FIRST® Youth Robotics Teams and Global Brands Celebrate Innovation and STEM Inspiration at Record-Breaking Event in Detroit

More than 43,000 Attendees Watched Students From 37 Countries Compete with Team-Built Robots and Showcase Innovation Skills with Support from Presenting Sponsor Qualcomm and Other Global Brands

Two-Part Event Celebrates Conclusion of Space-Themed Robotics Season, Kicks Off 2020 Season FIRST® RISE^SM Powered by Star Wars: Force for Change

DETROIT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This week, more than 17,000 students (ages 6-18) from around the world traveled to Detroit, putting their innovation skills to the test at the annual FIRST Championship Presented by Qualcomm Incorporated, held at the Cobo Center and Ford Field.

The four-day Detroit event, attended by more than 43,000 people, came down to a heart-pounding conclusion Saturday night in front of thousands of cheering fans at Ford Field when teams competed in match finals for the FIRST® Robotics Competition and FIRST® Tech Challenge world championships. Four teams from Brighton, Mich.; Sterling Heights, Mich.; Eindhoven, Netherlands; and Philadelphia, Pa., were the FIRST Robotics Competition Winning Alliance for this year’s game, DESTINATION: DEEP SPACE Presented by The Boeing Company. Teams from Vincentown, N.J.; Hollis, N.H.; and Mundelein, Ill., were the FIRST Tech Challenge Winning Alliance for ROVER RUCKUS Presented by Qualcomm.

FIRST Championship, the world’s largest celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for students, kicked off last week in Houston with 33,000 people. Altogether, a record 76,000 people participated in the two-week event.

Selected Quotes:

• Angela Baker, director of Corporate Responsibility at Qualcomm, said: “This is the age when a passion for innovation starts with STEM. We are committed to giving today’s students the foundations they need to invent the future and are proud to support FIRST.”
• Spring Beasley, director of customer engineering at Boeing and mentor to Reign Robotics, an all-girls FIRST Robotics Competition team in Seattle, said: “Mentoring is incredibly rewarding. At the beginning of the season, we have people who come in and say, ‘I don't know if I can do this.’ And by two weeks in, they are grabbing tools and figuring out what they can do and trying things out — it's incredible. This experience is echoed by the more than 500 Boeing mentors supporting FIRST teams this season.”

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 innovation and leadership in young people through engaging, team-based robotics challenges.

In Detroit, more than 700 robotics teams from 37 countries competed and exhibited in the four FIRST programs, including FIRST® LEGO® League (ages 9 to 16, varies by country); FIRST Tech Challenge (ages 12 to 18); and FIRST Robotics Competition (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 9) World Festival Expo.

FIRST Championship Detroit honored significant supporters of the FIRST mission:

• FedEx 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. The award was accepted by Rajesh Subramaniam, president and chief operating officer of FedEx.
• The Volunteer of the Year Award was awarded to event volunteers for each of the four FIRST programs: James Lockman from Gorham, Maine (FIRST Robotics Competition); George Marchant from Goffstown, N.H. (FIRST Tech Challenge); Stacey Jones, of Palm City, Fla. (FIRST LEGO League); and Pablo Hernandez of Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico (FIRST LEGO League Jr.)
• 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, was awarded to Allen Gregory IV, mentor for FIRST Robotics Competition Team 3847, Spectrum -△◅ from Houston, Texas.
• The Compass Award for excellence in coaching/mentoring FIRST Tech Challenge was awarded to Scott Chase from Team 12835, Pixelated, from Granger, Ind.
• Coach/Mentor Awards for FIRST LEGO League went to Dave Tomko, of Sharon, Pa.; Neil Corrigan, of Thornhill, Scotland; Scott Chase, of Granger, Ind.; and Bill Lam, of Livingston, N.J.

FIRST unveiled FIRST® RISE^SM, a unified season theme for all four FIRST programs that is powered by Star Wars: Force for Change, a philanthropic initiative from Lucasfilm and parent company Disney. This 2019-2020 season, themed around building sustainable cities for our future, is setting out to inspire citizens of the galaxy to work together, strengthening and protecting the Force that binds us and creating a place where collaboration and collective wisdom can elevate new ideas and foster growth. The reveal video was narrated by Mark Hamill.

2019 FIRST Championship Winners

The 2019 winners of the competitions and awards announced in Detroit are as follows:

Dean’s List Award – This award celebrates outstanding student leaders whose passion for and effectiveness at attaining FIRST ideals is exemplary.

From FIRST Robotics Competition:

• Paige Drob, Team 1718, The Fighting Pi, Armada, Mich.
• Param Upadhyay, Team 4946, The Alpha Dogs, Bolton, Ontario, Canada
• Cameron Hallett, Team 1073, The Force Team, Hollis, N.H.
• Abigail Holmes, Team 5016, Huntington Robotics, Huntington, N.Y.
• Thomas Franco, Team 5740, Trojanators, Cranberry Township, Penn.

From FIRST Tech Challenge:

• Aja Capel, Team 10146, Invader Bots, Urbana, Ill.
• Jacqueline Kocik, Team 6567, Roboraiders, Red Hook, N.Y.

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 compete in an exciting game that includes autonomous and driver-operated periods. In the 2019 challenge, DESTINATION: DEEP SPACE Presented by The Boeing Company, two competing alliances collect samples on planet Primus. With only two-and-a-half minutes until liftoff, the alliances must gather as much cargo as possible and prepare their spaceships for liftoff before the next sandstorm arrives.

More than 94,000 students on 3,800 teams competed during the 2019 season.

• Team 1816, "The Green Machine", Edina, Minn., 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. Team 1629, Garrett Coalition (GaCo), Accident, Md., and Team 5672, First Nations-STEM, Wikwemikong, Ont., Canada, were Chairman’s Award Finalists.
• The Winning Alliance of the FIRST Robotics Competition was Team 3707, Brighton TechnoDogs, Brighton, Mich.; Team 217, ThunderChickens, Sterling Heights, Mich.; Team 4481, Team Rembrandts, Eindhoven, Netherlands; and Team 1218, SCH Vulcan Robotics, Philadelphia, Pa.

Other FIRST Robotics Competition Awards included:

Championship Finalists –

Archimedes Subdivision

• Team 5406, Celt-X, Hamilton, Ont., Canada
• Team 930, Mukwonago BEARs, Mukwonago, Wis.
• Team 1310, Runnymede Robotics, Toronto, Ont., Canada
• Team 4004, M.A.R.S. Rovers, Muskegon, Mich.

Subdivision Winners –

Archimedes Subdivision

• Team 5406, Celt-X, Hamilton, Ont., Canada
• Team 930, Mukwonago BEARs, Mukwonago, Wis.
• Team 1310, Runnymede Robotics, Toronto, Ont., Canada
• Team 4004, M.A.R.S. Rovers, Muskegon, Mich.

Carson Subdivision

• Team 5050, Cow Town Robotics, Carleton, Mich.
• Team 111, WildStang, Arlington Heights, Ill.
• Team 4607, C.I.S., Becker, Minn.
• Team 2052, KnightKrawler, New Brighton, Minn.

Curie Subdivision

• Team 195, CyberKnights, Southington, Conn.
• Team 3538, RoboJackets, Auburn Hills, Mich.
• Team 1073, The Force Team, Hollis, N.H.
• Team 230, Gaelhawks, Shelton, Conn.

Daly Subdivision

• Team 4003, TriSonics, Allendale, Mich.
• Team 133, B.E.R.T., Standish, Maine
• Team 862, Lightning Robotics, Canton, Mich.
• Team 2614, Mountaineer Area RoboticS (MARS), Morgantown, W. Va.

Darwin Subdivision

• Team 3707, Brighton TechnoDogs, Brighton, Mich.
• Team 217, ThunderChickens, Sterling Heights, Mich.
• Team 4481, Team Rembrandts, Eindhoven, Netherlands
• Team 1218, SCH Vulcan Robotics, Philadelphia, Pa.

Tesla Subdivision

• Team 346, RoboHawks, Chesterfield, Va.
• Team 548, Robostangs, Northville, Mich.
• Team 5401, Fightin' Robotic Owls, Bensalem, Pa.
• Team 2534, Lumberjack Robotics, Baltimore, Md.

Subdivision Finalists –

Archimedes Subdivision

• Team 4776, S.C.O.T.S. Bots, Howell, Mich.
• Team 222, Tigertrons, Tunkhannock, Pa.
• Team 614, Night Hawks, Alexandria, Va.
• Team 1025, IMPI Robotics, Ferndale, Mich.

Carson Subdivision

• Team 5172, Gators, Greenbush, Minn.
• Team 1796, RoboTigers, Queens, N.Y.
• Team 1816, "The Green Machine", Edina, Minn.
• Team 3750, Gator Robotics, Badger, Minn.

Curie Subdivision

• Team 2767, Stryke Force, Kalamazoo, Mich.
• Team 987, HIGHROLLERS, Las Vegas, Nev.
• Team 1756, Argos, Peoria, Ill.
• Team 2607, The Fighting RoboVikings, Warminster, Pa.

Daly Subdivision

• Team 319, Big Bad Bob, Alton, N.H.
• Team 3641, The Flying Toasters, South Lyon, Mich.
• Team 2611, Jacktown Vectors, Jackson, Mich.
• Team 1574, MisCar, Misgav, Israel

Darwin Subdivision

• Team 3542, S.P.E.E.D, Temperance, Mich.
• Team 1690, Orbit, Binyamina, Israel
• Team 2337, EngiNERDs, Grand Blanc, Mich.
• Team 250, The Dynamos, Colonie, N.Y.

Tesla Subdivision

• Team 610, Crescent Coyotes, North York, Ont. Canada
• Team 1577, Steampunk, Ra'anana, Israel
• Team 3324, The Metrobots, Columbus, Ohio
• Team 4338, Falcons, Even-Yehuda, Israel

Engineering Inspiration Award –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 1325, Inverse Paradox, Mississauga, Ont. Canada
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 2096, RoboActive, Dimona, Israel
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 2834, Bionic Black Hawks, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Autonomous Award sponsored by Ford –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 910, The Foley Freeze, Madison Heights, Mich.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 4362, Gems, Brighton, Mich.
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 1241, THEORY6, Mississauga, Ont. Canada

Creativity Award sponsored by Xerox –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 1787, Flying Circuits, Cleveland, Ohio
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 4907, Thunderstamps, St. Thomas, Ont., Canada
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 195, CyberKnights, Southington, Conn.

Entrepreneurship Award sponsored by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 2202, BEAST Robotics, Brookfield, Wis.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 27, Team RUSH, Clarkston, Mich.
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 1792, Round Table Robotics, Oak Creek, Wis.

Excellence in Engineering Award sponsored by Delphi –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 319, Big Bad Bob, Alton, N.H.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 548, Robostangs, Northville, Mich.
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 2767, Stryke Force, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Gracious Professionalism^® Award sponsored by Johnson & Johnson –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 1403, Cougar Robotics, Skillman, N.J.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 1305, Ice Cubed, North Bay, Ont., Canada
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 772, Sabre Bytes Robotics, LaSalle, Ont., Canada

Imagery Award in honor of Jack Kamen –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 2638, Rebel Robotics, Great Neck, N.Y.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 1481, The Riveters, Farmington, Mich.
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 1024, Kil-A-Bytes, Indianapolis, Ind.

Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 176, Aces High, Windsor Locks, Conn.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 610, Crescent Coyotes, North York, Ont., Canada
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 1923, The MidKnight Inventors, Plainsboro, N.J.

Safety Award sponsored by UL –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 2638, Rebel Robotics, Great Neck, N.Y.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 2220, Blue Twilight, Eagan, Minn.
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 5847, Ironclad, Bradley, Ill.

Innovation in Control Award sponsored by Rockwell Automation –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 1574, MisCar, Misgav, Israel
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 1577, Steampunk, Ra'anana, Israel
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 1676, The Pascack PI-oneers, Montvale, N.J.

Quality Award sponsored by Motorola Solutions Foundation –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 7605, ASTRO, Sainte-Therese, Quebec, Canada
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 4607, C.I.S., Becker, Minn.
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 4481, Team Rembrandts, Eindhoven, Netherlands

Team Spirit Award sponsored by Fiat Chrysler –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 172, Northern Force, Falmouth/Gorham, Maine
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 4342, Demon Robotics, Kennett Square, Pa.
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 3044, Team 0xBE4, Ballston Spa, N.Y.

Highest Rookie Seed –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 7645, NK MTC, Taipei City, Chinese Taipei
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 7457, suPURDUEper Robotics, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 7885, EC.exe, Elyria, Ohio

Rookie All-star Award –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 7617, RoboBlazers, Carmel, Ind.
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 7554, Green Rockets, Jaffa of Nazareth, Israel
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 7539, Elev8, Mumbai, India

Rookie Inspiration Award –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 7523, SpringBots, Centurion, South Africa
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 7531, Servos Strike Back, Dubuque, Iowa
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 7462, Disruptive Technologies, Danbury, Conn.

Judges’ Awards –

• Archimedes-Daly Division: Team 4039, MakeShift Robotics, Hamilton, Ont., Canada
• Carson-Tesla Division: Team 2723, Team Rocket, Oklahoma City, Okla.
• Curie-Darwin Division: Team 5951, Makers Assemble, Tel Aviv, Israel

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. In the 2018-19 game, ROVER RUCKUS Presented by Qualcomm, robots descend from the lander, collect and sort minerals into cargo holds, and perform autonomous tasks to compete on the field during two-and-a-half-minutes of gameplay.

More than 70,000 students on 7,000 FIRST Tech Challenge teams competed during the 2018-2019 season. FIRST Tech Challenge sponsors include Season Presenting Sponsor Qualcomm, Official Program Sponsor Rockwell Collins, and IoT, CAD and Collaboration Sponsor PTC.

• The FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship Inspire Award, recognizing excellence in robot design and teamwork, went to Team 8393, The Giant Diencephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team, Baden, Pa.
• The Winning Alliance was Team 9971, LANbros, Vincentown, N.J.; Team 11115, Gluten Free, Hollis, N.H.; and Team 10091, N.Y.A.N. Robotics - Not Your Average Nerds, Mundelein, Ill.

Other FIRST Tech Challenge awards included:

• Division Winners –
  • Edison Division: Team 9971, LANbros, Vincentown, N.J.; Team 11115, Gluten Free, Hollis, N.H.; and Team 10091, N.Y.A.N. Robotics - Not Your Average Nerds, Mundelein, Ill.
  • Ochoa Division: Team 8393, The Giant Diencephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team, Baden, Pa.; Team 7182, Mechanical Paradox Cubed, Catonsville, Md.; and Team 7236, Recharged Green, Pella, Iowa
• Division Finalists –
  • Edison Division: Team 8680, Kraken-Pinion, Mequon, Wis.; Team 12231, WarriorTech, Denver, Ind.; and Team 11316, Weapons of Mass Construction, Indianola, Iowa
  • Ochoa Division: Team 8699, The League of Extraordinary Roboticist, Danbury, Conn.; Team 8417, 'Lectric Legends, Lawrenceburg, Ky.; and Team 9872, (In)Formal Logic, Harrisburg, Pa.
• Collins Aerospace Innovate Award – Team 9956, The Knack, Hartland, Wis.
• Design Award – Team 14522, Cogset Robotics, Saint Paul, Minn.
• Motivate Award – Team 6287, Vertigo, Highland Park, Ill.
• Connect Award – Team 9890, RUBIES, Minneapolis, Minn.
• Think Award – Team 7190, Green Girls Robotics, Saint Paul, Minn.
• Control Award – Team 11115, Gluten Free, Hollis, N.H.
• Promote Award – Team 14607, Robot Uprising, Alexandria, Va.
• Judges’ Award – STEM Cross-Training Award – Team 14607, Robot Uprising, Alexandria, Va.
• Judges’ Award – Cultural Swift Award – Team 11047, screw it, Taichung, Chinese Taipei
• Judges’ Award – STEM Beyond Borders Award – Team 13906, Epiteugma Revved Up, Nicosia, Lefkosia Cyprus
• Judges’ Award – Judges’ Philanthropic Award – Team 16142, St Chris Snowflakes, Letchworth, England

3. FIRST® LEGO® League World Festival – FIRST LEGO League introduces younger students to real-world engineering challenges by inviting them to conduct research projects and build 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, INTO ORBIT, tasked more than 323,000 students on 40,000 teams representing 95+ countries with exploring how to solve the physical and social problems associated with long-duration space flight, and propose solutions for any issues they identify.

LEGO Education is a founding partner of FIRST LEGO League Jr. and FIRST LEGO League. FIRST LEGO League Jr. receives global support from LEGO Education. FIRST LEGO League is delivered annually through the support of global sponsors LEGO Education, 3M, NI and Rockwell Automation.

Top honors went to Champion’s Award winner, Team 44314, PHOENIX, of Kaunas, Lithuania; Champion’s Award Finalist, Team 44205, FSINGENIUM Team, of Torres de Elorz, Spain; and Champion’s Award Finalist, Team 44350, TövisASAP, of Budapest, Hungary.

Other FIRST^® LEGO^® League awards included:

• Robot Performance Award – Team 44304, LEGOtronic Beavers, of Torres de Elorz, Spain.
• Mechanical Design Award – Team 44304, LEGOtronic Beavers, of Torres de Elorz, Spain.
• Programming Award – Team 44087, Roboroos East, of Seacombe Gardens, Australia.
• Strategy & Innovation Award – Team 1461, LEGOnauts, of Ashburn, Va.
• Research Award – Team 31191, GEarheads, of Brookfield, Wisc.
• Innovative Solution Award – Team 492, The Shrimp Strike Back, of Mount Prospect, Ill.
• Presentation Award – Team 44221, of C.D. Imreoiri, of Cork, Ireland.
• Inspiration Award – Team 578, Tiger Techs Orange, of Sharon, Pa.
• Teamwork Award – Team 44303, Invictus LEGO, of Pamplona, Spain.
• Gracious Professionalism^® Award – Team 44225, MarsMellows, of Delft, Netherlands.
• Judges’ Awards
  • Team 44334, B. Robots, of Graz, Austria.
  • Team 24646, Polar Bear Bots, of Vicksburg, Miss.
  • Team 44222, Egni, of St. Asaph, Wales.
  • Team 44310, Musk-a-teers, of D’Abadie, Trinidad and Tobago.
  • Team 44148, Team Cosmos, of Finnsnes, Norway.
  • Team 18845, HNMA, of Lawn, N.L., Canada.

4. FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. World Festival Expo – FIRST LEGO League Jr. introduces children ages 6 to 9 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, MISSION MOON, students learn about the Earth’s moon and what is needed to live there.

FIRST^® LEGO^® League Jr. awards went to:

• Team Choice Award went to Team 16, BeeCoders, of Memphis, Mich.
• Innovative Poster Award – Team 11, Space Platypuses, of Lexington, Ky.; and Team 9, Mercury, of Rochester, Mich.
• Discover and Show Award – Team 33, 4-H Macomb Bitty Bots, of Galesburg, Ill.; and Team 39, The Moon Savers, of Camanche, Iowa.
• Creative Show Award – Team 48, Blue Pepper, of Guri-si, South Korea; and Team 41, Space Minions, of LaSalle, Ont., Canada.
• Design and Show Awards – Team 13, Ashton LEGO Moon, of Cumberland, R.I.; Team 12, W. MEC, of Yokohama, Japan; and Team 60, Stadium Drive Dragons, of Lake Orion, Mich.
• Cooperative Poster Award – Team 28, Milky Ways, of Ann Arbor, Mich.; Team 26, APOLLO 18 TRANSFORMERS, of Galati, Romania.
• Innovative Explorers Award – Team 31, Aliens de Queso, of San Jose, Costa Rica; Team 6, Smart Starz, of Parsippany, N.J.; Team 47, LEGO Builder, of Tokyo; and Team 51, The Moon Beams, of Morgantown, W. Va.
• Explore and Discover Award – Team 10, Moon Muskrats, of Algonac, Mich.; Team 16, BeeCoders, of Memphis, Mich.; Team 59, Thunder Strikers Rock, of Ilion, N.Y.; Team 54, Flat Rock 2, of Flat Rock, Mich.; Team 35, Diamond Dragons, of Basking Ridge, N.J.; Team 50, HotShot Hotwires Jr., of Mohegan Lake, N.Y.; and Team 45, Moonicorns, of Sylvania, Ohio.
• Creative Explorers Award – Team 1, LEGO Masters, of McHenry, Ill.; and Team 21, Bulldogs Eating Moon Rocks, of Oakland, Mich.
• Explore and Design Award – Team 29, Team Prodigy, of Eden Prairie, Minn.; Team 7, Team Laser, of Ann Arbor, Mich.; Team 8, Einstein Kids, of NamYangJu-Si, South Korea; and Team 52, GTM Japan, of Tokyo.
• Cooperative Explorers Award – Team 38, MooMerangs, of Port Huron, Mich.; Team 44, e castle on the moon, of Kaohsiung, China; and Team 15, A.P.I.G. – Awesome People in a Group, of Harbor Springs, Mich.
• Innovative Model Awards – Team 23, Tech Tigers, of Scarborough, Ont., Canada; Team 34, The Ozones, of Morgantown, W. Va.; Team 36, Haidong Moon Pioneer, of Tainan, Taiwan; Team 3, Avengers, of Gwangju, South Korea; and Team 27, Spacecraft Angels, of Brunswick, Ohio.
• Building and Discovery Award – Team 4, Go Moon! of Taichung, Taiwan; and Team 57, Moonbots, of Lexington, Ky.
• Creative Model Award – Team 17, Awe-Sum LEGO Creators, of Almont, Mich.; Team 22, Team Deluxe, of Plainview, N.Y.; Team 25, Little Einsteins, of Naperville, Ill.; and Team 55, Space Glam, of Detroit.
• Model Design Award – Team 49, Ahhhhh Robot!, of Martinsburg, W. Va.; and Team 56, STAR VARSS, of Mason, Ohio.
• Cooperative Model Award – Team 40, Andrea’s Asteroids, of Detroit; Team 14, Stanton Academy Cute Aliens, of London, Ont., Canada; and Team 30, Bep Beep Robotics, of Detroit.
• Innovative Programming Award – Team 19, Pink Fluffy Unicorns, of Wolcott, Conn.; Team 18, Astro Aliens, of Detroit; and Team 53, St. William Crusadernauts, of Walled Lake, Mich.
• Discover and Program Award – Team 20, Number One, of Wonju-si, South Korea; Team 32, CBA Robokings, of Midland, Mich.; and Team 42, Robotic Wreckers, of Sterling Heights, Mich.
• Creative Programming Award – Team 5, Dream Team, of Weare, N.H.; and Team 46, Ice Dragons, of Richmond Hill, Ont., Canada.
• Programming Design Award – Team 24, RoboSquad, of Lexington, Ky.
• Cooperative Programming Award – Team 43, Flat Rock 1, of Flat Rock, Mich.

Watch highlights from FIRST Championship Detroit on FIRSTtv and download select photos from the FIRST Facebook page. Visit firstchampionship.org to learn more.

2019 FIRST Championship Sponsors

Qualcomm is the 2019 FIRST Championship Presenting Sponsor.

2019 FIRST Championship Lead Sponsors include: Google Inc. and Magna International Inc.

2019 FIRST Championship Event Sponsors include: ABB; The Abbott Fund; Bechtel Corporation; Delta Air Lines; Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau; The Dow Chemical Company; DTE Energy; FCA Foundation; FedEx; Ford Motor Company; Houston CVB; Keysight Technologies; Lockheed Martin Corporation; National Instruments; Nokia Bell Labs; Rockwell Automation; TE Connectivity; Toyota USA Foundation; Two Sigma Investments; U.S. Air Force; and United Technologies.

2019 FIRST Championship Key Sponsors include: ARMI | BiofabUSA; Autodesk; BAE Systems; BOSCH; Central Michigan University; The Coca-Cola Company; Consumers Energy; Gene Haas Foundation; Hilton; Kettering University; Mouser Electronics; PwC US; Quicken Loans; Southwest Airlines; Texas Instruments; United Therapeutics Corporation; Walt Disney Imagineering; and ZF North America, Inc.

Other 2019 FIRST Championship Supporters include: Alta Resources LLC; Arm; H-E-B; J.R. Automation; and Jacobs.

Save the date! The 2020 FIRST Championship will be held in Houston April 15-18 and Detroit April 29-May 2.

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 $80 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.