This was the 33rd World Championship for FIRST Robotics Competition.

FIRST, established in 1989, held their first FRC Championship in 1992 with 28 total teams participating. This year, out of over 3500 FRC teams worldwide, 597 teams qualified to play across 8 fields named for famous Scientists and Engineers in history (Archimedes, Curie, Daly, Galileo, Hopper, Johnson, Milstein, Newton) with the winning Alliance from each field advancing to the World Final Playoffs on the Einstein field. The LigerBots were among those final 8 Alliances!

LigerBots’ Alliance deep into a match

Of the 80+ student members of the LigerBots, 33 made the commitment and trek to participate and represent the team in Houston, TX from April 29-May 2nd. We competed with 74 other teams from around the world on the Johnson Field.

LigerBots’ Drive team and their ally’s drive team driving in the tele-op stage 

We got selected by the winning Alliance on Johnson  field. We were in the 3rd Alliance that ended up winning on our field. Then, we went to Einstein, lost our first round, won our way back in the lower bracket only to lose again in Round 3.

 Dramatic shot of LigerBots’ robot “Hermes”

Hermes didn’t actually get to play as were picked to be backup defensive bot and never actually got called to play. We were picked by the 3rd Alliance Captain (Blue Devils FRC#6324 from Salem NH) and that Alliance ended up winning Johnson field. The other members of the Alliance were Team #4946 The Alpha Dogs from Bolton, Ontario, Canada and Team #2337 EngiNERDs from Grand Blanc, Michigan. 

 Drive team drivers dramatically walking to the playing field

We went on to Einstein’s and made it through to the 3rd round (which means we won at least one match…total 8 teams,  double elimination, so 6th round was finals)

 LigerBots’ allies’ robots in a game

A brief history:

FIRST started in 1989 and the first championship was in 1992. Then we, the LigerBots, came along, with 2009 as our rookie year. We’ve been growing and have made it to Worlds a few times this year. This year, we had an 80+ person team and they all helped. 33 members of the LigerBots made the commitment to represent our team in Houston over April 29th to May 2nd. We competed with 74 other teams from around the world on the Johnson Field, one of eight competition fields at Worlds. We got selected by the winning Alliance after very amazing playing, despite challenging team matches assigned to us. We went to Einstein, the ultimate division from the best teams around the world. We won one of our rounds but unfortunately were eliminated.  We see this as a very good season and behind the robot there were plenty  of unseen aspects that helped us.  Behind an amazing Drive team were amazing pit workers, people who cheered us on, and perhaps the least known of them, the scouts.

Enthusiastic cheering LigerBots team members featured on the Jumbotron

I see scouting as what makes FIRST feel like a sport. It feels like you’re collecting athlete’s stats. The only difference is these athletes are machines. That is the crucial data that alliances rely on to pick the best robots, the unsung heroes, the people who had tough luck and made good work with it. Behind every single game is six people working and people analyzing the data so every team  pick has a reason. The way our scouting data works is that we give people tablets and whatever they see the robot that they’re scouting do something they log it down. Then. this data is entered into a huge spreadsheet and then we finally mathematically analyze it to figure out which teams are good. 

Teams, including LigerBots, bump fists

“Scouting is what separates the mediocre teams from the prepared teams “, said Sebastian, co-lead scouting coordinator.

Behind every single game is six people working and people analyzing the data so every team pick has a reason.

Check back soon to learn about upcoming events, such as the Memorial Day parade and Flag Planting!

 

Placing 10th in New England at DCMP, the LigerBots advance to Worlds in Houston.

From April 15th to 18th, the LigerBots competed with 99 other teams at the New England District Championship at the Big E in Springfield, Massachusetts.

LigerBots team photo

It had already been a successful season so far. During the North Shore qualifier earlier this year, the LigerBots won the FIRST Impact Award, one of the most prestigious awards at FIRST. The team was also Captain of Alliance 6 with our alliance partners AIR STRIKE 78 and Control Freaks 5735; the Ligerbots ended up being 8th overall during these qualifications. 

North Shore Qualifier

Two weeks later, at the Greater Boston Qualifier, LigerBots’ 2026 robot, Hermes, led the team to become the second of eight Alliance Captains during the playoffs. We pulled off a comeback victory, bringing home our second blue banner. Not only did we win the qualifier, but one of the LigerBots’ students was selected to be a FIRST leadership semi-finalist, and Coach Chris was named a Woodie Flowers Semifinalist. To round this all out, the LigerBots captured the Engineering Inspiration Award, which recognizes a team that has inspired engineering in their school and team community qualifying the team an invitation to District Championships three times over.

A team member recognized as a semi-finalist FIRST Leadership Award

During DCMP, we started off the day with nerves about getting into a good alliance, ending the day ranked 1st in the state on Day 1. On Day 2, we were pulled for the first pick of Alliance 5, with team Captain FRC 1922 Oz-Ram from Hopkinton MA, and FRC 1153 the Timberwolves from Walpole MA. Being placed with these two amazing teams allowed Hermes to perform at its best. We made it to the semifinals and ended up placing 10th overall in New England. Next we are headed to Houston, Texas for the FIRST World Championships!

Team Spirit at DCMP

Follow along as we head to Texas in the next week to compete amongst the top high school robotics teams in the world!

Today, we hosted a science fair at Lincoln-Elliot elementary. Kids participated in outreach events and had a fun time!

With “We Are the Champions” by Queen filling the arena and teammates cheering from the stands, the LigerBots, leading their alliance, claimed victory at the Greater Boston FIRST Robotics Competition held at Revere High School, topping a field of 37 teams in a dramatic, come-from-behind finish. The NE FIRST 7 week competition season still has 3 weeks to go, but LigerBots has secured their spot at the District Championships (DCMP)!

This weekend, earning the 2nd overall seed after 74 qualifying matches, the LigerBots dominated their way through the bracket, making the playoffs and winning every match in the playoffs until falling to the 1st seed Alliance in the semifinals. Fighting back through the lower bracket, FRC 2877 along with FRC 151, FRC 190 and backup robot FRC 8626 advanced to a best-of-three finals. There, they began by winning a nail-biting first match by just 4 points before dropping the second. In the decisive third match, our Alliance, with team 151 playing critical defense and teams 190 and 2877 pounding points into the hub, upset the 1st seed alliance by 4 points again to take the title!

Beyond the finals, the LigerBots earned three FIRST awards that reflect the team’s broader impact. The Engineering Inspiration Award recognized the team for their commitment to inspiring progress and innovation through engineering. Also, team member Felicia was honored by being named a semifinalist for the FIRST Leadership award, sending her to DCMP to compete with the semi finalists from other qualifiers held around the district. In addition, Coach Chris was nominated for the Woodie Flowers award, which recognizes coaches for their impact on their teams and in FIRST.

This victory builds on momentum from just two weeks earlier, when the LigerBots captured the FIRST Impact Award at the North Shore qualifier in Reading—the organization’s highest honor, celebrating teams that best embody a model for others through outreach and community impact. That win had already secured their qualification for District Championships.

Now, their robot, Hermes, earned its own way onto the field to compete with 70+ of the top teams in New England! There, the LigerBots will showcase not only the performance and strategy of their robot, but also their hallmark values of innovation, teamwork, leadership, and “gracious professionalism.”

Next stop: District Championships in Springfield, MA April 15-18th.

 

At Newton South, we hosted the neurodivergent steam fair. Students participated in STEAM activities, and had fun engaging with LigerBots members.