FIRST^® recently announced the new game for the 2020-2021 FIRST Tech Challenge season, ULTIMATE GOAL^SM presented by Qualcomm, and it’s definitely a game changer in the robotics world!

It’s Finally Here!

On Saturday, September 12, robotics teams from all over the country attended the virtual kickoff event or watched their social media news feeds as the game was officially introduced. They learned the key elements of the game while soaking in the fun engineering challenges that make the competition an amazing experience year in and year out.

The basic premise and key highlights:

• Each team consists of up to two drivers/operators, a coach, a human player, and a robot.
• Four randomly selected teams participate in the match, with two teams per alliance.
• The match is played on a 12-foot square playing field.
• On one end of the playing field are two tower goals with different levels.
• There are 20 rings in each match. Each ring has a 5" diameter and is 3/4" thick.
• The rings are placed or thrown into each level of the corresponding tower goal for points for the respective team.
• There is also a 30-second autonomous period at the beginning of each match.

Initial Feedback

Like every year, I was excited to hear what teams thought about the competition. Coach Joe Slifka, mentor of third-year team RoboVikes 14518, communicated to me his overall excitement. He said, “I was watching the game release video on Saturday, and as soon as I saw the ring toss, I was so pumped and admittedly a bit nervous.”

Social media was clearly sharing the excitement with posts such as: 

I’m sure the announcement of the new game already has teams brainstorming new ideas for their ULTIMATE GOAL robot. Wherever you are, I know the enthusiasm for this challenge will continue to grow and grow. When the competition finally arrives, I am 100 percent confident there will be some amazing teamwork, gracious professionalism, and mind-blowing robots!

Changing the Game

Did you happen to miss or perhaps forget the ULTIMATE GOAL release, or do you want additional information? You can check out the video and read up on all the pertinent information in the game manual on the FIRST website.

Always Remember

• As a gentle reminder, don’t forget all teams get 25 percent off parts from our FTC Team Store! You can shop ‘til you drop . . . all season long.
• Because we love seeing all the fun you have during the season, be sure to tag us in your posts on your platforms using @TETRIXrobotics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and use hashtag #TETRIXTeams. Trust us when we say that we will never get bored of seeing the amazing innovations, builds, and good stuff you will do!

The TETRIX^® team and I wish you the very best, especially this 2020 season. We know this year has been a challenge, but this is a time to have fun!

Be safe. Be a GAME CHANGER.