Publicizing the Values of FIRST: “be FIRST” Campaign Inaugurated; Front-page Publicity for FIRST Robotics in Minnesota.
In 2013, The Green Machine introduced its “be FIRST” campaign at the Lake Superior Regional: To be gracious, to be innovative, and to be and act your very best at all times. Also in Season 2013, The Green Machine was featured in a front-page article on robotics in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (circulation of over 500,000). The story highlighted Minnesota as the first state to recognize FIRST robotics as a varsity sport, noting that, even in the “State of Hockey,” there are more FIRSTrobotics teams in Minnesota than varsity hockey teams! Team 1816 had its usual full calendar of community outreach and peer-to-peer mentoring events during the year, including joining with Team 2239 to help them through their first-ever outreach event. At Lake Superior Regional, Team 1816 won its first-ever robot-specific award, the Innovation in Control Award, for creative auger design and use of vision tracking.
At the North Star Regional, Team 1816 helped a rookie FRC team from Mexico, Team 4667-Synergy, make the most of their regional competition: The Green Machine accepted shipment of their robot, then took it to the 10,000 Lakes Regional along with an 1816-built pit (tools included). At the North Star Regional, The Green Machine won the Regional Engineering Inspiration award, which gave the team a slot at Championships. Team 1816 brought its “be FIRST” campaign to Championships, and selected FRC Team 16, Bomb Squad, as its national winner. FIRST award presenter Comcast singled out The Green Machine for an honorable mention for the team’s Digital Media campaign, covering the team’s website and social media presence. After Championships, 1816 participated in the second-annual Minnesota State High School League Robotics Competition.