in our first round. I spent a lot of time following Ricky around, scouting (both in the stands and in the pits), and trading pins. I also remember being the only girl from our team to be able to come to that regional (we did have two female mentors with us, Mrs. and Paula Vertz, however).

[Ricky Q.]

Wow, I can't believe that I haven't replied to this thread yet.

My first FIRST competition was the Midwest Regional in 2002. It was still held on Northwestern's campus back then, and had around 50-55 teams. Our team had made several drive changes around and had a nervous rookie driver (see: Myself).

We ended up going out there and having a great time. The robot was one of the quickest ball collector's out there and matched up with the best of them. We managed to seed 3rd and got eliminated in 3 matches in the semi-finals by that dang 2002 Team #71 BEAST machine. But it was a blast.

Some of my greatest memories come from that first competition: Winning the Xerox Creativity Award. Teaming up with WildStang in a qual match and winning 48-47, scoring 111 qualification points for them. Beating TechnoKats in my first showdown with them as almighty Andy Baker was field coach and Austin Butler was driving. And perhaps the best FIRST match of my career, giving up all 3 goals to the 71 alliance in our first semi-match but pulling 2 of the goals and their partner robot back into our home zone with :19 left to win the match.

I also got to see firsthand what FIRST was all about, I met some of my first FIRST friends there and most importantly, I was hooked. I had no idea what it would be like going into the competition, none the less being a rookie driver. It was amazing.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

My first competition experience with FIRST was the Lone Star Regional in Houston. I'd like to back up to the Kick Off. We traveled to Houston to watch it along with other teams from the surrounding area. The travel with the team was great and the Kick Off was inspiring. I wondered what we were about to do. Then build, then competition. The whole process was one eye opening experience after another. At LSR I loved everything from the teams' spirit to the competition itself. But, my heart was in the pits. I loved the pit area. It was so awe inspiring and fun watching the teams work together on the robots and also how they worked with each other. I loved the volunteers and the staff and their enthusiasm and support. And I could dance in the stands like nobody was watching - because they weren't, they were all dancing too! That was the year I went through the stands with pen and paper and wrote down everyone's email address and information and we formed the Parents' Association to help support the team. We've never looked back since - only forward. It's the hardest fun we've ever had.

I've been thinking about this thread since it's been 'resurrected'. I knew I had made a post and searched for it to see if it had said everything I was thinking at the time. It did. But... now, I'm thinking about another aspect of that first experience that I respected but didn't fully understand at the the time. The importance of volunteering at the competition event.

I didn't understand that the majority of the people wearing the volunteer shirts came from teams like mine and from interested members of the community. I thought they magically appeared for a few days to help celebrate the event. Around 2006, I decided to begin volunteering for events and one of the first ones was the Florida Regional. It was because 1902's Wendy Austin invited me to come to the regional and I realized that I could also volunteer while I was there. That opened the door to the wonderful world of volunteering to me. From there, I realized that I could volunteer at off-seasons and that I could volunteer at my home regional, too. From there, I realized that I could volunteer for FTC and FLL events, too. Somewhere in there, I realized that I could volunteer at the Championship event. It was when I was fully involved in discovering the opportunities that volunteering at FIRST events and off-seasons provide - that I really felt like I was helping to strengthen the program and to understand a bigger part of the picture.

The program is continuing to grow and competition events are springing up around us, in need of volunteers. Without the volunteers, the events can't happen. Without the events, the teams can't reach their potential. Without teams reaching potential, regions struggle.

This is where I am in my thinking 10 years after attending my first FIRST event. I celebrate that experience and I celebrate it in the way I expressed in my first post in this thread. But.. I've grown in the time since this thread was initially created and since 2006. I blame it all on Wendy Austin.

Jane