About Southern Tier Robotics
Southern Tier Robotics particpates in the FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition which is part of the FIRST® organization. We are located in Vestal, NY.
What is FIRST?
The mission of FIRST® is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that develop STEM skills, foster innovation, and build well-rounded life capabilities, including self-confidence, communication, and leadership(firstinspires.org). FIRST® has multiple programs at each grade level Pre-K - 12th grade. The competition that Southern Tier Robotics participates in is called the FIRST Robotics Competition.
What is the FIRST Robotics Competition
FIRST® Robotics Competition allows students from grade 9-12 to compete in a game that changes each year. In January of each year, FIRST® reveals the game that all other teams must compete in. Then for 6 weeks, students and mentors spend time designing, building, and programming a ~120 pound robot from scratch. After the robot is built, the team travels to different regional competitions and competes against other teams. The format of the game is 3v3, so teams get randomly paired up during the seeding matches. Then alliances are formed for the playoff matches with the top 8 teams selected other teams they want to pair up with. If you win the competition, you and your alliance members get invited to the world competition, where teams from all over the world come to compete.
Team History
The team was founded in 2007 under the name Tigertronics and operated out of Union Endicott High School. Throughout the years, our team has gain and lost mentors, seen students graduate high school and college, and join the workforce (And some even come back to mentor the team). But most of all, our team's robot keep getting better and better each year. The FIRST® Robotics Competition events were cancelled in 2020-2021 because of COVID, and the team decided to move the headquarters of the team to Vestal High School. During this transition, we decided to change the name to better reflect the multi school participation we have. You can see an overview of old robots on our history page.