55 Teams Compete at Denver’s FIRST Robotics Regional Right Now

When Ellis Postane first learned this year’s robotics challenge would revolve around an archaeology-style excavation theme called “Rebuilt,” he immediately started imagining how his team’s robot might tackle it.

“The whole theme is really interesting,” said Postane, a freshman at Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver. “The game was set up so that there were advantages and disadvantages to everything you’re doing, which makes the game much more interesting.”

Now Postane and his teammates are putting months of work to the test. The FIRST Robotics Competition Denver Regional is taking place this week at the University of Denver’s Daniel L. Ritchie Center, bringing together 55 robotics teams from across Colorado, the United States and several other countries. The four-day event, running April 8–11, will determine which teams qualify for the FIRST Championship in Houston, scheduled for April 29 through May 2.

The FIRST Robotics Competition, often called FRC, is run by the nonprofit organization FIRST, which was founded in 1989 to inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Colorado teams began competing in 2001, and the state has since developed a strong robotics community, with established programs at many high schools, including Denver East High School and several in the DSST Public School system.

In FRC, high school teams design, build and program industrial-style robots to compete in a themed game. Each match pits two alliances of three teams against one another on a large playing field, with robots working together to score points and complete objectives. More than 600 teams from around the world ultimately qualify for the FIRST Championship in Houston, making regional tournaments like Denver’s a critical step in the season.

“It’s a really fun environment to be in,” said Andie Stone, a sophomore team member, “and seeing our team do well was a great exposure to the team and robotics in general.”

This year’s challenge, “Rebuilt,” asks teams to design robots capable of navigating a field styled like an archaeological dig site. Robots must move through trenches and over ramps while collecting small foam balls known as fuel cells. The robots then launch those balls into scoring hubs and attempt to climb a tower structure before the match ends.

Matches are played between two alliances, Red and Blue, each consisting of three teams. While alliances compete together during a match, each team earns ranking points that determine its placement in the tournament. 

Every match begins with a 20-second autonomous period, during which robots operate entirely on preprogrammed instructions. If the coding works correctly, the robot can launch fuel cells, navigate the field or climb part of the tower without human control.

After that comes the teleoperated, or “teleop,” phase, when students drive the robots using controllers. This year’s teleop stage has a unique structure. Instead of one continuous period, it’s broken into multiple timed segments in which the red and blue alliances must quickly adapt as scoring hubs alternate between active and inactive.

Matthew Santambrogio, a mentor for Team 3648, Sparta Robotica, representing Thomas Jefferson High School, said that structure adds another layer of strategy.

“It’s a matter of hoarding resources and being able to score in very limited time intervals,” Santambrogio said.

For many teams, getting to the regional competition represents the culmination of months of preparation. Postane said his team faced significant challenges during the build season. Early on, they struggled with an overly complicated robot design.

“Our different systems were having trouble integrating with one another,” Postane said. “The biggest problem throughout the entire competition was that we overcomplicated the robot, which didn’t help with integration. But during the regional we just had a lack of preparation.”

Things got even tougher at the Pikes Peak Regional in March, the team’s first competition of the season, when the robot experienced a mechanical breakdown.

“Things on our robot were constantly breaking, so we would have to miss matches and/or crunch time in between games, which was really stressful for the pit crew,” Stone said. “Eventually, we ended up taking a lot of our robot components off and becoming a defense robot, which worked really well, but it was sad for the team to see.”

The setback hurt team morale, but members say they are hoping the Denver Regional will give them a chance to bounce back.

“Even if we don’t qualify for worlds, I want myself and everyone on the team to see just how much our work has paid off and to see the robot that we’ve worked so hard on do well,” Stone said. “As a team, I think I want this regional to show everybody that we are a good team and that our work does mean something. A lot of people are kind of wary of competition, so I really want this to instill some confidence in everybody.”

Despite the competitive nature of the tournament, the FIRST Robotics Competition emphasizes a philosophy called “gracious professionalism,” which encourages teams to support each other even while competing. Stone said that the cooperative environment is one of the things she appreciates most about the program.

“I absolutely think that robotics is a good opportunity for students,” she said. “I really enjoyed this season. Not only is it helpful for STEM exposure, but it’s also just so much fun to be on a team with other people who share the same interests as you.”

Postane said he noticed that collaborative spirit right away.

“When I was first going in, I expected insane competition and an every-man-for-himself kind of situation,” he said. “But several of our teammates were helping other teams set up, and when people needed pieces, I saw many people try their hardest to help others out.”

The Denver Regional reflects how widespread the competition has become. Alongside Colorado teams from cities like Denver, Aurora, Boulder and Colorado Springs, the event includes teams from Wyoming, South Dakota and Kansas, as well as international teams from Mexico and the Czech Republic.

Matches will continue through qualification rounds before concluding with playoff matches and awards on Saturday, April 11. If you are unable to attend, you can watch the webcast online. Teams that earn first place or major awards will advance to the world championship in Houston. For students like Postane and Stone, however, the experience is about more than advancing to the next round. 

“Making something really cool, then seeing that compete,” Stone said, “it’s all very rewarding.”