2020
2021
Thank you to our Sponsors who have made these Chats possible.
If you were unable to tune in live, here is the recording of the January 2021 Town Hall meeting.
Click here for the Town Hall slides.
You are invited to attend a remote Town Hall on Tuesday, December 15th, at 6:00pm on Twitch- https://twitch.tv/
Due to the upward trending COVID 19 positivity rates in Maryland and Virginia, as well as the dramatic uptick in hospitalizations over the past 2 weeks, FIRST Chesapeake has made the difficult decision to postpone the Saturday, December 5th FTC Scrimmages Sponsored by InSource Solutions until January- date TBD. As always, the health and safety of our teams and volunteers are our first priorities, and at this point, health experts are advising against in-person gatherings. FIRST Chesapeake will notify all participants once it has been determined that it is safe to resume our events. Until then, we appreciate your patience and understanding.
COVID-19 Safety Plan For FIRST Chesapeake
If you were unable to tune in live, here is the recording of the 2020 September FIRST Chesapeake Town Hall broadcast.
The July 8th FIRST Chesapeake Town Hall video can be viewed here.
Our world is very different than it was just a few months ago, but FIRST Chesapeake’s commitment to the health and safety of our teams and volunteers has not changed. We are working closely with FIRST Headquarters and our local health authorities to determine the best path forward for the 2020-2021 competition season. Because this is going to take some time, we will be announcing our competition dates and locations a little later than usual. Please check our program webpages in the Fall for more information.
Until then, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at or call 804.572.8454.
Be well, take care of yourselves and your families, and please continue to follow the CDC guidelines to maximize your well-being. As we all know, FIRST Chesapeake is not about building robots. It is about what “WE” do together to make the world a better place.
If you were unable to join tonight's Town Hall meeting, the recording is available here.
- If you were unable to join tonight's Town Hall Meeting, the recording is available here.
- The next Town Hall Conference Call is scheduled for April 16th, 5:30pm. We will give an update about the season.
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Meeting ID: 149 506 2011
March 12th Town Hall Call recording
Dear FIRST Chesapeake Community,
The FIRST Chesapeake board met this morning and made the difficult decision to cancel this week’s Portsmouth and Owings Mills District Events, as well as next week’s Blacksburg District Event and Edgewater District Event Sponsored by Leidos. The health and welfare of our teams and volunteers has always been our highest priority. Given the dramatic increase of COVID 19 confirmed cases and the unprecedented number of school closings and revised travel restrictions over the past 24 hours, we feel it is in the best interest of everyone to cancel.
The FIRST Chesapeake District Championship Sponsored by Newport News Shipbuilding has been postponed to June 17th-20th, 2020. While we realize that this is not a perfect solution, we hope that moving the District Championship to a later date will allow teams to enjoy the excitement and energy of a FIRST Robotics Competition.
We are disappointed that teams will not have a chance to finish the competition season this Spring, and we recognize that there will be many questions about how this will affect team rankings and the FIRST World Championship. We are working with FIRST Headquarters to determine next steps for advancement to our District Championship and FIRST World Championship Competitions.
There will be a dial in Town Hall this afternoon at 5:30pm. We will give an update and answer as many questions as we can at this time. This meeting will also be recorded and posted on the FIRST Chesapeake webpage under COVID 19 updates.
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://meetings.ringcentral.com/j/1497171975
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Meeting ID: 149 717 1975
We recognize the tremendous amount of hard work that the teams and the local committees have put into this season. We also know that some teams and volunteers may lose deposits for this weekend. The situation has been a moving target with many variables. This was not an easy decision, but we feel it is the right one.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work with FIRST Headquarters to solidify a plan for FIRST World Championship and the District Event Sponsored by Newport News Shipbuilding this summer.
Sincerely,
Leighann Scott Boland James Kresge
Executive Director Board Chair
FIRST Chesapeake 2019-2020 Press Binder
Goochland Gazette "In sole competition of the season Goochland robotics ranked 1st at event – and helped another team build its robot" [article]
Naval Sea Systems Command "NSWC Dahlgren Division Update on 2020 STEM Activities" [article]
Carroll County Times "Carroll County robotics teams compete at home and away" [article]
WTOP "Battle of the bots: High schoolers put their robots to the test in Bethesda" [video]
WRIC 8 News "40 high school teams compete in FIRST Chesapeake Robotics District Competition" [video]
FIRST Chesapeake "2020 FTC VA State Championship Sponsored by Capital One generates crowd and excitement, and sends teams on to FIRST World Championship" [release]
WRIC 8 News "Virginia's Best Compete in National Robotics Competition" [video]
VPM Science Matters "Robotics Competition: FIRST Tech Challenge" [article]
FIRST Chesapeake "FIRST Chesapeake Robotics honors Elizabeth Lindsey at second annual Reaching for the Stars: Women in STEM Breakfast sponsored by Rolls-Royce press release" [release]
Orange County Review "Robots bring students together in Orange for a day of competition, collaboration" [article]
Culpeper Star-Exponent "Regional robotics event in Orange tests creativity of students across Northern Virginia" [article]
Roanoke Times "Robotics competition gears up at Roanoke College" [article]
NRV News "FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifier" [article]
NBC29 WVIR "Robots clash at First Tech Challenge Charlottesville qualifier" [article]
Daily Progress "Area students guide robot battles, gear up for state" [article]
VPM Science Matters "Eye in the Sky" [article]
Henrico Citizen "48 robotics teams to compete Dec. 7 at Deep Run HS" [article]
Virginia Living Magazine "Building Bots" [article]
WSLS "15 Schools gather in Salem for robotics tournament" [video]
Capital Gazette "Sharon Schultz: Archbishop Spalding's robotics team goes to world championships" [article]
WRIC " ‘Teamwork and strategy made this happen’: L.C. Bird RoboHawks places 4th in World Championship" [video]
Chesterfield Observer "FIRST Robotics Team 346, the RoboHawks" [article]
Fauquier Times "Robotics champions: Fauquier’s little team that could" [article]
WDVM25 "Student robotics team qualifies for world championship" [video]
FCPS "Students Qualify for World Championship" [article]
WTVR 6 "Community rallies around robotics team; helps send them to World Championships" [video]
Village News "RoboHawks earn invitation to Detroit robotics competition" [article]
Tidewater News "Blackwater Robotics to compete internationally" [article]
NBC12 "Four Richmond-area high schools compete in international robotics competition" [article]
CBS6 "'Innovate. Invent. Inspire:' This Richmond robotics team needs your help" [video]
WVEC 13NewsNow "Students score at robotics competition" [video]
FIRST Chesapeake - FIRST Chesapeake District Championship Event press release [release]
WSLS "Robotics competition comes to Blacksburg High School" [video]
WDBJ7 "Blacksburg High School hosts robotics competition" [video]
FIRST Chesapeake - FIRST Chesapeake District Blacksburg VA Event media advisory [release]
FIRST Chesapeake - FIRST Chesapeake District Oxon Hill MD Event media advisory [release]
The Virginian Pilot "An imaginary planet, an evacuation, robots; contest preps students for the future" [article]
Richmond Times-Dispatch "Building a Better Robot" [article]
The Gazette-Virginian "Comets robotics team 12th after quarterfinals" [article]
FIRST Chesapeake - FIRST Chesapeake District Portsmouth VA Event Sponsored by Newport News Shipbuilding media advisory [release]
FIRST Chesapeake - FIRST Chesapeake District Owings Mills MD Event Sponsored by Leidos media advisory [release]
FIRST Chesapeake - FIRST Chesapeake District Bethesda MD Event Sponsored by Bechtel media advisory [release]
The Tidewater News “Blackwater Robotics competes at FIRST Chesapeake Richmond Event” [article]
Science Matters “Atlee H.S. Hosts State Robotics Championship” [article]
Fairfax County Times “Pinnacle students win 2nd place in regional robotics competition” [article]
BTW21 “New College Institute’s robotics team wins first place at district competition” [article]
Falls Church News Press “Mason’s Robotics Team Takes 2nd at District Event” [article]
FIRST Chesapeake - FIRST Chesapeake District Haymarket VA Event Sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton media advisory [release]
WRIC "Dozens of high school robotics teams compete for championship" [video]
"Dozens of high school robotics teams compete for championship" [print]
WTVR 6 "Students Compete in annual FIRST Robotics Competition: 'It is incredibly exciting'" [video]
"Students Compete in annual FIRST Robotics Competition: 'It is incredibly exciting'" [print]
FIRST Chesapeake - FIRST Chesapeake District Richmond VA Event Sponsored by Dominion Energy media advisory [release]
Loudoun Now "Ashburn Team Wins Spot at International Contest" [article]
The Suffolk News-Herald "Congrats to NSA Robotics" [editorial article]
The Suffolk News-Herald "NSA Robotics to Compete in World Championship" [article]
The Alexandria Gazette Packet "Awarding Women in STEM" [article]
The Centre View "Awarding Women in STEM" [article]
The Herndon Connection "Awarding Women in STEM" [article]
WSLS TV "Christiansburg robotics team qualifies for World championship" [article]
FIRST Chesapeake - FIRST Tech Challenge Virginia State Championship Sponsored by ECPI University press release [release]
The Progress Index "Bird High School robotics team hosts competition kickoff" [article]
The Progress Index "Appomattox regional team shows off its technological skills as it preps for future competition" [article]
WRIC 8 "Dozens of High Schools Battle in Robot Competition" [video]
WUSA 9 "Robots Take Over Alexandria Competition" [video]
Richmond Times-Dispatch "Richmond Area High Schools Competing in Robotics Competition This Weekend" [article]
WTKR "High School Robotics Teams to Compete for Technological Superiority" [article]
The Virginian-Pilot "Local teens battle for glory at regional robotics competition in Portsmouth" [article]
WAVY TV "Teams Across the State Compete at FIRST Chesapeake Robotics Competition" [video]
FIRST Chesapeake Featured Video
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Download our 2019 Media Kit (Revised 3-22-2019)
Hi Teams,