Western Edge 2026: Four Days of Innovation, Collaboration, and Inspiration

There are robotics competitions, and then there are events that become experiences. Western Edge 2026, held May 28-31 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California, was the latter.

For four unforgettable days, students, coaches, mentors, volunteers, and families from around the world gathered to celebrate engineering, creativity, and the values that make the FIRST community so unique.

A Global Celebration of FIRST

Western Edge Invitational continued its tradition as one of the largest international FIRST invitationals, welcoming:

• 90 FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams
• 40 FIRST LEGO League Explore teams
• 88 FIRST Tech Challenge Premier teams

The venue buzzed with excitement as teams from different countries and cultures shared ideas, traded pins and gifts, solved problems together, and formed friendships that stretched far beyond the competition fields.

FIRST LEGO League Challenge

Challenge teams demonstrated months of dedication through Robot Game matches, Innovation Project presentations, and Core Values judging. Every match showcased countless hours of programming, engineering, testing, and teamwork.

One of Western Edge’s signature experiences returned once again: the On the Spot Challenge. Mixed alliances of teams were presented with a brand-new challenge and given only a short amount of time to design, build, program, and compete. The activity encouraged quick thinking, collaboration, and creative problem solving while bringing together students who had only just met.

FIRST LEGO League Explore

The youngest participants proved that innovation has no age limit. Explore teams proudly presented their models and programming while explaining the ideas behind their season’s work.

Western Edge also offered Explore participants interactive activities and opportunities to experience robotics in exciting new ways, helping build confidence while creating memories that will inspire many of these students to continue their FIRST journey.

FIRST Tech Challenge Premier Competition

Alongside the FIRST LEGO League events, 88 FIRST Tech Challenge teams competed in the Premier Event across two divisions. Qualification matches, alliance selections, elimination rounds, judging sessions, and awards highlighted the incredible technical skills and teamwork demonstrated by students throughout the weekend.

Having FTC and FLL together under one roof created a unique opportunity for younger students to see what their future in FIRST could look like while older students inspired the next generation of engineers.

More Than a Competition

While the robots certainly captured attention, Western Edge has always been about much more than scores and rankings.

Throughout the weekend, participants enjoyed activities that encouraged interaction and celebration, including themed dress days, cultural exchanges, team trading, a Friday night dance party, and the popular “I Spy Saturday” challenge. Practice areas remained active well into the evenings as teams refined programs, shared ideas, and helped one another prepare for competition.

Every hallway became an opportunity to meet someone new, learn about another country’s robotics program, or exchange stories about the season.

Volunteers Make the Difference

Events like Western Edge are only possible because of the dedication of hundreds of volunteers. Judges, referees, inspectors, queuers, scorekeepers, field resetters, pit administrators, registration staff, and countless others worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure every team had an exceptional experience.

Their commitment exemplified the spirit of FIRST by creating an environment where students could focus on learning, competing, and growing.

A Weekend That Inspires

As the final awards were presented and teams packed up their robots, Western Edge 2026 concluded with far more than medals and trophies. Students returned home with new friendships, fresh ideas, greater confidence, and a renewed passion for science, technology, engineering, and teamwork.

Western Edge continues to demonstrate that FIRST is about much more than building robots. It is about building future innovators, leaders, and compassionate problem solvers who will shape the world together.

For everyone who attended, volunteered, coached, or supported a team, Western Edge 2026 was another reminder that the greatest achievements are not measured solely by points on a scoreboard, but by the connections made, the lessons learned, and the inspiration carried home.

On January 18, 2026, Capistrano Valley High School proudly hosted the Southern California FIRST LEGO League Championship, bringing together some of the region’s strongest and most dedicated young robotics teams for an exciting and demanding day of competition.

The championship welcomed 47 FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams and 40 FIRST LEGO League Explore teams, representing communities from across Southern California. From early morning robot check-ins to the final awards ceremony, the campus was filled with energy, teamwork, and a shared passion for learning through STEM.

This year’s championship proved to be a particularly tough competition, with teams demonstrating an exceptionally high level of preparation across all areas of the program. Challenge teams faced intense match play on the Robot Game fields while also navigating in-depth judging sessions that evaluated their Core Values, Innovation Project, Robot Design, and overall teamwork. Scores were close throughout the day, and judges noted how difficult it was to distinguish among many standout teams.

At the conclusion of the event, awards were presented to teams that exemplified excellence across multiple categories, including Champion’s Awards, Core Values, Innovation Project, Robot Design, Engineering Excellence, Breakthrough, Rising All-Star, and Motivation. In addition, a select group of Challenge teams earned advancement opportunities, recognizing their outstanding performance across both competition and judging.

The Explore teams brought creativity and enthusiasm to the event, proudly sharing their models and posters while engaging judges and volunteers with thoughtful explanations of their work. Their excitement and confidence reflected the strong mentorship and preparation behind each team.

The Central California Championship for FIRST LEGO League Challenge took place on December 6th in Clovis.

36 FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams advanced from 3 qualifying tournaments to compete at the Central California Championship.  “Indiana Jones” was the emcee for all of the festivities.  On display were retired (and current) LEGO Education robot sets, an older LEGO trophy, and a prior FIRST LEGO League table throw to celebrate the FIRST AGE season.  Teams enjoyed a gym-wide dance party while awaiting the awards ceremony.

The following 3 teams earned those spots:

• 1st Place Champions: Team 59873 – Tech Monkeys (Carden School of Fresno, Fresno) – advancing to the World Festival
• 2nd Place Champions: Team 61079 – Orcabotics (Cedarwood Elementary, Clovis) – advancing to WAFFLE
• 3rd Place Champions: Team 61869 – Fugman Code Ninjas (Fugman Elementary, Fresno)

13 FIRST LEGO League Explore teams were also able to participate in the Central California Championship Festival, while enjoying games and activities.

From May 30 to June 1, 2025, the Long Beach Convention Center became an ocean of innovation as the Western Edge FIRST LEGO League Open made a splash with its biggest event yet!

With 95 teams from 20 countries and 28 U.S. states, the event overflowed with energy, excitement, and incredible moments. Over three jam-packed days, participants navigated challenges, built friendships, and showed the world that when we come together, we rise…just like the tide.

Whether competing in robot missions, forming new alliances, or rocking brick-built LEGO shades, these young minds didn’t just ride the wave, they helped create it!

Moments That Made Waves

LEGO Shades Take Over Saturday
The future’s so bright, these teams had to build shades! Day 2 saw teams styling custom LEGO glasses.

Minifig Trading & Team Bonding
Minifigs were traded and lifelong friendships were formed over shared passions for STEM, LEGO, and global collaboration.

Saturday Night Glow Party
On Saturday night, the lights went down and the energy lit up at the Glow Party, where kids, parents, and coaches hit the dance floor, let loose, and celebrated the spirit of FIRST with non-stop moves.

Dance Floor Magic
The Closing Ceremonies on Sunday brought more than just awards . . . it brought vibes. With music, dancing and an unbelievably long conga line, the energy in the room was incredible.

On-the-Spot Challenge: Gates to Atlantis 

This year’s On-the-Spot Challenge pushed teams to the limit in the best way possible. After the main rounds wrapped up, a unique, brand-new game was revealed: Gates to Atlantis. 

Randomly grouped into alliances of three, teams had just one evening to collaborate, brainstorm, build, and program robots to take on the mysterious underwater mission. It was a true test of gracious professionalism, adaptability, and teamwork.

FIRST LEGO League Explore Game

Back for another year, California Southern FIRST LEGO League’s Explore game brought younger teams into the fun on their own Explore Stage!

Using the mat from their field setup kits, teams raced to complete 15 push/pull missions in just 2 minutes all while learning, laughing, and celebrating what it means to explore and engineer. 

A Steady Anchor in the FIRST Community

For their extraordinary commitment to education, innovation, and the FIRST community, the 2025 Founders Award was presented to the Gene Haas Foundation.

Congratulations Are in Order!

A massive round of applause to HFG Robos from Germany for earning the Champion’s Award and to every single team that competed with heart, curiosity, and creativity.

Making it to the Western Edge Open is no small feat, and each of you made this event one to remember.

The Central California Championship for FIRST LEGO League Challenge took place on December 8th in Clovis.

30 teams advanced from qualifiers to compete for a spot at the World Festival and 3 Open Invitationals.

The following 4 teams earned those spots:

• 1st Place Champion’s Award: Team #59873 The Tech Monkeys (Carden School of Fresno, Fresno) – advancing to the World Festival
• 2nd Place Champion’s Award: Team #61079 Orcabotics (Cedarwood Elementary, Fresno)
• 3rd Place Champion’s Award: Team # 65647 L.E.G.O. Wolves (Wonderful College Prep Academy, Delano)
• 1st Place Core Values: Team #63661 The Stripes (Castle Rock Elementary, Woodlake)

Also held on December 8th alongside the championship was the Central California Festival for FIRST LEGO League Explore. 17 teams from around the valley shared what they have learned in the SUBMERGED season!

From May 31 to June 2, 2024, the Long Beach Convention Center experienced a whirlwind of innovation, teamwork, and pure awesomeness at the Western Edge Open FIRST LEGO League competition.

It was truly a masterpiece! 750 brilliant young minds from 20 different countries, 85 teams bringing their A-game, and 130 superstar volunteers making it all happen. The energy? Absolutely off the charts.

For three action-packed days, students showcased their skills, proving that the future of STEM is brighter than ever. This wasn’t just any competition – it was a celebration of creativity, problem-solving, and FUN with a capital F!

Highlights That’ll Make You Wish You Were There

• Dance Party Extravaganza: Our first day ended with a high-energy dance party that had everyone grooving. Even the robots were jealous!
• Minifig Trading Friday: Teams swapped their prized LEGO Minifigs and new friendships were forged over shared love for tiny, colorful, plastic personas.
• I Spy Saturday: The future is so bright, participants had to build their own LEGO shades on day two.

From epic robots to brilliant teamwork, every moment at the Western Edge Open proved that when young innovators come together, magic happens. The air was electric with ideas, the arena was buzzing with excitement, and the future of STEM? Well, it’s in pretty amazing hands!

On-the-Spot Challenge: Alliances in Action!

Think you’ve seen teamwork? Think again! After the regular competition came to an end, our ingenious competitors faced the ultimate test in the “On-the-Spot” challenge. Teams were paired up with two surprise alliance partners and had to reprogram their robots on the fly for a brand-new challenge. Talk about thinking on your feet!

 FIRST LEGO League Explore Game

California Southern FIRST LEGO League has piloted an FLL Explore game for the past 3 years and decided to bring it to WE. Using the mat they received in their field set up box, teams were given a Western Edge specific game where they would try to complete 15 simple push/pull missions in 2 minutes.

 A Round of Applause for Our Unsung Heroes

None of this would have been possible without the incredible dedication of our volunteers, mentors, and parents. These unsung heroes worked tirelessly behind (and in front of!) the scenes, from early mornings to late nights, ensuring every aspect of  Western Edge Open ran smoothly. To the volunteers who kept the competition humming, the mentors who nurtured young minds, and the parents who provided unwavering support – we salute you! Your passion and commitment are the foundation upon which these young innovators build their dreams.

Who knows? The next world-changing idea might have just been born between a couple of LEGO bricks in Long Beach!

Congratulations Are In Order

Let’s take a moment to recognize all the incredible teams who made it to the Western Edge Open. Earning a spot here is a huge accomplishment in itself. Bravo to each and every participant!

You can find a full list of results here.