I am sure you saw the FIRST announcement suspending the remainder of the current season and cancelling the FIRST Championships.
Much of when/how we do things will be dependent on decisions they make in the next several weeks. We will do our best to keep everyone updated as we receive new information from FIRST, but ask that you all be patient for now. There is a lot to work out and it will take time to get answers to many of the questions you all have.
I know suspending the FIRST RISE season is not the news students who have put many long hours into preparing for this season wanted to hear. I can tell you that the FIRST in Texas Board, Staff and I share in the disappointment this news brings us all.
However, given that the safety of all event attendees – students, coaches, mentors, volunteers, spectators, partners and sponsors – is of the utmost importance to FIRST in Texas, we fully support this decision by FIRST.
The great thing about FIRST is that we are about so much more than robots and competitions.
When we look at what you have been able to accomplish this season, we know without a doubt that the core mission of FIRST has been met. You and your team rose to the challenge of the FIRST RISE season. Through the process of completing the many challenges posed by FIRST, your team learned the skills and acquired the knowledge you need to create your future and build a better world.
YOU are why we do what we do. Our future will only be built better together because YOU will improve the world. This program is about more than robots, it is a robotics community that is preparing YOU for the future. Throughout this season, you’ve learned through successes, failures and even events outside of your control like we’re experiencing right now.
Remember that the events and experiences of this season are all part of a much longer journey you are on to improve our world.
At the moment, we do not know what the future holds for rescheduling events. We will work with FIRST headquarters and the rest of the community to assess opportunities for competition, whether official or during the off-season, so that teams can compete and show off what they learned this year. For now, FIRST in Texas is exploring other opportunities for virtual gathering spaces. Our desire is to bring together the FIRST in Texas community and work with FIRST to provide an experience that does justice to what this season should have been.
We will navigate this uncharted territory as a community because Together We Are FIRST and TOGETHER, WE RISE!
Respectfully,
Patrick Felty
Executive Director & President
FIRST in Texas