Over 100 high school students from the state of Washington came to EWU this past weekend for the start of the FIRST Robotics Competition season.

FRC is an international competition created by “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” an organization that helps prepare students for careers in STEM-related fields. FIRST organizes four different competitions, each for a different age group. The robotic competition is for high school students.

Some schools came from out of state while one team was from here in Cheney. Team 4104 is from Cheney High School, and one of their team members, Ryan Durries, could not wait for the season to kick off.

“This is my third year doing this,” said Durries. “I’m really excited. I love the robotics scene, and I love what FIRST does for everyone.”

While the event is a competition, Durries enjoys how all the teams come together.

“Everyone is so nice,” said Durries. “It’s like all the teams come together as one team to try to accomplish something. It’s not so much team versus team, as it is one team working together.”

Durries hopes to use the skills he’s learning from FIRST to start a career in a STEM-related field.

“I love robotics,” said Durries. “I enjoy engineering and the learning. I have two years left in high school, and then I plan on going to Eastern for any engineering course I find interesting, and then afterwards, possibly going on to aerospace engineering.”

No actual competition occurred Jan. 6. The competition is set for this Saturday, Jan. 13. The students, representing 12 teams, received their kits, along with information about the upcoming season.  

Now the teams will have six weeks to build their robots before competing against each other in the regional competition. Advancing teams will earn a spot in the FRC Pacific Northwest District Championship in Portland, Oregon from April 3-7, 2018.

From there, teams that qualify will be off to Houston, Texas or Detroit, Michigan in late April for the national championships.