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CENTENNIAL, Colo., April 24, 2024 /3BL/ - More than 1,200 student inventors showcased their creativity and engineering skills in the First® Robotics Colorado Regional Competition, sponsored by Arrow Electronics. Held at the University of Denver, the competition drew 49 high school teams from as far away as Alaska and Mexico.
This marks Arrow’s 12th year sponsoring the FIRST® Colorado competition that exposes students to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning by challenging them to build, design and program industrial-size robots. Competitors then test how well their designs perform in a timed battle against other teams.
This year’s musical-themed competition, dubbed Crescendo, was focused on exploring the role that STEM plays in the arts. The goal was to score points by having robots collect and deposit plastic rings (called “notes”) into large containers modeled after amplifiers and speakers.
“Arrow recognizes how critical STEM programs, such as FIRST Robotics, are to the future of our business and our world,” said Kim Brown Wilmsen, senior vice president and chief information officer. “We are committed to extending the benefit of technology to as many people as possible around the world and are proud to invest in FIRST programs across the globe.”
Organizers of the Colorado Regional Competition handed out more than two dozen awards, including an Autonomous Award that recognized a team from Fort Collins, Colo., who demonstrated high-performance, autonomous robot operation and a Regional Engineering Inspiration Award that honored competitors from Wyoming’s Jackson Hole High School who advanced respect and appreciation for engineering through their design and performance.
Ivey Bostrom, Arrow’s corporate marketing partnerships and programs manager, won the Colorado FIRST® Volunteer of the Year Award for her advocacy for the organization’s mission and overall support. A Colorado FIRST® Advisory Board Member, Bostrom also served as a judge for this year’s competition.
Six teams advanced to the FIRST® Robotics Championship in Houston, April 17-20, 2024, based on points scored in the competition and judged awards.
About Arrow Electronics
Arrow Electronics guides innovation forward for thousands of leading technology manufacturers and service providers. With 2023 sales of $33 billion, Arrow develops technology solutions that help improve business and daily life. Learn more at arrow.com.
About ColoradoFIRST
ColoradoFIRST (www.coloradofirst.org) is a Colorado 501(c)(3) founded in 2001 to represent and achieve the mission of FIRST (www.firstinspires.org). FIRST is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be facilitated in school or in structured afterschool programs. Boosted by a global support system of volunteers, educators, and sponsors that include over 200 of the FORTUNE 500 companies, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements during annual challenges. An international not-for-profit organization founded by accomplished inventor Dean Kamen in 1989, FIRST has a proven impact on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. Alumni of FIRST programs gain access to exclusive scholarships, internships, and other opportunities that create connections and open pathways to a wide variety of careers.
