After six weeks of developing, building, and programming their robots, high school students from Long Island, New York City, New Jersey, and Brazil will have the opportunity to compete in the 15th Annual SBPLI Long Island Regional FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition (www.usfirst.org), presented by School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI). 

The competition will take place on March 27-29 at Hofstra University’s David S. Mack Sports & Exhibition Complex in Hempstead, New York. Fifty teams will demonstrate their skills in science and technology while competing for honors that reward design excellence, competitive play, sportsmanship, and high-impact partnerships among schools, businesses, and communities. 

Founded by inventor Dean Kamen, who introduced the IBOT Mobility System and the Segway® Human Transporter (HT), FIRST was created to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people, their schools, and their communities. Now in its 25th season, the FIRST Robotics Competition anticipates more than 2,700 teams in 92 cities worldwide to compete in 98 Regional and District Competitions. More than 2,000 students will compete at the Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition to earn a spot at the FIRST Championship, to be held April 24-27 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. 

This year’s challenge, “Aerial AssistSM,” is played by two Alliances of three teams each. Alliances compete by trying to score as many balls as possible into goals during a two-and-a-half-minute match. Additional points are earned by robots working together to score goals, and by throwing and catching balls over a truss suspended just over five feet above the floor as they move the ball down the field.  

This season, students participating in FIRST Robotics are eligible to apply for more than $18 million in scholarships from 200 universities throughout the country. Over a six-week timeframe, students work with professional engineering mentors to design a robot using a “kit of parts” and a standard set of rules. Once these students create the robot, their teams participate in regional competitions that measure the ability of each robot, the power of collaboration, teamwork, and the determination of students. 

Sponsors for the SBPLI Long Island Regional FRC include FESTO Corporation, BAE Systems, Northrop-Grumman, Stony Brook University, Hofstra University, Farmingdale State College, The Estee Lauder Companies , Schenck Trebel Corporation and School Construction Consultants, among others. Sponsors provide resources including time and talent from professional mentors, services, equipment, financial contributions, and volunteers.