The FIRST Robotics Competition East Bay Regional, held April 3-6, 2025, closed out 6 weeks of Regionals with a high-energy, community-driven event that brought together 55 teams and 1600+ students from California, Hawaii, Turkiye, Brazil, and Australia.

Here are a few standout moments from the final weekend of regionals in the state:

• The Women in STEM meetup was one of the largest yet, with over 150 girls attending to hear from an inspiring panel of professionals representing Blue River Technologies, GM/Cruise, and KLA.

• The analyst desk kept the crowd engaged and informed with match insights and commentary throughout both qualifications and playoffs.

• Therapy dogs made a big impact on Saturday and Sunday, helping students and mentors unwind and reset during a packed competition weekend.

• East Bay capped off 6 weeks of incredible matches, innovation, and Gracious Professionalism across the state.

A huge thank you to all the teams, mentors, volunteers, and sponsors who made this event an unforgettable 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, #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.

Since Breaking down barriers is just the beginning of this team’s impact. Where others might be held back by disability, distance, or disadvantage, this team ensures that barriers to STEAM education are never obstacles that can’t be overcome. They don’t just teach the next generation — they reach every generation. From preschoolers to nursing home residents, this team is proving that no one is too young, too old, or too different to find a home in STEAM. Through international mentorship, online programs, and sending robots to the far corners of the world — even Antarctica — their classroom now spans every continent. This team isn’t just opening doors. They’re building entirely new ones — and making sure no one is left behind when they swing open.

• Team 5985, Project Bucephalus from Wollongong, Australia

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.

The door’s always open at this large and enthusiastic team, which has created a robust pipeline starting with their strong presence at local community events, summer LEGO camps and numerous FLL teams. Judges were particularly impressed by their continuous reflections and the use of survey data to assess their outreach effectiveness and identify areas for expansion such as securing a $12,000 grant to fund FLL teams in underserved communities. Over the past two years, they have even hosted an Engineering Expo at their school by recruiting their state senator to publicize the event, drawing over 1,500 attendees.

•  Team 589, Falcon Robotics from La Crescenta, CA

Regional Winners Qualifying for Championship

• Team 254, The Cheesy Poofs from San Jose, CA
• Team 4270, Crusaders from Honolulu, HI

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.

• Akshara P, Team 766, M-A Bears
• Havvanur D, Team 10246, INFINITECH

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.

As an educator, this mentor goes beyond explanation to reach understanding for ALL her students – a remarkable achievement. Excelling as a teacher of foundational STEAM skills, she inspires growth. Her enthusiasm moves her students. Getting her hands dirty, this mentor inspires careers.This mentor co-founded a robotics course providing industry skills to year 10 students. Hands-on, she teaches problem-solving, design, machining, strategy and safety. Through communication, this mentor inspires unity, blending Creativity and Technology, this mentor inspires Art. As a Teacher, this mentor challenges assumptions. As an Advocate, she inspires change. As a Leader, she ignites creativity. With this mentor, STEM truly becomes STEAM. An Artist. An Engineer. A Pioneer.

• Faith Clark, Team 5985, Project Bucephalus

Additional Awards

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