FIRST® Community News
& Updates
COVID-19 Impact
As you heard last week, it was with great disappointment that FIRST
suspended the 2020 season and cancelled both FIRST
Championship events. These difficult decisions were grounded in our commitment to put the health and safety of our community above all else. We acknowledge and appreciate the thousands of teams, parents, mentors, coaches and volunteers who have
poured their hearts and souls into this season and we share your disappointment. The mission of
FIRST has always been to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, and we continue to be deeply committed to this mission.
Read full statement from FIRST President, Larry Cohen.
FIRST/COVID-10 Impact: Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions around the impact of COVID-19 on
FIRST and the community.
You can find it here. This FAQ will be updated as new information becomes available, so please check back often.
A Message from FIRST Founder
Dean Kamen
SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, May 2, 2020 • 10:00 a.m. ET
FIRST Virtual Showcase Presented by Qualcomm
Join us for a gathering of the
FIRST community recognizing the achievements of
FIRST teams, mentors and volunteers around the world during the
FIRST RISE powered by
Star Wars: Force for Change season, to date. More information, as well as ways to showcase your team’s work digitally, will be shared in the coming weeks.
Together, we RISE.
Dean’s List Award: Full Steam Ahead
We are happy to announce that Dean’s List Award for both
FIRST Robotics Competition and
FIRST Tech Challenge will continue, and we plan to announce 10 winners for each program for the 2020 season.
FIRST Robotics Competition will communicate next steps for semi-finalists that still require interviews.
FIRST Tech Challenge has already performed semi-finalist interviews and has selected finalists in each region. Finalists will be forwarded to the Dean’s List Committee for review.
In the coming weeks, we will continue to inform you on how and when the 10 winners for each program will be announced. The details are still being finalized, so we appreciate your patience
as we navigate through these changes.
The News, by Frank Merrick, Director,
FIRST
Robotics Competition
Having a couple days to regroup with the folks in
FIRST HQ and hear from many of you, I’ve thought a great deal about the hurt and disappointment we are all experiencing together. But I have also thought about the strength that lies in our mission,
our staff, our volunteers and our teams. Strength that has developed over decades. The kind of strength that doesn't change with the weather. Yep, there's a storm outside. But there are no better people on this planet with whom I'd rather weather this storm.
Read Frank’s full blog post.
Woodie Flowers Finalist Awards
As the judging process is done remotely, finalists will be chosen for each event just as if the event occurred as scheduled. All
FIRST Robotics Competition mentors who have been nominated for the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award will be considered for the event they were nominated for. Finalists and re-nominated WFFAs will then
be judged by the Woodie Flowers Group and considered to for the Woodie Flowers Award. In the coming weeks, we will continue to inform you on how the Finalists and Winners will be announced.
