Canadian teams head to FIRST World Championship

The FIRST World Championship kicked off today at the Edward Jones Dome in St Louis, Missouri. The championship is the culmination of the the FIRST Robotics Competition, an international high school robotics competition organized by For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST).

This year’s challenge, called Rebound Rumble, tasks team robots to compete in 135-second matches to earn as many points as possible by scoring basketballs into hoops or by balancing tilt bridges.

Over the course of the last several weeks, students from 120 high schools (78 from Ontario, 32 from Quebec, 2 from Alberta, 1 from Nova Scotia, 5 from the United States and 2 from Mexico) took part in the Canadian FIRST Robotics Competition. Eighteen of these teams earned spots at the 2012 World Championship event, that runs until April 28, 2012.

“The students that participate in FIRST Robotics competitions develop life-long communication, team work and leadership skills along with a higher level of confidence, which are required for their future success in the business or academic world,” said Mark Breadner, Executive Director of FIRST Robotics Canada. “We are very proud that so many Canadian student teams have moved onto the next level.”

Based on their performance in the Canadian regionals, the following student teams will move on to the 2012 World Championships:

www.firstroboticscanada.org