2026 Northland Program Partner
What is FIRST Robotics Competition?
Students in grades 9-12 work with adult mentors to delve deeply into an annual engineering challenge that culminates in teams collaborating to figure out the best way to accumulate the most points in 3v3 team (alliance) matches. High-fives and celebration are the hallmark of every first competition. The achievements last a lifetime for all involved.
Lake Superior &
Northern Lights
March 4-7, 2026
NEW!!
Bluff Country
March 4-7, 2026
Great Northern
March 11-14, 2026
10,000 Lakes
March 25-28, 2026
North Star
April 1-4, 2026
Granite City
April 8-11, 2026
The Ultimate Sport
for the Mind TM:
Under strict rules and limited time and resources, teams of high school students are challenged to build industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game in alliance with other teams, while also fundraising to meet their goals, designing a team “brand,” and advancing respect and appreciation for STEM within the local community.
During the 2024-2025 FIRST season, FIRST® DIVE℠ presented by Qualcomm, teams will use their STEM and collaboration skills to explore life beneath the surface of the ocean. Along the way, we’ll uncover the potential in each of us to strengthen our community and innovate for a better world with healthy oceans. Join us as we explore the future.
The ocean is more than what you can see on the horizon. Beneath the surface lies our planet’s most complex ecosystems, full of life and potential for exploration and learning, where each inhabitant has a role to play in building a thriving environment.
Combining the excitement of sport with the rigors of STEM, FIRST® Robotics Competition (ages 14-18) teams use sophisticated technology to build and program industrial-sized robots to play an action-packed, alliance-based game on a themed field. With professional mentors and sponsors, students learn engineering and problem-solving skills that they can apply to real-world situations today and in the future. Using Gracious Professionalism, each team creates a team identity, raises funds to meet its goals, and works to promote STEM in their community.
