Lisa Bass
Contributing writer
FIRST is an organization that aims For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.
A FIRST Lego League Tournament like the one above will be held at Blacksburg Middle School Saturday, Nov. 10. It is the first of four robotics tournaments to be held in the area over the next several months.
Its mission is to show students of every age that science, technology and problem solving are not only fun and rewarding, but are proven paths to successful careers and a bright future for us all.
Montgomery County will be the first locality in southwest Virginia to offer FIRST robotics competition exploring the theme of space across all four FIRST programs, covering K-12 grade levels, in the upcoming 2018-2019 season.
Over 2500 students ranging in age from 5 to 18 years old along with nearly 1000 adult mentors and family members will be visiting the heart of the Virginia’s designated Technology Corridor during three multi-level tournaments.
The New River Robotics Association along with Montgomery County Public Schools and the Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council are dedicated to bringing more STEM opportunities to our communities.
Tournament hosts FTC Team 4924 Tuxedo Pandas and FRC Team 401 Copperhead Robotics are working together to highlight these events and request community support.
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) will hold its fourth regional tournament at Blacksburg Middle School on Saturday, Nov. 10. Youth ages 9-14 years old will prepare for blast off, break out of earthly constraints and go INTO ORBIT.
FLL teams will build robots that complete missions of transporting into and exploring space. The table-top sized competition will offer many examples of the physical and social challenges that humans face when exploring space.
Inaugural to this area, a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) level competition will convene at Christiansburg Middle School on Friday, Dec. 7 and Saturday, Dec. 8. FTC teams of youth in grades 6-12 are challenged to design, build, program and operate 42-pound robots to compete in head-to-head challenges in an alliance format.
FTC robots must be ready to explore uncharted planets in this out-of-this-world space themed game called ROVER RUCKUS.
Returning for a third year, FIRST Robotics Challenge (FRC) will combine the excitement of sports with the rigors of science and technology at Blacksburg High School from Thursday, March 28 to Sunday, March 31, 2019.
High school teams will design, build and program industrial-sized robots to play a difficult field game of DEEP SPACE tests against and with like-minded competitors.
During the FTC and FRC competitions, expos will be organized for FIRST LEGO League Junior (FLLJr) teams. FLLJr students ages 6-10 years will design and build a MOON BASE that solves one or more problems faced with living on the moon.
Tournament organizers would very much appreciate support of this program by individuals, businesses and organizations in and around Montgomery County.
Volunteers are needed for a variety of fun tournament jobs to “fuel the mission” of this year’s space theme.
Roles include referees, judges, robot inspectors, practice field monitors, playing field resetters, queuers, scorekeepers and much more. Event t-shirts and meals provided.
Local businesses can include several employees as tournament volunteers, showing the youth that there are technology-based careers in this region.
Assistance in promoting this event to customers and staff will allow them to see first-hand the great things happening in our schools and region.
The youth involved in these robotics competitions will be our region’s future college students, homeowners and employees.
If a business can help offset tournaments costs, promotional advertising through our website, the tournament itself, and team information emails is available.
The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and the Regional Tourism Office have been instrumental in helping gain the support of local lodging and dining facilities to welcome these FIRST teams and volunteers for multi-level “ultimate sports of the mind.”
Numerous elected members of Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Montgomery County governments have expressed delight at having all four levels of FIRST here to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology.
For more information on the events or ways to participate, please contact New River Robotics Association at 540-392-2626 or email nrrobotics@gmail.com.
