Inaugural Hawai`i Robotics Competition Kicks Off

Governor Lingle, Lt. Governor Aiona and FIRST robotics founder Dean Kamen opened the competition, which continues with the final rounds and awards ceremony on Saturday. View the public schedule here. Admission is free, and the community is encouraged to attend.

The Lt. Governor has traveled across the state over the past week, promoting local teams that will compete in the FIRST in Hawai‘i (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) regional to inspire more high school students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Twenty-five Hawai‘i teams are competing with more than 450 students representing high schools on the Big Island, Kaua‘i, Maui and O‘ahu. They have spent months preparing for the competition, including a six-week period in which they built their robots.

The inaugural Hawai‘i regional also features 12 mainland teams from California, Florida, New Jersey and West Virginia.

“Our Administration’s support of this competition is about more than just the value of robotics,” Lt. Governor Aiona said. “It’s about equipping our young people with important teamwork, critical thinking and problem-solving skills and engaging them in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.”

Leading up to the regional competition, Lt. Governor Aiona hosted four neighbor island community rallies to cheer on local robotics teams.

West Hawai`i robotics teams join together.	The Lt. Governor greets Maui robotics teams.
Kaua`i robotics teams participate in a community rally.	Lt. Governor Aiona meets East Hawai`i robotics students.

On March 18, the Lt. Governor visited Maui, where he held a send-off rally at Maui Community College for the island’s first two teams to ever participate in a FIRST robotics competition – Maui and Baldwin high schools.

The next day, Lt. Governor Aiona traveled to East Hawai‘i, where he hosted a community rally at the Mo‘oheeau Park Bandstand for robotics teams from Hilo and Waiakea high schools.

On March 20, the Lt. Governor went to West Hawai‘i to cheer on robotics teams from Honoka‘a and Kohala high schools as well as Parker Schools.

Then on March 25, the Lt. Governor hosted a community rally at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Conventional Hall, where he led cheers for robotics teams from Waimea High School and Island School, the first teams from Kaua`i to compete in a FIRST robotics event.

During the community rallies, the Lt. Governor encouraged residents to show their support for robotics students and their mentors as they prepare to compete in what is considered an exciting “varsity sport of the mind.”