The Silicon Valley Regional, held March 13-16, 2025, brought together 37 incredible teams—36 from across California and one all the way from Hawaii—for a weekend full of energy, innovation, and inspiring moments at a brand-new venue: Woodside High School.

Here are just a few highlights from this exciting event:

•  Women in STEM Event: Four amazing engineers from Tesla joined us to share their journeys in STEM and connect with around 40 young women. They even surprised attendees with cupcakes!
• Mentor Lunch: Nearly 80 mentors came together to network, exchange ideas, and celebrate their impact on the next generation of innovators.
• PG&E engaged with students throughout the event, offering great conversations, career insights, and swag.
• Johnson & Johnson wowed attendees with live demos of the Monarch surgical robot, showcasing cutting-edge technology all weekend long.
• Analyst Desk: Live commentary and match analysis kept the audience engaged and informed throughout the event.
• Trivia during breaks kept the fun going between matches.

From inspiring outreach to world-class competition, the Silicon Valley Regional was a true celebration of the spirit of FIRST. Huge thanks to our teams, volunteers, mentors, and sponsors for making it all happen!

Feel free to download and share any of these photos.  You can tag FIRST California at @firstroboticscalifornia on Instagram  and use hashtags #FIRSTinCA, #morethanrobots, #omgrobots, #REEFSCAPE and #FIRSTDIVE.

LIST OF TEAMS ADVANCING TO CHAMPIONSHIPS IN HOUSTON!!!

The following teams and individuals earned top honors at the San Diego Regional and earned their way to compete at the FIRST Championships in Houston, April 16-19, 2025.

FIRST Impact Award

The FIRST Impact Award is the most prestigious award at FIRST, it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.

The FIRST Impact Award is presented to the team judged to have the most significant measurable impact of its partnerships among its participants and community over a sustained period, not just a single build season. The winner is able to demonstrate progress towards FIRST’s mission of transforming our culture. The recipient team will be invited to a FIRST Championship where it will compete for the FIRST Impact Award against winners from other qualifying events.

This team empowers girls and other underrepresented groups through workshops, summer camps, and robot demos, showing them what’s possible and paving their way to join the FRC community. Their work to expand STEM curriculum at their school has opened opportunities for every student and including both AP classes and industry certifications as educational options ensures that their graduates are fully equipped for college, trade school, or the workforce. Perhaps it is fitting that this team works out of a woodshop, since their impact is TREE-mendous and they are nailing it! Keep striving for the summit and mahalo for your impact on your community. 

• Team 3880 – Tiki Techs from Hawaii

Engineering Inspiration

The Engineering Inspiration Award celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school or organization, and community. Inspiring others to respect science and technology requires passion, knowledge and commitment, and we recognize these qualities through this award. This team will advance to the Championships.

This team has been ROARING with creativity shaping future STEM leaders for over two decades. They’ve CLAWED their way through challenges and shown younger CUBS the BEAR necessities of robotics and engineering. They’ve left TRACKS across the FIRST community with an open-source scouting app that paws-itively benefits teams everywhere through crowd-sourced data. And speaking of rookies, their wildly successful rookie training competition has brought mechanical mayhem in the best possible way. Their enthusiasm and dedication are simply un-bear-able. Please join me in congratulating Team 766, the M-A Bears!

• Team 766, M-A Bears from Atherton, CA

Regional Winners Qualifying for Championship

• Team 1323, MadTown Robotics from Madera, CA
• Team 5940, BREAD from Redwood City, CA

The Dean’s List Finalist

In an effort to recognize the leadership and dedication of FIRST’s most outstanding FRC students, the Kamen family sponsors an award for selected top students known as the FIRST Dean’s List. This award celebrates a student’s outstanding leadership and effectiveness in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering and engineers, both within their school, as well as their community. FIRST Dean’s List Finalists will compete at the championship for the FIRST Dean’s List.

• Simon P, Team 581, Blazing Bulldogs
• Thunder F, Team 8048, East Palo Alto Churrobots

Woodie Flowers Finalist Award

FIRST stands apart from other competitions in STEM and sports due to the FIRST Ethos of Gracious Professionalism, the concept of Coopertition, and the commitment to the FIRST Core Values. The guiding force behind these principles was Dr. Woodie Flowers. Dr. William Murphy, Jr., who was instrumental in creating the concept of FIRST with Dean Kamen, recognized the unique perspective, wisdom, and communication style that Woodie brought to the FIRST Robotics Competition.

In honor of Woodie, Dr. Murphy founded the Woodie Flowers Award in 1996. He recognized that the FIRST ethos would be carried forward by our FIRST mentors and sought to celebrate those mentors who demonstrate the leadership, ethical behavior, and communication skills exemplified by Woodie. Woodie believed “societies get the best of what they celebrate”.

Being recognized by students, through nomination essays, makes this honor very meaningful to mentors. It is truly an honor for a mentor to be nominated for this award.

This mentor detests giving advice overtly and rather poses his advice in the form of questions, creating steppingstones that guide us to the best solutions for our problems. He fosters an environment of mutual respect, collaboration, and support. He always creates opportunities for learning. No matter how far into the season. He is a true mentor, always bringing adventure and seeking out ways to make a difference in the lives of those around him.

• Roy Dumlao, Team 2854,The Prototypes

Additional Awards

Congratulations to the Teams and individuals that earned the remaining awards at the Silicon Valley Regional! See the list here.