The 2024 For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Competition game kickoff occurred on January 6 at Montgomery High School.
Bridgewater-Raritan High School Team 303 members were in attendance at this kickoff event.
FIRST is a global organization dedicated to preparing young people for the future through inclusive, team-based robotics programs designed for students of ages 4-18. Bridgewater-Raritan High School participates in FIRST through the T.E.S.T. Team 303, competing in the First Robotics Competition (FRC).
The kickoff marked the start of the robotics build season, providing FIRST teams worldwide with approximately 6 to 8 weeks to conceptualize and construct a robot from scratch. Following this phase, teams will have the opportunity to compete against each other for regional and state competitions, including one at Lehigh University, leading up to the World Championships in April which will take place in Houston, Texas.
Team 303 has already competed in Brunswick Eruption and RVSTS, two off-season competitions held earlier in the school year. The Saturday event not only revealed the new game for this next year, titled Crescendo, with a live broadcast from Manchester at the venue for all teams to watch, but also allowed students to engage in various workshops. These included CAD design, pneumatic, mentorship and coding.
Build captain Ayush Singhal shared his experience attending the competition kickoff.
“We are truly excited to participate in another year of FRC competitions. We have been working hard the past few months, rapidly training our new members, leading up to this,” the team senior said. “The next few weeks will see intense work and lots of fun. The main goal is obviously to make it to Worlds this year, and we are going to work hard to achieve that goal.”
Singhal also wanted to emphasize the team’s gratitude towards the team advisor, John Sirusas, who he described as the “backbone of this whole team.”
The team will now work towards designing and testing their robot for this year to prepare for the upcoming Hatsboro-Horsham and Warren Hills regional qualifying competitions scheduled for March.
