The British Columbia FIRST Tech Challenge Championship was held on Saturday and Sunday February 24-25, 2024 at L.A. Matheson School in Surrey BC. On Saturday, teams had judging interviews and had their robots inspected. Practice matches were held in the afternoon.

Team 18589 St. Pat’s Celtic Silverfish at the practice field

On Sunday teams competed in 5 qualification matches followed by an elimination round. Match Results (ftc-events website).

Live stream recordings:

You can see photos of the event in Google Drive by clicking on this link.

Team rankings can be found on the ftc-events website.

The top four teams became the Alliance Captains. These Captains picked two other teams to be their Alliance Partners in the elimination rounds.

The four alliances were:

22111 – Matheson Mecha Mustangs, with their partners 16195 – Guild of Builders and 16448 – A.I.M. Bot Robotics
18840 – Reynolds Reybots Too, with their partners 20025 – Esquimalt Atom Smashers and 16205 – Lightning Bots
17453 – T.U.R.B.O., with their partners 23430 – Port Moody Robotics and 18589 – St. Pat’s Celtic Silverfish
18841 – KSS ONE, with their partners 3491 – FIX IT and 16031 – PARABELLUM

BC FTC Championship Elimination results (ftc-events website)

Congratulations to the winning alliance team 18840 – Reynolds Reybots Too, with their partners 20025 – Esquimalt Atom Smashers and 16205 – Lightning Bots.

Award Ceremony

Alumni Bursaries

BC has a special Bursary program for Alumni volunteers who are in college or university to help them with the costs of their education. These college and university students have continued to be part of FIRST and have volunteered throughout the season. Six FIRST alumni were presented with $500 bursaries.

Congratulations to:

Edward Chen
Aila Simpson
Lulu Golland
Austin Wang
Helen Leslie
Hanson Chan

Alumni Bursaries – Lulu Golland, Austin Wang, Hanson Chan

Volunteer of the Year Award

The Volunteer of the Year award was given to Aila Simpson.

Judged Awards

In addition to the robot game, teams were evaluated for a number of judged awards that were presented at the end of the day. These are listed at ftc-events and described below.

Judges’ Choice Award

The Judges’ Choice Award is given at the discretion of the Judges to a team they have encountered whose unique efforts, performance or dynamics merit recognition, yet the team does not fit into any of the existing award categories.

Here is what the Judges have to say about the winner of this Award:

The judges took special notice of this BRIGHT team’s outstanding GRACIOUS PROFESSIONALISM. Their PRIDE and support of every team on the field was the MANE event. Whether you were on the Red Team or the Blue Team, you could hear them ROAR.

Winner
18841 KSS ONE – from Surrey, BC, Canada

Judge’s Choice Award – Team 18841 KSS ONE

Design Award

The Design Award expands on this year’s challenge, inspiring teams to incorporate industrial design into their robots. These elements can be shown in the simplicity of the design as it applies to the tasks, the look and feel of the robot in how the design allows us to think of robots in new ways. The design aspect must serve a function – but should also differentiate the robot in a unique fashion.

Third Place
18589 St. Pat’s Celtic Silverfish – from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Second Place
16195 Guild of Builders – from Victoria, BC, Canada

Here is what the Judges have to say about the winner of this Award:

The judges were impressed by how this robot LIT UP the field. This team’s design shows they have the BLUEPRINT for a great season. SADDLE UP for their STAMPEDE of success.

Winner
22111 Matheson Mecha Mustangs – from Surrey, BC, Canada

Design Award – Team 22111 Matheson Mecha Mustangs

Motivate Award

The team that receives the Motivate Award celebrates the culture of FIRST and clearly shows what it means to be a team. This award celebrates the team that represents the essence of the FIRST Tech Challenge competition through team building, team spirit, and displayed enthusiasm. This is a team who makes a collective effort to make FIRST known throughout their school and community and sparks others to embrace the culture of FIRST.

Third Place
22712 Electric chickens – from Whitehorse, YT, Canada
Second Place
22557 RAMBOTS – from Victoria, BC, Canada

Here is what the Judges have to say about the winner of this Award:

This team worked hard to BROADCAST FIRST in their community. Their ARMOURED robot demonstrated the tricks of the TRADE to one and all. The launching of a FLEET of drones helped them reach NEW HIGHTS in their mentorship efforts.

Winner
16195 Guild of Builders – from Victoria, BC, Canada

Motivate Award – Team 16195 Guild of Builders

Control Award

The Control Award celebrates the team that demonstrates innovative thinking in the control system to solve game challenges such as autonomous operation, enhancing mechanical systems with intelligent control, or using sensors to achieve better results on the field.

Third Place
16448 A.I.M. Bot Robotics – from Coquitlam, BC, Canada
Second Place
16205 Lightning Bots – from Coquitlam, BC, Canada

Here is what the Judges have to say about the winner of this Award:

This team was ZOOMING around the field throughout the competition. Their robot was HUNGRY for the win and GOBBLED up pixels like the cookie monster. You WOOD-nt want to be fooled by their RETRO shielding, it conceals their ADVANCED CONTROL techniques.

Winner
18840 Reynolds Reybots Too – from Victoria, BC, Canada

Control Award – Team 18840 Reynolds Reybots Too

Innovate Award sponsored by RTX

The Innovate Award sponsored by RTX celebrates a team that has the ingenuity and inventiveness to make their designs come to life. This award is given to the team that the Judges feel has the most innovative and creative robot design solution to the FIRST Tech Challenge game. Elements of this award include elegant design, robustness and ‘out of the box’ thinking.

This award may address the design of the whole robot or some sub-assembly component of the robot. The creative component needs to work consistently, but a robot does not have to work all of the time during matches to be considered for this award. The team’s engineering portfolio showed the design of the component(s) and the team’s robot, and clearly explains how the team arrived at their solution.

Third Place
22817 Killarney Robotics Team 2 – from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Second Place
17453 T.U.R.B.O. – from Victoria, BC, Canada

Here is what the Judges have to say about the winner of this Award:

This high-energy team always looks like they’re having BUCKETS of fun. The judges were impressed by their clever pixel handling and placement, which really STACKS UP and PAINTS A VIVID PICTURE of their engineering goals. With determination and focus, they SHOOT for the stars.

Winner
16031 PARABELLUM – from Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada

Connect Award

The Connect Award is presented to the team that the Judges feel most connected with their local Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) community. A true FIRST team is more than the sum of its parts and recognizes that engaging their local STEM community plays an essential part in their success. The recipient of this award is recognized for helping the community understand FIRST, the FIRST Tech Challenge, and the team itself. In addition, this team aggressively seeks and recruits engineers and explores the opportunities available in the world of engineering, science, and technology.

Third Place
19769 SENTINELS: Au – from Kitimat, BC, Canada
Second Place
23981 Pearsonites – from Victoria, BC, Canada

Here is what the Judges have to say about the winner of this Award:

This team had a FLEXIBLE approach to grabbing pixels. Strong communication connected the team and their community in EYE-CATCHING COLOUR. Life in RECYCLED PLASTIC, it’s FANTASTIC.

Winner
20025 Esquimalt Atom Smashers – from Victoria, BC, Canada

Connect Award – Team 20025 Esquimalt Atom Smashers

Think Award

The Think Award is given to the team that the Judges feel best reflects the journey of the engineering design process. The engineering portfolio is the key reference for Judges to help them identify the most deserving team. This team’s engineering portfolio focused on the design and build stage of the team’s Robot and exemplified their journey as a team and engineers.

Third Place
18841 KSS ONE – from Surrey, BC, Canada
Second Place
18840 Reynolds Reybots Too – from Victoria, BC, Canada

Here is what the Judges have to say about the winner of this Award:

This team did a superb job at clearly laying out the DETAILS of each mechanism on their robot. Their thoroughness and creativity in documenting their design process was truly ENVY-WORTHY. You can’t GET RID of them, even if you try.

Winner
18589 St. Pat’s Celtic Silverfish – from Vancouver, BC, Canada

Think Award – Team 18589 St. Pat’s Celtic Silverfish

Finalist Alliance

Our Finalist Alliance:

Captain 22111 Matheson Mecha Mustangs – from Surrey, BC, Canada

1^st Pick 16195 Guild of Builders – from Victoria, BC, Canada

2^nd Pick 16448 A.I.M. Bot Robotics – from Coquitlam, BC, Canada

Winning Alliance

Our Winning Alliance:

Captain 18840 Reynolds Reybots Too – from Victoria, BC, Canada

1^st Pick 20025 Esquimalt Atom Smashers – from Victoria, BC, Canada

2^nd Pick 16205 Lightning Bots – from Coquitlam, BC, Canada

Dean’s List Finalists

FIRST Dean’s List Finalists are outstanding student leaders whose passion for and effectiveness at embodying FIRST ideals is exemplary. These students were nominated by their teams for their direct contributions and impact on others – exemplifying leadership and commitment, on their FIRST Tech Challenge team, in their school, and in their community. FIRST Dean’s List Finalists, recognized here today, will represent British Columbia in the running for the ten Dean’s List Winner spots.

Congratulations

Max Gregg of Team 20025 Esquimalt Atom Smashers – from Victoria, BC, Canada
Mila Dobbin of Team 24604 SENTINELS: Ag – from Kitimat, BC, Canada

Dean’s List Finalists – Max Gregg and Mila Dobbin

Inspire Award

The Inspire Award is presented to the team that the Judges felt truly embodied the ‘challenge’ of the FIRST Tech Challenge program. The team that receives this award is a strong ambassador for FIRST programs and works to promote FIRST and make it loud in their community. The team that receives this award has performed well in all Judging categories and was chosen by the Judges as a model FIRST Tech Challenge team both on and off the playing field. This team shares their experiences, enthusiasm and knowledge with other teams, sponsors, their community, and the Judges. Working as a unit, this team will have shown success in performing the task of designing and building a robot.

Third Place
16031 PARABELLUM – from Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada
Second Place
20025 Esquimalt Atom Smashers – from Victoria, BC, Canada

Here is what the Judges have to say about the winner of this Award:

This team is a LUMINESCENT example of everything FIRST has to offer. They systematically worked through different iterations of their robot, piecing it together BRICK BY BRICK. Their play on the field, outreach in their community, and Gracious Professionalism had the judges HOOKED.

Winner
3491 FIX IT – from Victoria, BC, Canada