Creativity and science came together at last weekend's FIRST® Tech Challenge Scrimmage at Long Island Lutheran Middle & High School (LuHi). Teams, comprised of students age 12 to 18, worked alongside adult mentors to design, build, program and operate robots to play a floor game in an alliance format on a 12-foot by 12-foot field.

FIRST Tech Challenge is an international program featuring hundreds of tournaments for more than 46,000 students in nearly 20 countries. Students demonstrate their problem-solving skills, creative thinking, teamwork, competitive play, sportsmanship and sense of community. 

Last weekend's scrimmage was the first event in the 2016-2017 FIRST Tech Challenge season on Long Island. Qualifying Tournaments will be held in Lynbrook on Sunday, January 8, 2017; Center Moriches on Sunday, January 15, 2017; and Syosset on Saturday, January 28, 2017. The Long Island Championship will be held in Smithtown on Saturday, February 11, 2017.

The FIRST Tech Challenge program is presented by School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI). The other three FIRST programs are already very active on Long Island and engage students from age six through 18 in the FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST LEGO League and FIRST LEGO League Jr. SBPLI is proud to offer this fourth and final program in the FIRST progression of programs.

“LuHi was the perfect site to host the inaugural event of the season,” says FIRST Long Island representative, Janet Anderson. “They were a wonderful partner and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them to benefit the students of Long Island.”

"The LuHi community is still buzzing about the FIRST Tech Challenge event,” says Ed Parry, Director of Summer Programs. “They loved the atmosphere and the people involved. We look forward to hosting this event in the coming years."