Meet the 2024-25 trophy designers

At FIRST Tech Challenge UK, innovation isn’t just about robots. It’s about creativity, problem-solving and teamwork. This year, we provided our teams with a brand-new challenge: design the trophies for our regional qualifying tournaments.  Our trophy design competition invited teams to showcase their creative thinking and product design talents. Provided with a brief on size, […]

Let the qualifying tournaments begin!

It’s qualifier season! The big day has finally arrived when we kick off the INTO THE DEEP tournaments and we couldn’t be more excited. They’re shaping up to be our biggest, best and most community-driven events yet. Our electric events calendar From Belfast to Bournemouth, we’re touching down in schools and science centres across the […]

Insider tips to level up your team’s branding

Our Youth Ambassadors Ben and Jack from DeGreeS of Freedom are whizzes when it comes to social media, branding and online outreach. So far this season, they’ve organised a media workshop to share their top tips and tricks and have collaborated with international teams to create a short film about the challenge. Check out their […]

Volunteering with FIRST Tech Challenge UK is More Than Robots

Our volunteers, who we like to call Game Changers, drive our programme. Without them, our events wouldn’t be possible and our impact wouldn’t be as powerful. They play a huge role in helping us go even further in achieving our mission: to make STEM less intimidating, more diverse and inclusive. We spoke to Joss Benyon, […]

Team CalderDrones spills the beans on creating an award-winning game-day strategy

At our recent teams webinar focused on all things Qualifying Tournaments, CalderDrones, 2022-23 National Innovate and Regional Control Award winners, from Liverpool, shared what makes a winning game-day strategy with some top tips to get UK teams fired up for game day. Let’s recap on the genius gems shared with teams: Team Name: CalderDrones Team […]

Local scrimmages! An all-round win

We wrapped up 2023 with a burst of innovation in December at the FIRST Tech Challenge UK scrimmages for what is becoming the most promising robotics season yet! Scrimmages are informal meetups where teams get together during the programme’s mid-season to build, test out the game field and meet other teams, before competing at a […]

Team Ultraviolet’s pointers on becoming an award-winning rookie team

At our teams webinar ahead of scrimmages, we were joined by the South West powerhouse team, Ultraviolet, from Bournemouth School for Girls. Regional and national award-winners in their rookie season last year, team Ultraviolet shared their thoughts on how to become a FIRST Tech Challenge UK award-winning team. Let’s hear what they had to say: […]

Team Digital Pancakes’ tips for an award-winning season

At our kick-off webinar, Wednesday 20 September 2023, we invited Scott Buchanan from team Digital Pancakes, UK-344, Friend’s Grammar School, Lisburn to make a real difference in the FIRST UK community by offering his invaluable skills and pearls of wisdom with fellow CENTERSTAGE teams. Having taken part in FIRST Tech Challenge UK for the past […]

Ideas to organise your team around Covid-19 safety measures

Hey teams and Team Leads, how’s it going? 👋 We’re seeing plenty of teams get creative with building a team and running sessions while protective measures are in place. Here’s a bunch of genius ideas that could help your team make a strong start this season. If you’re a team please ensure you continue to […]

Building a strong game strategy – a lesson from team Binary Bots

Having a game strategy is critical when competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge. Not only does it help teams to focus on how they’ll score points, it also guides the robot’s design and function. Dom, from team Binary Bots 003 – who also developed this season’s strategy mission in Makerspace – shares his team’s approach […]