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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
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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!
Congratulations to ALL Teams, Mentors, Volunteers, Sponsors, Friends and Family members who participated in the 8th Annual San Diego FIRST Robotics Regional and helped to create an exciting and memorable weekend.
Definitely a successful and action packed weekend with over 1,500 high school students on 60 teams and over 7,000 in attendance over the 3 day event! High energy matches, a very special visit from FIRST President Donald Bossi, a Proclamation from Councilmember Lightner, a rockin’ band, incredible sponsor involvement on all levels and great local major media attention all made for an exciting weekend. We were featured in an in depth article in the Union Tribune, on KPBS TV and Radio, and nearly all the local TV stations. Here’s a fun segment from 10News.
Below you can find a great video from the last day of the Competition filled with action, time lapse and Bot Talk! A big thank you to the San Diego FTC Team, Stuffed Dragons, for creating this gem.
HEADING TO CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ST. LOUIS!!!
The following teams and individuals earned top honors at the San Diego Regional and will be going on to compete at the FIRST Championships in St. Louis in April. We wish them the best of luck! Regional Chairman’s Award Team 3476, Code Orange – Dana Point, CA
The San Diego 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.
Here’s what the Judges had to say –
“This team has been a spark behind the growth of FIRST in their wide ranging communities and surrounding area. They have leveraged their deep standing relationships with key sponsors to create opportunities for their team members and grow FIRST across their diverse region.
They personally maintain and continuously grow a well-rounded program of progression through every one of the FIRST competition levels. Not only do they mentor and work directly with numerous FLL teams, they also work to inspire educators to multiply this success around the world. In addition to taking FIRST to schools and community events, they have actively connected engineers and educators around the world, reinforcing the value of FIRST to the professional community.
From early on , this team has made sustainability a specific priority for themselves and for the teams with whom they work, recognizing their greatest legacy will come long after current team members have moved on in their lives.
This team has really cracked the Code . . . “Orange” you glad the did?!”
Engineering Inspiration Team 987, High Rollers- Las Vegas, NV
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 grant toward registration.
Here’s what the judges had to say –
“Our winning team has initiated a transformational change to foster future engineers in their region. From developing an engineering academy within their school, to ensuring that FIRST Robotics is on the same level as any sports team, to extensive support at all levels of FIRST Competitions, everything they do is toward the goal of transforming their region into a hub of engineering opportunities. Their efforts have led to many internships, job openings, and scholarships providing that their exceptional program is no risky gamble . . . rather a bet on our future.”
Regional Winners Team 1266, Devil Duckies from San Diego, CA; Team 330, Beach Bots from Hermosa Beach, CA; Team 4583, Robosaurus from San Diego, CA; Team 4486, Tee Squares from Vista, CA
Rookie All-Star Award Team 5137, Iron Kodiaks from San Marcos, CA
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 –
“While in their first year, they have been able to jump start a solid team and have developed core elements that embody FIRST. While their leader is petite, her bears are worth their metal.”
Dean’s List Finalist: Honoring FIRST Student Superstars FIRST Dean’s List Finalist #1 – Camille Considine, Team 2485 from San Diego, CA FIRST Dean’s List Finalist #2 – Kian Sheik, Team 3128 from San Diego, CA
Both winners are featured below with 2013 FIRST Championship Dean’s List Award Winner, Isabel Martos-Repath, from Team 589 in La Crescenta, CA.
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 Ken Collins Mentor for Team 2485
Here’s what the judges had to say about Ken –
“This lead mentor’s enthusiasm, dedication, and wisdom not only captivates and instructs, but nurtures and inspires all the students he works with. He has the incredible talent to foster and enhance a student’s potential into robot fabricating dexterity by teaching concepts as simple as “measure twice, cut once” and as complex as molding carbon fiber. The student nominator did an excellent job of explaining how this mentor can make something out of nothing. We judges definitely see how he has made a team of amazing and appreciative students.”
Additional Awards
Congratulations to the Teams and individuals that earned the remaining awards at the San Diego Regional! See the list here.
FIRST Impressions
Stephen des Jardins, senior staff engineer at Nordson ASYMTEK shared this on the company’s blog:
“It is personally rewarding, challenging, and fun to help these students prepare for this competition. Each robot is so different. It’s exciting to see how the teams progress and how each robot reflects the personality of the teams and the students. After eight years of working with the students, I still feel extremely fortunate to be involved. ”
Wanda Parise, the FIRST Robotics Coordinator at SPAWAR shared:
“National Defense Education Program (NDEP) is proud to support our local communities with Department of Defense volunteer mentors and to sponsor events like this where our teams gain competitive experience. We hope to see these students continue on in internships, scholarships and careers that help make our nation strong.”
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, Leidos, NDEP, ecoATM, Teradata, D&K Engineering, SGEEI.
2014 VIDEO (courtesy of FTC Team, Stuffed Dragons)
We hope you too had a profound 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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