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FIRSTFIRST Robotics Canada
About FIRST

More than robots

Team Squish is part of FIRST, a global community of students, mentors and volunteers. In Canada, those programs are run by FIRST Robotics Canada.

Founded
1989
Countries
110+
Students
850,000+
In FRC
93,000+
Drive teams at the field glass during a match, with a packed crowd behind them
FIRST Robotics Competition · Photo: FIRST
Teams and spectators around the field at the first FIRST Robotics Competition in 1992
The first FIRST Robotics Competition, 1992 · Photo: FIRST
What is FIRST?

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology

FIRST was founded in 1989 to get young people excited about science and technology. It started with one program, the FIRST Robotics Competition, and treated it like a sport: big events, loud crowds, and students as the stars.

Today FIRST is a nonprofit with programs from kindergarten to grade 12 in more than 110 countries. More than 850,000 students took part in the 2024–25 season, backed by hundreds of thousands of mentors and volunteers.

firstinspires.org
Three programs

A path from age 4 to graduation

Students can start with LEGO in primary school and finish building full-size competition robots.

FIRST LEGO LeagueAges 4–14

Hands-on STEM with LEGO bricks: younger students explore, design and code small robots around a yearly theme.

FIRST Tech ChallengeAges 12–18

Teams design, build and program mid-sized robots from a reusable kit and compete in alliances, coding in Java.

FIRST Robotics CompetitionGrades 9–12 · our program

Full-size, 125 lb robots built in about eight weeks, plus the brand, sponsors and outreach that keep a team running.

FIRST, made in Canada

FIRST Robotics Canada is a registered charity, established in 2001 and incorporated in 2004, that brings FIRST programs to students across the country. It was co-founded by Mark Breadner and Gord Homer. Breadner had already started the first Canadian FIRST team, at Woburn Collegiate in Toronto, in 1998.

Its mission is to provide life-changing robotics programs that give young people the skills, confidence and resilience to build a better world, with a focus on reaching underserved and underrepresented communities. It also runs grants that help new teams like ours cover registration.

firstroboticscanada.org
Canada’s first FIRST team posing in front of a FIRST banner
Canada’s very first FIRST team · Photo: FIRST Robotics Canada
The Ontario district

How an FRC season plays out

As a Scarborough team, we compete in Ontario, which runs FRC as a district: more matches close to home, then a provincial championship for the top teams.

Kickoff

FIRST reveals the season’s game in January, and every team starts building at the same time.

District events

Each team plays two district events across Ontario, at colleges and universities from Windsor to North Bay.

District points

Teams earn points for matches, playoffs and awards. The ranking decides who moves on.

Provincials & Worlds

Top teams reach the FIRST Ontario Provincial Championship, and the best go on to the FIRST Championship.

A FIRST volunteer congratulating a team of students at a competition
Photo: FIRST
FIRST core values

Compete hard, help everyone

Gracious Professionalism means fierce competition and real kindness at the same time: respect everyone, on and off the field.

Coopertition means helping other teams even while you compete against them. Today’s opponent is tomorrow’s alliance partner.

And it’s more than robots. Teams also learn to fundraise, present, run a brand and give back to their community.

Be part of it

Join a FIRST team

No experience needed. Students, mentors and volunteers all have a place on Team Squish.

Join the teamAbout us