The FIRST Robotics Competition San Francisco District Event, held March 13–15, 2026, at St. Ignatius College Preparatory, brought together 40 high school teams and 1,200+ students for a thrilling weekend of FIRST® AGE™ REBUILT™ competition in the heart of San Francisco.
Beyond the competition, this year’s event was a standout for the creativity and community spirit on display throughout the weekend:
- Emcee Training in Action: Blair from FIRST HQ served as our emcee and used the event as a hands-on training opportunity for several new emcees and game announcers. It was an incredible investment in the future of FIRST California events and the crowd energy showed it!
- Loan a Photographer Program: FIRST California piloted a brand-new “Loan a Photographer” initiative at San Francisco, and it was a hit. Teams that didn’t have media students of their own were paired with photographers, giving them access to professional-quality photos and video, many for the first time. Expect to see this program grow!
- Gracious Professionalism® in Action – The BREAD Trash Contest: FRC Team 5940, BREAD, brought some extra spirit to the weekend by hosting a Trash Contest, challenging everyone to see who could pick up the most trash at the end of the day. Winners took home exclusive Team 5940 SWAG. It was a perfect example of FIRST‘s spirit of Gracious Professionalism® in action: competing hard and taking care of the community around you.
Congratulations to the teams and individuals who earned top honors at the San Francisco District Event!
- Impact Award Winner: Team 8033 – Highlander Robotics
- Winning Alliance: Team 1323 – MadTown Robotics, Team 5940 – BREAD, Team 253 – Boba Bots
- Leadership Award Semi-Finalists: Yu-Faye Y with CardinalBotics and Reet B with Aragon Robotics Team
- Engineering Inspiration: Team 649 – MSET Fish
- Full Awards List: See all awards here
From the competition floor to the pit area, the San Francisco District Event reminded us why FIRST is more than just robotics. A huge thank you to all teams, mentors, volunteers, sponsors, and the incredible team at St. Ignatius for making this event a success!
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, #REBUILT and #FIRSTAGE.