March 14-16, 2013

Petersen Events Center

Open and Free to the Public!

Get more info

FIRST is a volunteer-driven organization and needs your help! The Pittsburgh Regional, March 14-16, 2013 needs volunteers, age 16 and older, to help make the Pittsburgh Regional a success. Volunteer positions include robot inspectors, team queuers, field reset, safety glasses attendants and more. These positions require little to no technical experience and any time you could give is greatly appreciated. Please e-mail Ali Marinari at firstpittsburghvolunteers@gmail.comfor more information and visit http://www.usfirst.org/community/volunteers/volunteer-event-positions for more info about specific positions. Thank you!

Week Zero Event at the FRC Regional Practice Field: 

Saturday, Feb 16, 11 am – 4 pm

February 6, 2013 5:55 PM

Reporting Dave Crawley

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Forty-five robots, built by students, will take the floor at the Petersen Events Center March 15.

Winners move on to the First Robotics national competition in Saint Louis. They have six weeks to finish their creations.

“We’re either going to replace this small gear with a larger gear, or we’re going to flip the two,” said Nathan McKerley while examining a partially-constructed robot with fellow seniors Denesha Moorefield and Montario Meggett of City Charter HighSchool in Downtown Pittsburgh.

“There’s some stakes to it,” McKerley says. “It’s not just getting a grade, or it’s not just graduation. It’s a chance to compete against other teams and showcase what you’ve learned.”

The clock is ticking. They’ll load the finished robot into a van on Thursday, March 14, and transport it to Petersen Events Center for two full days of competition.

Meggett says it will have to toss frisbees into goals set up above the floor.

“Shoot the frisbee, how high or low. And move to one side, or another side. Back and forth,” Meggett said.

Teacher and robotics coach Marshall Kohnen says the team hopes to match successes of the past. City Charter High School won regional events in 2006 and 2009.

“We bring 100 to 200 underclassmen, ninth, 10th, 11th graders, to the competition,” Kohnen says. “And they just go crazy. Dancing, cheering, yelling. It’s a really good time.”

Classmates pitch in, selling buttons and baked goods, to help pay their team’s expenses. It’s a feel-good event for teammates and opponents alike.

“The majority of people on the other team you’ll probably be in college with, in engineering or something,” Nathan McKerley says. “You’ll see them again later in life.”

Then, perhaps, they’ll be working side to side, instead of face to face.

Click for TV footage!

After the 26th, the field will be open on Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm and on Thursdays from 5 pm to 8:30 pm.

Save-the Date for a Week Zero Event on Saturday, February 16th.

All guests must bring the CMU release form the first time they come to the field.

CMU RELEASE FORM

MAP AND CONTACT INFO

Submissions Open!
Voting begins February 11th.

The FIRST^® LEGO^® League Global Innovation Award is designed to encourage and assist FLL teams to further develop their innovative solutions to real-world problems.  Any registered FLL team may enter their  invention to win the opportunity to take their idea to the next level.

8 AM to 2 PM

Carnegie Mellon will host its thirteenth annual FIRST LEGO League Tournament at the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC).

Last December, we helped facilitate three friendly scrimmages as well as
four regional qualifying tournaments. We started with over 70 teams and
are down to 48 teams that will come to the championship event. Teams that
make it to this year’s championship tournament will have already competed
two or three times and we expect this field of to be well prepared.

This year’s theme is “Senior Solutions” and teams are being challenged to
solve problems and conduct research aimed at improving the life of senior
citizens by helping them to be independent, engaged and connected in their
communities. The public is invited to watch the tournament at NREC on Saturday
January 19th anytime between 8:00am to 2:00pm.

FIRST Pittsburgh Alumni Association

of Carnegie Mellon University

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Carnegie Mellon University University Center, McConomy Auditorium

Check the 2013 Pittsburgh Kickoff page for updates!

The Agenda is now posted