Edina Robotics FIRST Team 1816 – “The Green Machine,” which operates out of Edina High School, competed at the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Detroit, MI April 25-28, 2018. This event is run by FIRST, which promotes after-school, mentor-based robotics programs around the world. Over 40,000 people attended the Championship event, presenting teams from kindergarten through Grade 12. The Green Machine competed in the highest division, FRC, which is for students in grades 9 -12.
The most prestigious award given by FIRST Robotics is the Chairman’s Award, honoring the team that best exemplifies the values of FIRST and has made significant efforts in outreach and promotion of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) within their community. By winning the Chairman’s Award at the Medtronic Foundation Regional in Minneapolis in March, Team 1816 automatically qualified to compete at the World Championships with their robot. They also qualified to compete for the Chairman’s Award at the World Championships, which, if won, would induct the team into the FIRST Hall of Fame.
After giving their Chairman’s Award presentation at worlds, The Green Machine won “Chairman’s Award Finalist,” meaning that it was one of only three teams considered for the top award. One of the other teams was from Eagan, MN, while the third was from Michigan. Because of their status as finalist, the team received VIP seating during the Closing Celebration at the end of the competition. The team from Michigan was named the overall winner but, as a finalist, 1816 has automatically qualified for the FIRST Robotics World Championship again in 2019.