Several changes have been made this robotics season to accommodate for the pandemic. Most of these changes are influenced by new safety regulations that FIRST enforces. According to FIRST, “The FRC Challenges for the 2021 season are being designed to minimize the need for in-person meetings for teams.” This resulted in new challenges that are downscaled so teams can complete them individually.

The challenges this year will not be done in big groups. Teams are advised to meet by themselves in online meetings, or in-person if it’s safe. FIRST elaborates on this in their blog post by Frank Merrick, titled “Additional COVID-19 Guidance for FIRST Robotics Teams” which states that “Except for the skills challenge portion of the INFINITE RECHARGE at Home challenge, all other challenges can be completed remotely. And even with the optional skills challenge, only a relatively small number of members will need to be present in person” as well as “Teams should consider all the factors before making plans for the season, including understanding the availability of resources and the goals of their team members and their team”, elaborating on how to be safe. This improves the safety of the activities during the pandemic, but it can make team activities much more difficult due to the restrictions.
The safety provisions for this season of the FIRST Robotics Competition affect students in different ways. Pranav, a Hall junior in FIRST team 3182 says, “I will admit FIRST robotics during the pandemic has not been the best. Of course, there’s no real solution to this. Limiting interactions with people include having mass groups of people come together and bump robots with each other. They’ve tried to keep the spirit active with other at-home challenges and tiny tasks, but it’s not really comparable”.

Usually, FIRST competitions are big gatherings with lots of teams and people. There will be about a month and a half of building in a season followed by the competitions. Tens of teams gather together at these competitions and many competitions occur.

The idea of teamwork promoted by FIRST is highlighted by the unique idea of alliances. A team will be matched up with two other teams against three other teams. This encourages teams to get to know each other, so they can form alliances in the finals.

All teams can help each other during competitions by offering parts or skills to teams in need. These acts of kindness help everyone involved. For example, they can help teams meet the criteria for some awards. Tyler Bristow, a Hall junior on FIRST Robotics team 3182, emphasizes the importance of teamwork in FIRST, stating “The thing I enjoy about FIRST is the teamwork involved in it. Throughout the conceptualization of the systems to the building and coding of the robot, I enjoy it because we can argue about the best ways to put a robot together that has everyone’s ideas in it”. Additionally, Ben Chern, a Hall Senior in team 3182 says, “I enjoy working together with other people to build cool things”. Teamwork is one of the most crucial parts of FIRST activities.

Go to www.firstinspires.org for more information and updates regarding the 2021 robotics season.