FIRST® Caps Off World’s Largest Celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math for Students

Championship Presenting Sponsor Qualcomm Incorporated and Others Celebrate Young Inventors from 33 Countries at FIRST Championship in St. Louis

Event Wraps Up 8 Days of Robotics Action and STEM Innovation in Houston and St. Louis; More than 60,000 Attendees Between Two Championship Events

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This week, more than 15,000 students from around the world traveled to St. Louis, Missouri, putting their innovation skills to the test at the annual FIRST® Championship Presented by Qualcomm Incorporated, held at various venues throughout the city, including America’s Center and St. Louis Union Station.

The four-day event, attended by more than 30,000 people, came down to a heart-pounding conclusion Saturday night in front of tens of thousands of cheering fans when four teams from Kalamazoo, Michigan; San Jose, California; Canton, Michigan; and Montvale, New Jersey, earned the FIRST® Robotics Competition Winning Alliance award for this year’s game, FIRST® STEAMWORKS^SM. Earlier in the day, teams from Saint Paul, Minnesota; Littleton, Colorado; and Earleville, Maryland won the FIRST® Tech Challenge VELOCITY VORTEX^SM Presented by Qualcomm Incorporated Winning Alliance.

Over 15,000 students, ages 6-18, participated in FIRST Championship St. Louis.

Selected Quotes:

• FIRST Founder Dean Kamen thanked the city of St. Louis for hosting the FIRST Championship for seven years: St. Louis is a special place with special people, and they more than exceeded our expectations by opening their stadium, their city, their hearts, and their minds to make this an unforgettable Championship event for seven years. When we started here, the whole city had one local FIRST event. This year alone, St. Louis hosted more than 60 events supporting all four FIRST programs, which is astounding. We’re going to Detroit next year for FIRST Championship, but we expect St. Louis to be a longtime partner of FIRST.
• Major General Garrett Harencak, United States Air Force, addressed FIRST students: The United States Air Force is so thrilled to be a part of this incredible organization. Your values are our values; your professionalism, your passion, your persistence, your dedication, your integrity, your commitment to excellence, and your selfless service to your teammates are the values we treasure most.
• FIRST President Donald E. Bossi addressed the FIRST audience: FIRST is a robust community of students, mentors, volunteers, and sponsors from all over the world. Each of you has your own unique qualities that make you a champion, but we are all united by our passion for using technology and engineering to make the world a better, safer, and healthier place.

Among the participants, many earned honors for design excellence, competitive play, research, business plans, website design, and teamwork. A not-for-profit organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) inspires young people’s interest and participation in science and technology.

In St. Louis, nearly 700 teams from 33 countries competed in the four FIRST programs: FIRST® LEGO® League (grades 4 to 8, ages 9 to 14 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico; ages 9 to 16 outside the United States, Canada, and Mexico); FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 7 to 12, ages 12 to 18); FIRST Robotics Competition (grades 9 to 12, ages 14 to 18). In addition to the high-energy robotics matches, 60 teams participated in the FIRST® LEGO League Jr. (grades K-4, ages 6 to 10) World Festival Expo.

FIRST Championship St. Louis honored significant supporters of the FIRST mission:

• The St. Louis Local Organizing Committee was the recipient of the Founder’s Award, presented each year by FIRST Founder Dean Kamen to one organization or individual for exceptional service in advancing the ideals and mission of FIRST.
• Glenn Lee, Mentor, Team 359, Waialua Robotics (The Hawaiian Kids), was the recipient of the Woodie Flowers Award, founded by Dr. William P. Murphy Jr. to recognize an outstanding engineer or teacher who best demonstrates teaching excellence in science, math, and creative design.

2017 FIRST Championship Winners

Dean’s List Award:

From FIRST Robotics Competition:

• Tanreet Dhaliwal, Team 1325, Inverse Paradox, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
• Dikshant Sharma, Team 226, Hammerheads, Troy, Mich.
• Benjamin Spector, Team 5806, Horace Mann School, Pelham, N.Y.
• Jared Dunn, Team 5811, BONDS, Dayton, Ohio

From FIRST Tech Challenge:

• Kieran Beaumont, Team 6700, X BOTS, Fairfax, Va.
• Kelly Rudder, Team 8120, Electric Hornets, Kirtland, Ohio
• Timothy Keup, Team 4106, Supposable Thumbs, Brookfield, Wis.
• Gloria Campos, Team 5029, PowerStackers, Englewood, Ohio
• Roshaan Siddiqui, Team 7006, RoboTitans, Chicago, Ill.
• Marissa Hibbert, Team 8095, Bulldogs, Norfolk, Va.

1. FIRST® Robotics Competition Championship – FIRST Robotics Competition combines sports excitement with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams are challenged to fundraise, design a brand, exercise teamwork, and build and program robots to perform tasks against competitors.

More than 83,000 students on 3,336 teams from 25 countries competed during the 2017 season.

• Team 2614, Mountaineer Area RoboticS (MARS), Morgantown, W. Va., won the Chairman’s Award, the highest honor given at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship, recognizing the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.
• The Winning Alliance of the FIRST Robotics Competition was Team 2767, Stryke Force, Kalamazoo, Mich.; Team 254, The Cheesy Poofs, San Jose, Calif.; Team 862, Lightning Robotics, Canton, Mich.; and Team 1676, The Pascack PI-oneers, Montvale, N.J., of the Daly subdivision.

Other FIRST Robotics Competition Awards included:

• Volunteer of the Year Award –
  • Jacob Komar, FIRST Technical Advisor

Championship Finalists

Darwin Subdivision

• Team 1986, Team Titanium, Lees Summit, Mo.
• Team 3310, Black Hawk Robotics, Heath, Texas
• Team 302, The Dragons, Lake Orion, Mich.
• Team 3719, STEM Whalers, New London, Conn.

Subdivision Winners

Archimedes Subdivision

• Team 1058, PVC Pirates, Londonderry, N.H.
• Team 67, The HOT Team, Highland, Mich.
• Team 2137, TORC, Oxford, Mich.
• Team 1640, Sab-BOT-age, Downingtown, Pa.

Carson Subdivision

• Team 125, NUTRONs, Boston, Mass.
• Team 5687, The Outliers, Portland, Maine
• Team 1796, RoboTigers, Long Island City, N.Y.
• Team 597, The Wolverines, Los Angeles, Calif.

Curie Subdivision

• Team 2056, OP Robotics, Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada
• Team 1241, THEORY6, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
• Team 384, Sparky 384, Richmond, Va.
• Team 1511, Rolling Thunder, Penfield, N.Y.

Daly Subdivision

• Team 2767, Stryke Force, Kalamazoo, Mich.
• Team 254, The Cheesy Poofs, San Jose, Calif.
• Team 862, Lightning Robotics, Canton, Mich.
• Team 1676, The Pascack PI-oneers, Montvale, N.J.

Darwin Subdivision

• Team 1986, Team Titanium, Lees Summit, Mo.
• Team 3310, Black Hawk Robotics, Heath, Texas
• Team 302, The Dragons, Lake Orion, Mich.
• Team 3719, STEM Whalers, New London, Conn.

Tesla Subdivision

• Team 3452, GreengineerZ, Berrien Springs, Mich.
• Team 3683, Team Dave, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
• Team 2084, Robots by the C, Manchester, Mass.
• Team 2537, Space RAIDers, Columbia, Md.

Subdivision Finalists

Archimedes Subdivision

• Team 225, TechFire, York, Pa.
• Team 558, Elm City Robo Squad, New Haven, Conn.
• Team 865, WARP7, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Team 6334, Aluminati, Midlothian, Va.

Carson Subdivision

• Team 195, CyberKnights, Southington, Conn.
• Team 177, Bobcat Robotics, South Windsor, Conn.
• Team 1080, Resurgence Robotics, Henrico, Va.
• Team 1073, The Force Team, Hollis, N.H.

Curie Subdivision

• Team 4917, Sir Lancerbot, Elmira, Ontario, Canada
• Team 4946, The Alpha Dogs, Bolton, Ontario, Canada
• Team 2169, KING TeC, Savage, Minn.
• Team 3929, Atomic Dragons, Philadelphia, Pa.

Daly Subdivision

• Team 4976, Rebels, Georgetown, Ontario, Canada
• Team 27, Team RUSH, Clarkston, Mich.
• Team 4678, CyberCavs, Breslau, Ontario, Canada
• Team 2614, Mountaineer Area RoboticS (MARS), Morgantown, W. Va.

Darwin Subdivision

• Team 1114, Simbotics, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
• Team 610, Crescent Robotics, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Team 359, Hawaiian Kids, Waialua, Hawaii
• Team 6387, Discobots Canada, Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Tesla Subdivision

• Team 2619, The Charge, Midland, Mich.
• Team 3130, The ERRORs, Saint Paul, Minn.
• Team 193, MORT Beta, Flanders, N.J.
• Team 4485, Tribe Tech Robotics, Danville, Ind.

Engineering Inspiration Award –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 3324, The Metrobots, Columbus, Ohio
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 1023, Bedford Express, Temperance, Mich.
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 27, Team RUSH, Clarkston, Mich.

Creativity Award sponsored by Xerox –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 6201, The Highlanders, Somerville, Mass.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 3683, Team Dave, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 6548, Perry RAMBOTS, Perry, Mich.

Entrepreneurship Award sponsored by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 1305, Ice Cubed, North Bay, Ontario, Canada
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 597, The Wolverines, Los Angeles, Calif.
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 1676, The Pascack PI-oneers, Montvale, N.J.

Excellence in Engineering Award sponsored by Delphi –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 4946, The Alpha Dogs, Bolton, Ontario, Canada
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 2451, PWNAGE, Saint Charles, Ill.
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 2767, Stryke Force, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Gracious Professionalism® Award sponsored by Johnson & Johnson –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 2648, Infinite Loop, Oakland, Maine
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 1684, Chimeras, Lapeer, Mich.
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 558, Elm City Robo Squad, New Haven, Conn.

Imagery Award in honor of Jack Kamen –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 3157, Eastridge Robotics, Rochester, N.Y.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 2177, The Robettes, Mendota Heights, Minn.
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 1075, Sprockets, Whitby, Ontario, Canada

Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 1986, Team Titanium, Lees Summit, Mo.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 33, Killer Bees, Auburn Hills, Mich.
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 225, TechFire, York, Pa.

Industrial Safety Award sponsored by UL –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 3142, Aperture, Newton, N.J.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 3284, Camdenton 4-H LASER 3284, Camdenton, Mo.
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 2220, Blue Twilight, Eagan, Minn.

Innovation in Control Award sponsored by Rockwell Automation –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 1506, Metal Muscle, Flint, Mich.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 2168, Aluminum Falcons, Groton, Conn.
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 254, The Cheesy Poofs, San Jose, Calif.

Quality Award sponsored by Motorola –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 3310, Black Hawk Robotics, Heath, Texas
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 303, The T.E.S.T. Team, Bridgewater, N.J.
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 910, The Foley Freeze, Madison Heights, Mich.

Team Spirit Award sponsored by FCA Foundation –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 1660, Harlem Knights, New York, N.Y.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 2399, The Fighting Unicorns, Beachwood, Ohio
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 2337, EngiNERDs, Grand Blanc, Mich.

Highest Rookie Seed –

• Archimedes Subdivision: Team 6344, Yale Jiggawattz, Yale, Mich.
• Carson Subdivision: Team 6324, The Blue Devils, Salem, N.H.
• Curie Subdivision: Team 6613, Gogebic Range Robotics, Hurley, Wis.
• Daly Subdivision: Team 6548, Perry RAMBOTS, Perry, Mich.
• Darwin Subdivision: Team 6331, Sabotage, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
• Tesla Subdivision: Team 6538, Linc-Bots, Ypsilanti, Mich.

Rookie All-star Award –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 6331, Sabotage, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 6420, Fire Island Robotics (Muscatine Iowa), Muscatine, Iowa
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 6317, Disruptive Innovation, Davenport, Iowa

Rookie Inspiration Award –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 6460, Air Guardians, Mansfield, Ohio
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 6419, ICE, West Des Moines, Iowa
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 6451, Wired Warriors, Whiteland, Ind.

Judges’ Awards –

• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 5885, Villanova WiredCats, LaSalle, Ontario, Canada
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 3954, 4-H Electrotechs, Emlenton, Pa.
• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 5709, Rudyard Nerf Herders, Rudyard, Mich.

2. FIRST® Tech Challenge World Championship – FIRST Tech Challenge students learn to think like engineers. Teams build robots from a reusable kit of parts, develop strategies, document their progress, and compete head to head. For this year’s game, VELOCITY VORTEX^SM Presented by Qualcomm Incorporated, teams work in an Alliance to score points against their opponents by placing balls into vortexes, including one on a rotatable stand in the center of the field. In the final 30 seconds of the match, robots can raise a large ball off the playing field and place the ball in their center vortex.

Approximately 55,000 students on 5,540 FIRST Tech Challenge teams competed during the 2016-2017 season. This season’s Sponsors included Season Presenting Sponsor, Qualcomm; Official Program Sponsor, Rockwell Collins; and Official IoT, CAD, and Collaboration Software Sponsor, PTC.

• The FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship Inspire Award, recognizing excellence in robot design and teamwork, went to Team 5466, Davenport West - Combustible Lemons, from Davenport, Iowa.
• The Winning Alliance was Team 8686, Height Differential, Saint Paul, Minn.; Team 6929, Data Force, Littleton, Colo.; and Team 5916, BoBots, Earleville, Md.

The FIRST Tech Challenge Volunteer of the Year Award winner was Kevin Ross from Carnation, Washington. The Compass Award for excellence in coaching/mentoring was awarded to Jan Cardinale. She was nominated for this award by Team 6037, W.A.G.S., from Princeton Junction, New Jersey.

Other FIRST Tech Challenge awards included:

• Division Winners – Edison Division: Team 8221, Cubix^3, Hampstead, Md.; Team 8644, The Brainstormers, Lexington, Mass.; and Team 7182, Mechanical Paradox, Catonsville, Md. Ochoa Division: Team 8686, Height Differential, Saint Paul, Minn.; Team 6929, Data Force, Littleton, Colo.; and Team 5916, BoBots, Earleville, Md.
• Division Finalists – Edison Division: Team 10294, The Edge, Hartland, Wis.; Team 4211, The Bombers, Saint Louis, Mo.; and Team 3537, The MechaHampsters, Greenwood, Ind. Ochoa Division: Team 4174, Atomic Theory, New York, N.Y.; Team 5843, AutoVortex, Bucharest, Romania; and Team 8645, Robotic Doges, Hollsopple, Pa.
• Rockwell Collins Innovate Award – Team 2818, G-FORCE, Mc Henry, Md.
• Motivate Award – Team 5421, RM'd and Dangerous, Rockville, Md.
• Connect Award – Team 7190, Green Girls, Saint Paul, Minn.
• Think Award – Team 3415, Lancers, Livingston, N.J.
• PTC Design Award – Team 8393, BrainSTEM, Baden, Pa.
• Control Award – Team 7244, OUT of the BOX, Downingtown, Pa.
• Promote Award – Team 8808, Ponytail Posse, Saint Paul, Minn.
• Judges’ Award – Higher Priority Award – Team 6567, Roboraiders, Red Hook, N.Y.
• Judges’ Award – Gracious Professionalism® Under Fire Award – Team 8808, Ponytail Posse, Saint Paul, Minn.

3. FIRST® LEGO® League World Festival – FIRST LEGO League introduces younger students to real-world engineering challenges by conducting research projects and building LEGO-based autonomous robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface. FIRST LEGO League teams, guided by their imaginations, discover exciting career possibilities and learn to make positive contributions to society. This year’s challenge, ANIMAL ALLIES^SM, tasked approximately 255,000 students on 32,000 teams with improving how animals and humans learn from, interact with, and help one another.

Top honors went to Champion’s Award 1st Place winner, Team 5831, CTRL-Z Bayview Glen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Champion’s Award Finalist, Team 1920, Flufflepuff, Granger, Ind.; and Champion’s Award Finalist, Team 8631, St. Peters Brickbusters, East Troy, Wisc.

Other FIRST LEGO League awards included:

• Robot Performance Award – Team 30397, brickSAPplied, Wiesloch, Germany
• Strategy & Innovation Award – Team 30397, brickSAPplied, Wiesloch, Germany
• Programming Award – Team 30399, SAP.Legomine, Wiesloch, Germany
• Mechanical Design Award – Team 30411, SAP Rocket, Dresden, Germany
• Research Award – Team 10958, Plasmabots, Lexington, Mass.
• Presentation Award – Team 29354, Super Swaggy Salamanders, La Grange, Ky.
• Innovative Solution Award – Team 3436, Hydrators, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
• Teamwork Award – Team 7767, The Hippie Pandas, Churchville, N.Y.
• Inspiration Award – Team 436, Robot Rights, Dublin, Ohio
• Gracious Professionalism^® Award – Team 6128, Blackout, Louisville, Ky.
• Solid as a Rock Volunteer Award – Dave Ellis of Ontario, Canada
• Coach/Mentor Awards – Jigen Matsumoto, Shinagawa Japan; Jignasha Manek, Enola, Pa.; Sean Moushegian, Nashua, N.H.; and Sanjay & Arvind Seshan, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Judges’ Awards

• Team 30398, The Electronic Machines Schiers, Schiers, Switzerland
• Team 22752, The Blockheads, Girard, Kan.
• Team 5993 The MidKnight Minions, Plainsboro, N.J.
• Team 30388, GoLEGOGo, Radlje ob Dravi, Slovenia
• Team 30428, YPSILON VIARÓ, Barcelona, Spain
• Team 30415, LEGO Workshop Wonders, Magherafelt, Northern Ireland

4. FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. World Festival Expo – FIRST LEGO League Jr. introduces children ages 6 to 10 to the exciting world of science and technology. Teams of up to six children and two adult Coaches take on a real-world Challenge, to be explored through research, critical thinking, and imagination. In this year’s Challenge, CREATURE CRAZE^SM, students learned about animals and explored their habitats.

FIRST LEGO League Jr. awards went to:

Research and Show Me Poster Awards

• Explosive Ideas Award – Team 4402, Bee-Bots, of Fallon, Mo.; Team 8387, Whitefield Wildcats, of Kansas, Mo.; and Team 10760, 2x3er, of Kaiserslautern, Germany
• Picasso Award – Team 7002, Little Pandas, of Christiansburg, Va.; Team 2581, 6 Yellow and Black Stripes, of St. Louis; and Team 4890, Camdenton 4-H Hurricane Deck Elementary Laser #4890, of Linn Creek, Mo.

Spirit and Fun Awards

• Team Spirit Award – Team 830, Foxes for Life, of Mequon, Wisc.; Team 189, Camdenton 4-H Dogwood and Hawthorn Elementary Laser #6, of Camdenton, Mo.; and Team 10761, #SCS Trencalos Team, of Barcelona, Spain
• Rising Stars Award – Team 184, Camdenton 4-H Osage Beach Elementary Laser #1, of Linn Creek, Mo.; Team 10400, City Garden Montessori, of St. Louis; and Team 10273, Master Minds, of Ballwin, Mo.

Science Knowledge and Learning Awards

• Lil’ Einstein Award – Team 10266, Owlettes, of Chesterfield, Mo.; Team 1877, LEGO Brainiacs, of Glasgow, Ky.; and Team 10758, Hammers2, of Bouson, South Korea.
• Effort and Learning Award – Team 7896, Brilliant Badgers 1, of Rockville, Md.; Team 10756, PLC’s Brainy Bots, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio; and Team 10802, Sassy Bot Super Scouts, of Glen Carbon, Ill.
• Inquiring Minds Award – Team 10158, The LEGO Lads, of Fallon, Ill.; Team 7737, Bookbots, of Grover, Mo.; and Team 8126, Denver Schools, of Denver, Iowa
• Terrific Thinkers Award – Team 5631, Camdenton 4-H Laser Osage Beach Elementary #4, of Linn Creek, Mo.; Team 7703, Beautiful Butterflies, of Fallon, Mo.; and Team 10759, Bumblebee 119, of Seoul, South Korea
• Redefining Learning Award – Team 190, Camdenton 4-H Laser Osage Beach Elementary #2, of Camdenton, Mo.; Team 4707, Henry Spaceport & Robot Factory: Busy Bees Squad, of Ballwin, Mo.; and Team 4928, The High Jumpers, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Core Values Awards

• Gracious Professionalism^® Award – Team 186, Camdenton 4-H Dogwood & Hawthorn Elementary Laser #2, of Camdenton, Mo.; Team 10770, #SCS Dove Team, of Barcelona, Spain; and Team 5527, Soin Superbuilders, of Dayton, Ohio
• Outstanding Teamwork Award – Team 7586, Team Crusher BOTS, of Bettendorf, Iowa; Team 9006, ACE LEGO League, Reston, Va.; and Team 10757, Hi-Five, of Seoul, South Korea
• Coopertition^® Award – Team 5630, Camdenton 4-H LASER Osage Beach Elementary #3, Linn Creek, Mo.; Team 7972, Busy Bees, of St. Louis; and Team 305, G-6 PAWSOME GIRLS, of Glastonbury, Conn.

LEGO^® Models, Machines and Programming Awards

• Solid as a Rock Award – Team 8994, RoboWiggles, of Jericho, N.Y.; and Team 185, Camdenton 4-H Dogwood & Hawthorn Elementary LASER #3, of Camdenton, Mo.
• Construction Innovation Award – Team 7817, Honey Bee Girls, of Fallon, Mo.; Team 8718, The Leopard Engineers, of Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Team 744, Camdenton 4-H FIRST FLL Jr., of Camdenton, Mo.
• Master Programmer Award – Team 9136, Creative LEGO Builders, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Team 9354, Camdenton 4-H FIRST FLL Jr Hurricane Deck Elementary LASER #2, Camdenton, Mo.; and Team 4787, Brainy Buddies, of Ballwin, Mo.
• Simply Awesome Machine Award – Team 10753, Kicks East, Sizuoka, Japan; and Team 8141, Masterbots, of Dublin, Ohio
• Amazing Movement Award – Team 187, Camdenton 4-H Dogwood & Hawthorn Elementary Laser #4, Camdenton, Mo.; Team 378, Bee Builders, of Camanche, Iowa; and Team 10754, EcoLegoGrad, of Moscow, Russia
• Complexity and Decoration Award – Team 547, Iron Fists, of Dayton, Ohio; Team 7913, Master Builders, of Windham, N.H.; and Team 10773, Honey Bee G.C., of South Bend, Ind.
• Robust Design Award – Team 8612, Wrecking Soccer Bots, of Fallon, Mo.; Team 4497, The Programming Peacocks, of St. Louis; and Team 10755, Little Einsteins, Elista, Russia

The celebration in St. Louis concluded eight days of 2017 FIRST Championship events, which kicked off last week in Houston. In total, more than 60,000 people attended the events across two cities.

2017 FIRST Championship Sponsors

Qualcomm Incorporated is the 2017 FIRST Championship Presenting Sponsor.

2017 FIRST Championship Program Sponsors include: The Abbott Fund; Bechtel Corporation; Belden, Inc.; FedEx Corporation; Google; Monsanto; Nokia Bell Labs; NRG Energy; NVIDIA Corporation; Twitch; U.S. Air Force.

Other 2017 FIRST Championship Sponsors include: BAE Systems; The Boeing Company; Booz Allen Hamilton; Bosch; The Coca-Cola Company; The Dow Chemical Company; Edward Jones; Hilton; Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark; IBM Corporation; Mouser Electronics; Nidec Motor Corporation; Phillips 66; Picatinny STEM; PwC US; Southwest Airlines; St. Louis Regional Chamber; St. Louis Union Station Hotel; TE Connectivity; Texas Instruments; Uber; ViaSat; Vulcan Spring & Mfg. Co.; Walt Disney Imagineering.

Save the date! The 2018 FIRST Championship will be held in:

Houston April 18-21, 2018, and Detroit April 25-28, 2018

About FIRST^®

Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST^® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies and more than $50 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST^® Robotics Competition for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST^® Tech Challenge for Grades 7-12; FIRST^® LEGO^® League for Grades 4-8; and FIRST^® LEGO^® League Jr. for Grades K-4. Gracious Professionalism^® is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.firstinspires.org