Saginaw Valley State University will host the FIRST® in Michigan state championship, beginning Thursday, April 6 and running through Saturday, April 8. The competition is expected to bring 160 FIRST® Robotics teams representing high schools throughout the state. In addition to the 5,000 students, SVSU expects an additional 4,000 visitors.
This is the fifth year SVSU has hosted the state championship, which is an economic boon for businesses throughout the community. The 2022 competition generated more than $4 million in direct spending, according to a report by the Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau.
FIRST in Michigan seeks to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators. Their mission is to establish a sustainable robotics competition team at every high school in the state. Teams compete in qualifying district events, with winners being determined by a point system. The 160 top-ranked teams advance to the state championship. Winners at the state level will advance to the FIRST championship in Houston.
Erika Kiehler, an SVSU accounting major from Riley, in St. Clair County, was involved in FIRST® Robotics as a high school student. Kiehler said she learned a lot through that experience, and she earned SVSU’s FIRST Robotics Scholarship.
“My participation in FIRST has provided me so much,” Kiehler said. “I have learned so much about so many different things ranging from hard skills like using power tools and machinery safely and effectively to soft skills such as communication and teamwork. I have made valuable connections with people and made so many new friends through FIRST.
“My team was small — only 6 kids my senior year! I was responsible for a lot of things on the team including budgeting, manufacturing the robot, and communicating with sponsors. I was our team’s ‘human player,’ which means I got to interact with the game pieces while a match was in progress.”
SVSU faculty, staff and students volunteer their time to support local schools and education programs, and more than 300 individuals ― faculty, staff, students and alumni ― have volunteered during previous championships on campus.
The theme for the 2023 FIRST Robotics competition is CHARGED UPSM, presented by Haas. The teams are inspired to see the potential of energy storage in a new light as they compete to charge up their communities.
The anticipated daily schedule is as follows:
Thursday, April 6: Drop and load-in will be from 7 a.m.- noon. Practice matches begin at 10 a.m. and run until 3:30 p.m. Opening ceremonies will take place at 5 p.m.
Friday, April 7: Pits open at 8 a.m. Matches are scheduled from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m., with a lunch break from 1 p.m.-2 p.m. Teams that qualify for the playoffs will form alliances Friday evening to prepare to compete on Saturday.
Saturday, April 8: Pits open at 8 a.m. Opening ceremonies will be held at 9 a.m. Intradivisional layoff matches are scheduled from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., followed by presentation of divisional awards at 12:30 p.m. The teams that qualify for the finals will calibrate their robots at 2 p.m., and the final playoff rounds will begin at 2:30 p.m. The awards presentations will follow, starting sometime after 4 p.m.
A list of teams competing in the FIRST® in Michigan State Championship can be found on the FIRST® Robotics Website.
