FIRST Robotics Competition – San Diego District Event, 2026

FIRST Robotics Competition – San Diego District Event, 2026

The FIRST Robotics Competition San Diego District Event, presented by Qualcomm, held March 20–22, 2026, at Francis Parker High School, brought together 40 high school teams and 1,200+ students for an electrifying weekend of FIRST® AGE™ REBUILT™ competition and a milestone worth celebrating: 20 years of FRC events in San Diego!

From the moment teams arrived, the energy was unmatched. Gracious Professionalism® was on full display, with teams supporting one another every step of the way — in the pits, on the field, and everywhere in between.

The opening ceremony set an inspiring tone for the weekend, with a warm welcome from Dr. Kevin Yaley, Head of School at Francis Parker, and inspiring remarks from Rashmi Tripathi, Director of Engineering at Qualcomm. It was a fitting nod to the event’s longtime title sponsor and a champion of STEM in San Diego.

The weekend was packed with standout moments beyond the competition field:

  • Women in STEM Day & STEAM Robotics Observance Day: March 21 was officially declared Women in STEM Day and STEAM Robotics Observance Day in San Diego and STEAM Robotics Day in California thanks to the support of Joel Anderson and Carl DeMaio. A powerful recognition of the work happening in the FIRST community every day.
  • #FIRSTLikeAGirl Meetup: Students gathered to connect, celebrate, and lift each other up in a dedicated meetup that embodied the spirit of inclusion and empowerment at the heart of FIRST.
  • NIWC Pacific Career Conversations: Students had the opportunity to connect with professionals from NIWC Pacific to explore internship opportunities and real-world STEM career pathways.
  • Game Piece Museum: In honor of 20 years of FRC events in San Diego, a special Game Piece Museum gave attendees a chance to look back at two decades of innovation, competition, and community.

Congratulations to the teams and individuals who earned top honors at the San Diego District Event!

  • Impact Award Winner: Team 8119 – TigerBotics
  • Winning Alliance: Team 3128 – Aluminum Narwhals, Team 2102 – Team Paradox, Team 2658 -Σ-Motion
  • Leadership Award Semi-Finalists: Ashlyn D with Team Spyder Team 1622, Matthew H with NOMAD Team 6995
  • Engineering Inspiration: Team 2485 – Overclocked
  • Full Awards List: 2026 Awards

A huge thank you to the 100+ volunteers and dedicated mentors who powered this event, and to the Francis Parker crew and Overclocked for helping welcome everyone into a new venue and making it feel like home from day one.

This is what FIRST is all about.

Thank you Ken Woo for these wonderful photos!

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.

FIRST Robotics Competition – San Diego Regional

FIRST Robotics Competition – San Diego Regional

The FIRST Robotics Competition San Diego Regional presented by Qualcomm, held March 20-23, 2025, featured 51 teams and 1,500+ students from California with one team coming all the way from Chinese Taipei.

It was a celebration of innovation, recognition, and community highlighting not only the talent of our teams but also the incredible support behind them. Here’s a look at some of the standout moments from this milestone event:

  • Official Recognition: We were honored with multiple state and county proclamations, including the declaration of Women in STEM Day and STEAM Robotics Day from California Assemblymember Carl DeMaio and Supervisor Joel Anderson’s office, plus a state certificate of recognition from California Assemblymember Darshana Patel.
  • Qualcomm Innovation Grant: A $10,000 innovation grant from Qualcomm was awarded to three standout teams – The Holy Cows, SuperNURDs, and Overclocked.
  • Alumni Event: FIRST alumni enjoyed bingo, cookies, and inspiring talks from professionals at Qualcomm and NAVWAR/NIWC, fostering connections and career insights.
  • Women in STEM “Table Talk”: Eleven accomplished STEM professionals joined us to share their journeys, advice, and inspiration in a dynamic roundtable setting.
  • Mentor Breakfast: A special moment to celebrate and support the mentors who guide and uplift their teams every step of the way.
  • Double Honors for Ryan Griggs: Mentor of Team 2485 Overclocked, Ryan Griggs, received both the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award and was named Volunteer of the Year – a true embodiment of generosity, leadership and dedication.
  • Qualcomm + FIRST Trivia Fun: Throughout the weekend, the audience stayed engaged with fun Qualcomm and FIRST trivia – and one lucky student even won a pair of Ray-Ban Meta glassses!

Thank you to everyone who made the San Diego Regional such a meaningful and memorable event. Here’s to 19 years of impact!

Thank you Ken Woo for these incredible photos! 

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.

To help bring STEM to more students, this team developed a new curriculum to meet their school time constraints. They focused on lowering the barrier to entry by teaching core robotics principles with a simplified bot. They expanded their tools and teachings to other school districts across grades K-12. Over a few short years, they’ve proactively started multiple FLL & FTC teams, and shared technical and financial know-how with fellow FRC competitors. Their name may be a game, but they make a serious impact.

  • Team 8020, CyberpunK from Chinese Taipei

      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 is ready for WAR. They – wait a minute, I need to tweak this script. Take two: this team went above and beyond to expand their local and global horizons. With their CADathons and curriculum integration with their school district, they clock in all year-round.

      •  Team 2485, Overclocked from San Diego, CA

       

      Regional Winners Qualifying for Championship

      • Team 1538, The Holy Cows from San Diego, CA
      • Team 3255, SuperNURDs from Escondido, 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.

      • Benjamin T, Team 9730, Metal Maniacs
      • Simeon K, Team 2658, Σ-Motion

      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.

      Many mentors have been impactful on their teams, often putting in long hours and encouraging everyone to achieve the best effort they can find. This mentor certainly fits this description. Not being content with working within their own team they encourage outreach and work with other FIRST programs and lead by example giving even more time as a key volunteer at events, including the ones hosted by the team. While many of us look for the magic that makes FIRST what it is, this mentor has created his own magic and shared this secret with his team.

      • Ryan, Griggs, Team 2485, Overclocked

      Additional Awards

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

      San Diego Regional, presented by Qualcomm – 2024

      San Diego Regional, presented by Qualcomm – 2024

      The 18th Annual San Diego FIRST Robotics Competition presented by Qualcomm from March 21-24, 2024 once again proved to be a show stopper! This year’s competition welcomed 51 teams and over 1,500 students from high schools in San Diego, other California cities, Hawaii and Azerbaijan.

      We were particularly fortunate to have FIRST CEO, Chris Moore, attend our event, offering an extraordinary chance for students, mentors, and alumni to engage directly with a pivotal leader in STEM education. 

      Opening ceremonies on Saturday were highlighted by words from Qualcomm’s SVP & CIO, Cisco Sanchez who unveiled the $10,000 Qualcomm Innovation Grant, which was ultimately awarded to Rookie Team 9452, LHS Steel Stingers.

      We also had the honor of presenting four distinguished proclamations, marking March 23, 2024, as a day of celebration across both the state and county for STEAM and STEM achievements. These proclamations recognized California STEAM Robotics Day, California Women in STEM Day, County of San Diego STEAM Robotics Day, and County of San Diego Women in STEM Day, highlighting the collective dedication to advancing STEM education and acknowledging the hard work of students and professionals in these fields. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to California Assemblymembers Brian Maienschein and Akilah Weber, San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson, and the SASA of California for their help in securing these honors.

      In addition to the excitement of the competition, we also hosted additional engagement events:

      • Mentor Breakfast – mentor networking and a meet and greet with FIRST CEO, Chris Moore.
      • Women in STEM “Table Talks” – networking opportunities with STEM professionals from organizations like Qualcomm, General Atomics, Becton Dickinson, NIWC-Pacific, TYLin and the Society of Women Engineers. 
      • Alumni Event – alumni and FIRST seniors had a chance to network with and hear from Chris Moore, a Talent Representative from Qualcomm and NIWC-Pacific employee and FIRST Alumni.
      • Elementary School Field Trips – on Friday, in coordination with Team Nomad, 135 elementary school students took a field trip to the Regional to watch matches and go on a scavenger hunt through the pits.

      New this year, we also honored our FIRST For All fellowship graduates and our Very Involved Person nominees.

      We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all competing teams for their relentless effort and commendable achievements throughout the event. We are immensely proud of you.

      Our deepest gratitude goes to the volunteers, mentors, and sponsors whose contributions were pivotal to the competition’s success. Your ongoing support and commitment are deeply valued. 

      AWARDS

      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.

        Engineering Inspiration

        The Engineering Inspiration Award celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school and community.  This team will advance to the Championships and receive a $5000 NASA grant toward registration.

         Team 2485, W.A.R Lords from San Diego, CA

          Regional Winners

          • Team 359, Hawaiian Kids from Waialua, HI (Championship Qualifying Award)
          • Team 3647, Millennium Falcons from San Diego, CA (Championship Qualifying Award)
          • Team 8891, Wild Raccoons from Oceanside, CA (Championship Qualifying Award – wildcard)

          Dean’s List Finalists

          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.

           

          • Noah S – Team 3749, Team Optix
          • Julia S – Team 3341, Option 16

          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 who 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.

             

            •  David Okana – Team 2543, TitanBot

               

              Rookie All-Star Award

              The Rookie All-Star Award celebrates the rookie team exemplifying a young but strong partnership effort, as well as implementing the mission of FIRST to inspire students to learn more about science and technology.

              • Team 9452, LHS Steel Stingers from San Diego, CA (Championship Qualifying Award – wildcard)

               

              Volunteer of the Year

              The Rookie All-Star Award celebrates the rookie team exemplifying a young but strong partnership effort, as well as implementing the mission of FIRST to inspire students to learn more about science and technology.

              • Chris Low

              Additional Awards

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

               

              San Diego Regional – 2023

              San Diego Regional – 2023

              The 17th Annual San Diego FIRST Robotics Competition presented by Qualcomm, held March 23-26, 2023, was another great success!  The event featured 50 teams and 1,500+ students from local San Diego high schools plus through other California cities, Switzerland, Turkey and Chinese Taipei. Participants and spectators loved our new venue, the UCSD LionTree Arena!

              We began practice day with a Mentor Breakfast to fuel our wonderful mentors with coffee and donuts, introduce them to our local San Diego Mentor Network on Slack and to give them a chance to connect with each other in person.

              During opening ceremonies Qualcomm’s SVP & CIO, Cisco Sanchez, announced the $10,000 Qualcomm Innovation Grant which was later to be won by Team 4738, Patriobots, from Patrick Henry High. Lieutenant Colonel Adrian A. Zinnerman, from the Air Force, also shared passionate words about his experience and encouraged the participants to continue to pursue their passion for STEM. 

              At the competition, three STEM proclamations were presented from the County of San Diego and the State of California –  STEAM California Statewide Observance Day, Commending STEAM Robotics Observance and Honoring Women in STEAM in San Diego County. A big thank you to California Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson and Team Spyder for these important recognitions.

              It was a full house at the Women in STEM event, with great connections made with STEM professionals from Viasat, Qualcomm, UCSD, The Air Force, General Atomics, Sinopia Bio, Becton Dickinson and Society of Women Engineers. This was an amazing opportunity for women in the field to come together and network with each other. LinkedIn profiles for the STEM professionals can be found here.

              The Alumni Event also had a great turnout with alumni and soon-to-be alumni mixing and mingling then gathering for a fun group photo.

              New this year, FIRST California Gracious Professional pins were awarded to participants, volunteers and mentors who were “caught in the act” of being a gracious professional. And speaking of gracious professionals, we were also honored to have a visit from UCSD Chancellor Khosla and Dr. Paul E. Jacobs (FIRST Board of Directors)!

              Finally, a huge congratulations to all the teams who worked tirelessly throughout the competition. Your hard work and dedication paid off, and we are proud of your achievements.

              We would like to thank the volunteers, mentors, and sponsors who made the event possible. Your support and dedication are truly appreciated and invaluable to the success of the competition. We look forward to another successful event next year.

              Big thanks to Tom LaFleur for capturing these amazing San Diego Regional memories!

              Feel free to download and share any of these photos.  You can tag FIRST San Diego at @sdfirstrobotics and FIRST California at @firstroboticscalifornia on Instagram  and use hashtags #FIRSTinCA, #FIRSTSD #firstininspires, #CHARGEDUP and #omgrobots.

              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 19-22, 2023

              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.

              From little ones to seniors, this team embodies all of FIRST’s goals and objectives under their expansive wingspan. Giving their blood, sweat and tears for their country, while innovating to save the environment worldwide. This team rises from the ashes once again to display its aura.

              • Team 5993, Istech Robotics Society, from Istanbul, Turkey

                Engineering Inspiration

                The Engineering Inspiration Award celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school and community.  This team will advance to the Championships and receive a $5000 NASA grant toward registration.

                From the moment you meet any of this team’s members you get inspired by their FRC program depth. Spending nearly 4000 hours volunteering this year, all of their team members have mentored inside and outside their community and fueling 7 FLL teams into existence. Whether you look east or have a WESTVIEW you will find more than a dozen options on how this team has been inspiring others.

                Regional Winners

                • Team 973, Greybots, from Atascadero, CA
                • Team 1538, The Holy Cows, from San Diego, CA
                • Team 4419, Team Rewind, from San Marcos, CA

                Finalists (wildcards)

                • Team 599, The Robodox, from Granada Hills, CA
                • Team 4738, Patribots, from San Diego, CA

                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.

                • Kavish Kondap, from Team 2485, W.A.R Lords
                • Xochitl Martinez, from Team 3342, Option 16

                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.

                • Barış Çetin, from Team 5993, Istech Robotics Society

                Additional Awards

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

                Instagram Highlights

                Don’t Miss Out on the Best Moments of San Diego. Watch @sdfirstrobotics Instagram Highlight Tab!

                San Diego Regional presented by Qualcomm – 2022

                San Diego Regional presented by Qualcomm – 2022

                Congratulations to the 54 Teams PLUS all the Mentors, Volunteers, Sponsors, Friends and Family members who participated in the San Diego FIRST Robotics Regional Competition presented by Qualcomm from March 17-20, 2022.

                In addition to the excitement of of competition and being back together again in person, we also enjoyed these added highlights during the event:

                • Rashmi Tripathi, Director of Engineering at Qualcomm, announced the $10,000 Qualcomm Innovations grant.
                • “San Diego County STEAM Robotics Observance Day” proclamation was presented by Mario Nakawatse, Community Outreach Coordinator for SD Supervisor Joel Anderson.
                • The San Diego Society of Women Engineers president, Kelly Kloster Hon, met with students to share STEM opportunities.

                You can find photos from the event here. A big THANK YOU to Tom Lafleur for capturing these great moments! 

                Plus – you can find many more memories captured on Instagram at @sdfirstrobotics and in our highlights tab from the event.

                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 20-23, 2022.

                Regional Chairman’s

                The Chairman’s Award represents the true spirit of FIRST.  It honors the team that best serves as a model for other teams to emulate and that embodies the goals of FIRST.  It remains FIRST’s most prestigious team award The Chairman’s Award is presented to the team judged to have the most significant measurable impact of its partnerships among its participants, school, and community over a sustained period, not just a single build season or school year. The winner is able to demonstrate progress towards FIRST’s mission of transforming our culture.  The recipient will be invited to the FIRST Championship where it will compete for the Chairman’s Award against the winners from all the other qualifying events.

                Engineering Inspiration

                The Engineering Inspiration Award celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school and community.  This team will advance to the Championships and receive a $5000 NASA grant toward registration.

                Regional Winners

                • Team 6560, Charging Champions from Irvine, CA
                • Team 3128, Aluminum Narwhals from San Diego, CA

                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.

                • Audrey Crockett from Team 2485
                • Shreya Goel from Team 3128

                Woodie Flowers

                • Sarah Rodriguez from 1622

                Additional Awards

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

                Support

                An immense THANK YOU to all the sponsors, mentors and volunteers who contributed to this very successful Regional.

                We hope you too had a memorable experience at the San Diego Regional!

                13th Annual San Diego FIRST Robotics Regional presented by Qualcomm – 2019

                13th Annual San Diego FIRST Robotics Regional presented by Qualcomm – 2019

                Congratulations to the 47 Teams from California, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Chinese Taipei and the Netherlands PLUS Mentors, Volunteers, Sponsors, Friends and Family members who participated in the 13th Annual San Diego FIRST Robotics Regional Competition presented by Qualcomm, March 6-9, 2019!

                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 in April.

                Regional Chairman’s Award

                Team 1622, Spyder – from Poway, CA


                The Chairman’s Award represents the true spirit of FIRST.  It honors the team that best serves as a model for other teams to emulate and that embodies the goals of FIRSTIt remains FIRST’s most prestigious team award.  The Chairman’s Award is presented to the team judged to have the most significant measurable impact of its partnerships among its participants, school, and community over a sustained period, not just a single build season or school year. The winner is able to demonstrate progress towards FIRST’s mission of transforming our culture.  The recipient will be invited to the FIRST Championship where it will compete for the Chairman’s Award against the winners from all the other qualifying events.
                Here’s what the Judges had to say –

                This team has consistently demonstrated the ideals of FIRST by inspiring teenagers throughout their community to pursue careers in engineering and STEM. They have created an innovation and engineering culture by establishing a women in engineering chapter, starting multiple teams in Title 1 schools, working with politicians to bring about legislative change, and more outreach than we can count. Providing a true model for other FIRST teams to emulate.
                This innovation culture expanded globally as they provided mentoring, sustainability education, and financial support to teams in other countries with limited resources. Their web of influence may not get them to Hollywood, but they are going to Championships.”


                Engineering Inspiration

                Team 2485, W.A.R Lords – from San Diego, CA


                The Engineering Inspiration Award celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school and community.  This team will advance to the Championships and receive a $5000 NASA grant toward registration.
                Here’s what the judges had to say –

                This team’s impact extends from their school to the world stage. An eighth of their student body is engaged with various FIRST programs. They join with two other local teams to sponsor “Battle at the Border” during the off season. They sponsor FLL and FLL Jr. teams in eastern Europe. Inclusive engagement and empowerment which draws girls into STEM is a total WOW. Their outreach has no boundaries or walls.”


                Regional Winners

                Team 987, High Rollers – from Las Vegas, NV


                Team 3647, Millennium Falcons – from San Diego, CA

                Team 6995, NOMAD – from Escondido, CA

                 


                Rookie All-Star Award

                Team 7626, NLHS – from Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei

                This award celebrates a 1st year team demonstrating an early but strong partnership effort, implementing the mission of FIRST.  Its winner understands what FIRST is really trying to accomplish and realizes that technical work is fun and challenging, made better by building a partnership among team, community and school.  This is not an easy challenge for a rookie team but the judges want to recognize and reward one team that got it right.
                Here’s what the judges had to say –

                This team is off to a great start!  With their focus on “learning by doing”, they recognize that building a strong, sustainable team is more important than building a robot.  They defined goals and objectives, created a thorough business plan, documented their team and engineering processes, and established a team structure organized to support their efforts.
                In their rookie season, this team has shown all of us their honor and that they will never lose their self-confidence as they smoothly sail into the future.”

                Regional Finalist

                (advancing to Championships because of 3 wildcards)
                Team 2839, Daedalus from Escondido

                 
                Team 6695, Alpha Knights from San Marcos

                Team 3245, Ravens from Sandy, UT

                Dean’s List Finalist

                FIRST Dean’s List Finalist – Ethan Champion from Team 1622, Spyder

                FIRST Dean’s List Finalist – Farrah Kaiyom from Team 3647, Millennium Falcons

                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.

                Woodie Flowers Finalist Award

                Todd Parr – Mentor for Team 1622, Spyder

                Additional Awards

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


                SPECIAL EVENTS

                Women In Stem Event


                Sponsored by Viasat

                Alumni Mixer


                Support

                An immense THANK YOU to all the Sponsors who contributed to this very successful Regional with funding, mentors, volunteers and enthusiasm!
                Regional Sponsors include Qualcomm Incorporated, Marathon, ViaSat, General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation, Leidos, Hewlett Packard, Booz Allen Hamilton and Solar Turbines.

                Qualcomm sponsored teams

                Media Attention

                Photos

                • 123EVENTPHOTOGRAPHY: The 2019 San Diego Regional WEB & DEVICE-FRIENDLY Gallery contains high quality (but lower resolution) images to upload fast for your phone, devices and social media, etc.
                • 123EVENTPHOTOGRAPHY:The 2019 San Diego Regional HIGH RESOLUTION Gallery contains high resolution images that should only be used to make prints from. NOTE: The device you are downloading to must have the available memory/storage. They recommend using a desktop computer with an external hard drive or a flash drive. By selecting to download any images, you assume all resulting responsibility.
                • TOM LAFLEUR: 2019 San Diego Regional Gallery

                Please be sure to assign the photo credits on your shared images for the above photographers. 


                We hope you too had a memorable experience at the San Diego Regional.  We’d love to hear your stories.  Please consider sharing them with us here in the comments below or on our facebook page.  Photo and video links welcome!

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