Frequently Asked Questions

What is FIRST?

FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” FIRST, founded by Dean Kamen, is committed to spreading interest in science and technology, especially among students. FIRST also promotes the values of gracious professionalism, teamwork, critical thinking, and hard work. For more information on the message of FIRST, visit http://www.firstinspires.org/.

Is this “Battle Bots?”

No. FIRST Robotics is about cooperation, friendly competition, and gracious professionalism. We are here to promote technological interest while having fun – no robots will be destroyed in our competitions!

What will this year’s challenge be?

Every year, the challenge for the season will be announced on the first Saturday of January during the FIRST Robotics kickoff. Prior to that date, no team will know the challenge. We will meet at WCTC in January for the kick off party and watch the live feed on this year’s challenge. As of now, we know that this year, FIRST has partnered with Star Wars to bring us a game called Infinite Recharge!

How often do you meet?

Before the kickoff, we meet once a week to train, prepare, organize, and perform other important pre-season tasks. Once build season begins, we use an A/B schedule, with half of the team meeting on Monday nights and Saturday mornings and the other half meeting on Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons.

How long is the build season?

The build season lasts for six weeks, beginning in early January and lasting until our competitions (which happen in March). During this time, we build the entirety of our robot.

When/Where is the competition?

Over past years, BEAST Robotics has competed in the Wisconsin Regional at the UWM Panther’s Arena in Milwaukee. We have also participated in the Miami Valley Regional in Dayton, OH, and the Championships in Detroit, MI. This year, we will be going to Duluth, MN in addition to the Wisconsin Regional.

How does the robot get there?

We load up our robot with the rest of our competition materials when we leave for an event! The robot is inspected once we arrive at competition to make it meets all requirements for the competition.

How do you get to Nationals?

In the qualifying rounds, the robots are teamed up randomly for each game. Each team will have three robots competing in the arena for that game. After the qualifying rounds, the 8 best teams will choose from the other robots to form their 3-team alliance. In the elimination rounds, the robots will play off, and the winning alliance advances to the championships. Another way to get to nationals is to win prestigious awards – for example, the Chairman’s Award is given to the team that best represents the goals of FIRST.

What will I do? What jobs are available?

There is always something that needs to be done on one of our many sub-teams. The mechanical sub-team is responsible for creating a design plan, developing prototypes, testing ideas, and constructing the robot. The electrical sub-team wires the motors, switches, computers, and other devices on the robot. The programming team creates code (Java) for the robot. But it’s not only building the robot itself! Other jobs include writing a business plan, running our social media accounts, preparing for awards, updating the website, keeping records, and more. See our “About Us” tab for more information! Regardless of your interests, BEAST Robotics will have a place for you!

I have more questions! Who can I ask?

For information on who to contact, visit the “Contact Us” page. You can also send a message to to learn more about FIRST and 2202 BEAST Robotics.