They are the winners of tickets to FIRST robotics world championship!

The FIRST regional robotics championship in Monterrey ended with cheering from the stands, shouts of joy, and an atmosphere out of Star Wars, in which 7 teams won a ticket to the world robotics championship.

The alliance consisting of Blue Steel, from PrepaTec Aguascalientes; Imperator, from PrepaTec Puebla; and Panteras, from the Pan-American University (CDMX) obtained first place in the regional championship, winning a ticket to Houston.

In a close final with an exciting finish, these teams defeated the alliance of BotBusters, from PrepaTec Eugenio Garza Sada; Horus, from PrepaTec Colima; and StingBots, from PrepaTec Santa Anita.

BotBusters, as captain of the alliance that was also a finalist, also won a ticket to the world championship as a Regional WildCard.

“I feel really pleased about all the hours we’ve put into this project, as we’ve finally reached the goal of going to the world championship,” said Ricardo Ramos Morales, a member of Imperator, through tears of joy.

The LamBot team from PrepaTec San Luis Potosí also won the Chairman’s Award, the most prestigious FIRST prize, which is given to the model team that best contributed to the organization’s values.

This culminates the tenth anniversary of this team’s foundation and gives them their fourth consecutive pass to the FIRST world championship.

For this year’s FIRST, the robotics organization teamed up with Star Wars (from Disney and Lucasfilm), which also meant that the Tec Youth Orchestra played several tunes from the movies live and various young people turned up cosplaying characters.

Also winning a ticket to Houston was the WinT team from Tecmilenio Metepec, who won the Engineering Inspiration Award for promoting respect and appreciation for engineering in the community. 

Finally, the Rookie Inspiration Award was won by WhiteFox, from Tecmilenio Zapopan, for being the best-performing new team this year, who also won a ticket to the world championship.
 

For Bárbara Gómez, regional director of FIRST Mexico, robots are only the technical part.

“The final result is a transformation of these kids. The robots build the kids,” she said in a previous interview.

The expert also mentioned that this “generates awareness and commitment in everyone to return and always contribute something to our community,” highlighting the social side encouraged by FIRST.

What’s more, Crisantos Martínez, president of the Monterrey 2020 Regional FIRST championship and Northern Region Director of PrepaTec, says that robots are an excuse for strengthening skills in young people’s education.

These skills are self-management, responsibility, collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking.

For the closing ceremony, the Tec de Monterrey Youth Symphony Orchestra returned to play theme tunes from Star Wars, as they’d done at the opening ceremony.
 

OFF TO THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!

The winning teams of the regional championship in Monterrey with a ticket to the world championship are: 

• Regional winner: Blue Steel, from PrepaTec Aguascalientes
• Regional winner: Imperator, from PrepaTec Puebla
• Regional winner: Panteras, from the Pan-American University (CDMX)
• Regional WildCard: BotBusters, from PrepaTec Eugenio Garza Sada in Monterrey
• Regional Chairman’s Award: LamBot, from PrepaTec San Luis Potosí
• Regional Engineering Inspiration Award: WinT , Tecmilenio Metepec
• Regional Rookie Inspiration Award: WhiteFox, from Tecmilenio Zapopan.

The Monterrey 2020 Regional FIRST championship INFINITE RECHARGE was held from February 26 to 29 at the Borregos Arena, in which 44 teams from 21 Mexican states took part.

The FIRST regional competition will be held at the Laguna campus of the Tec in Torreón from March 19 to 21, where another 6 tickets will be up for grabs to the world championship in Houston, which will be held from April 15 to 18.

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