FIRST® just released the new game for the 2019-2020 FIRST Tech Challenge season, SKYSTONESM presented by Qualcomm, and excitement and good vibes are starting to RISESM all across the country!
On Saturday, September 7, hundreds of robotics teams attended kickoff events around the country or watched their social media news feeds feverishly as the game was formally announced. They learned the important aspects of the game and engineering challenges that make the competition fun. The basic construct:
After the kickoff, I was curious about what teams thought about the challenge. Joe Slifka, coach of second-year team, RoboVikes 14518 , shared with me that he believes the biggest challenge will be strategically placing and stacking the pieces to build the tower. Joe said, “Putting the skystones in the right places will be challenging – it’s like a real-life Jenga game.”
After the kickoff event at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Jennifer Martin, coach of Cerberus 5482 and Fluffy 5560 said, “FIRST really seems to be encouraging teams to build compact robots. Last year there were weight limitations, and this year there are height limitations.”
She also mentioned that the biggest challenge in this year’s competition is the fact that a robot’s drive chain will need to be smooth and it will be advantageous to have drivers who can smoothly operate the robot. Jerky movements will affect the movement of the stones on the foundation base.
And excitement about the new game was obvious on social media with posts like:
“Kickoff was great! We are super excited to begin this season! Good luck to everyone with this new challenge!” – Blueprints 7767
“The 2019-2020 #FTC #SKYSTONE game has been released! Can’t wait for the new season! #FTCKickoff” – VISION 14189
The release of the game rules already has teams prototyping their SKYSTONE robots. Whatever boat your team is in, we know the anticipation for this robotics competition will keep growing, and when it finally arrives, there will be some amazing robots on display at local competitions and then at FIRST World Championships in the spring!
Game Details
Did you miss the SKYSTONE release or want more details? You can check out the game reveal video and find the game manual with additional resources on the FIRST website.
We’re here to help you RISE!
The TETRIX team and I wish you nothing but the best this upcoming season! Don’t forget to RISE.