What is First® Tech Challenge?

FIRST® Tech Challenge is a learning opportunity designed for youths grades 9-12. With a new challenge every year, students must design, build, program robots to compete with and against other teams.

FTC teams can be formed in schools or other youth-based organizations and are led by two or more adult mentors and to help educate and guide them in the challenge they’ve been given. Mentors guide the students in raising funds, designing, and maintaining the team brand, and working with their community to earn awards.

Each year, FIRST® provides teams with a new challenge that focuses on real-world issues that scientists and engineers are facing today. Students work together to design, build, and program their robots, preparing for the competition season.

One of the goals of FTC  is to recognize the journey the students go on through the season, the students must create an Engineering Notebook that tracks the teams’ season; it should include all the work they put in over the season, what obstacles they overcame, and what lessons they learned.

Volunteers and teachers are the lifeblood of the program – they make it happen. Volunteering with FIRST® Washington is a great way to impact today’s youth in a new and exciting way, and there is a unique role for every person.

FTC is preparing youth to be the future leaders of the STEM field by approaching robotics as a team sport rather than a classroom subject. Our goal is to make learning fun and ignite a passion for discovery and creativity. Participants say that it is the “Hardest fun you’ll ever have!”