Thousands of students made waves at The Big E to complete the FIRST DIVE robotics season in New England

NE FIRST returned to The Big E for our weekend-long robotics showcase featuring all FIRST programs together on one fairground. For the FIRST DIVE season's FRC game, REEFSCAPE, 96 teams in two divisions competed like crazy to see who would take home the title of New England District Champions! All six New England states were represented and teams were holding their breaths...not to truly spend time underwater, but to see who would earn one of 31 qualifying spots at the FIRST Championship in Houston, Texas, next week!

It was amazing to bring everyone together for this incredible celebration of FIRST and STEM in our district. Check out the crowd on our New England "Einstein," the INGENUITY field where division champions fought for the title of New England District Champions and many of our top awards were announced on Saturday afternoon!

Each division of 48 teams ran 96 qualification matches, had their own alliance selection and playoffs tournament, and crowned champions and other award winners. Though the high score of the event was 279 with penalties, each division saw scores breaking 250 points in both qualification matches and playoffs.

After lunch on Saturday, the Ballard Division Champion Alliance went up against the Sosik Division Champion Alliance to crown the true winners of the New England District Championship. Congratulations to the Sosik Division Champions who came out victorious!

FULL FRC EVENT PROGRAM + TEAM LIST

Since 2023, our dual-division district championship has featured fields named for inspiring STEM leaders in and from New England. This year, we were excited for teams to compete in the SOSIK Division presented by GE Aerospace, and the BALLARD Division presented by Altair!

The BALLARD Division presented by Altair is named for Dr. Robert Ballard. Dr. Ballard is a renowned ocean explorer, famous for discovering the final resting place of the Titanic wreckage. But he is most excited about his other discoveries, including the Galapagos Rift hydrothermal vents: fissures on the ocean floor that release superheated, mineral-rich water, supporting unique ecosystems.

We were thrilled to host Dr. Ballard at the University of Rhode Island for our URI District Event in mid-March. His remarks were recorded there and shown for our District Championship attendees! Thanks to FRC teams 5112 and 195 for making this video possible.

The SOSIK Division presented by GE Aerospace is named for Dr. Heidi Sosik. Dr. Sosik is a Senior Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a biological oceanographer and inventor, developing automated underwater analyzers that dramatically enhance scientists’ and resource managers’ ability to study microscopic organisms.

Dr. Sosik joined us on April 4th to experience the action throughout the event! When given an opportunity to address the audience from her own field, she reminded us of the importance of following our curiosity, being fearless about trying new things and bringing love and respect to everyone and everything around us in everything we do.

Thank you to Dr. Sosik and Dr. Ballard for inspiring us this season and beyond!

Outside of the REEFSCAPE matches throughout Thursday and Friday, teams were able to participate in a variety of activities and projects. Whether they helped our community service project of making paracord lanyards to donate to Operation Gratitude for care packages for troops, or had fun with lawn games and LEGOs, there was something for everyone!

Between robot matches in the Coliseum and the robot pits in the Young Building, the A Barn was full of colleges and universities in Scholarship Row, local companies sharing incredible technology in Sponsor Row, interactive art projects with Positive Street Art and even members of the 501st Legion. In the same building as the competing teams' pits, we also had our district Engineering Inspiration and Rookie All-Star teams who were competing for these awards without their robot at the event, ready to tell their stories to invited guests.

It was hard to miss the presence of E.C.H.O. from the United States Space Force, a test of cognitive skills that are necessary for U.S.S.F. Guardians; or Hugo from Medtronic, a surgical robot demonstration! Special thanks to Northwest Designs for creating commemorative shirts for the occasion that anyone could customize and purchase: they are still available at https://nwd.ink/s/eventstore using our event dates!

We made sure to bring every FIRST program to The Big E fairgrounds:

FIRST Robotics Competition NE District Championship: the culmination of REEFSCAPE matches in New England in the Coliseum
FIRST Tech Challenge New England Premier Event: the first-of-its-kind advancement event took over the Mallary Complex with an international INTO THE DEEP competition hosting 56 teams
FIRST LEGO League Challenge Scrimmage: teams from multiple states enjoyed SUBMERGED matches and judging on Saturday
FIRST LEGO League Explore Expo: teams demonstrated their season model and knowledge gained this season
FIRST LEGO League Parade: everyone attending could join our FRC mascots for a parade on the field between Alliance Selections and REEFSCAPE playoffs!

Special thanks to our event speakers, many of whom also represented NE FIRST sponsors, for joining us throughout the weekend's ceremonies:

Dr. Heidi Sosik, our inspiration for the SOSIK Division presented by GE Aerospace and oceanographer with WHOI
Chris Rake, Chief Operating Officer for FIRST
Christine Miska, FIRST mentor and engineering director for BAE Systems
Phil Wickler, FIRST parent and Chief Transformation Officer at GE Aerospace
Tim Irish, academic account representative at Altair
Samantha Harkness, FIRST alum and military maintenance instructor for RTX
Eddie Pace, FIRST parent (+ FTC Premier volunteer!) and Director of Engineering at Medtronic
Second Lieutenant Cameron Johnson from the United States Space Force

Thank you to the companies and organizations that join us in the New England Expo, looking to inspire the next generation of employees with their support:

BAE Systems
RTX
Medtronic
Mathworks
GE Aerospace
Altair
United States Space Force
PTC
Eversource
MITRE
Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute (OECI)
- bringing together the University of Rhode Island, the University of New Hampshire, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the Ocean Exploration Trust
Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL)
Hack Club

And thank you to the colleges and universities, many of whom brought in FIRST alumni to chat with current students about next steps after high school:

Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Western New England University
Wentworth Institute of Technology
University of Hartford
University of Connecticut
Merrimack College

Our weekend of FIRST robotics at The Big E would not have been possible without the efforts of nearly 300 incredible volunteers, whether they planned for months for a great team experience or they held field and pit roles to make everything run smoothly all weekend. They were led by a small but mighty team of event planners who worked behind the scenes since late last year to make the 2025 New England District Championship a success!

Kari Karwedsky & Jamee Luce, Committee Chairs
Merideth Tumasz, Senior Judge Advisor
Alex Carter-Boal, Senior Volunteer Coordinator
Kristine Atiyeh, Blake Bourque, McKenzie Brunelle, Nick Greeley, Kyle Henry, Brennan Macaig, Committee Members

Check out these presentations used throughout the event to:

Celebrate each of the 11 FIRST Impact Award winners, 11 Engineering Inspiration Award winners, 8 Rookie All-Star Award winners, 22 Dean's List Semi-Finalists and 11 Outstanding Volunteers from each of the 2025 New England District Events
Recognize all of the 2025 NE FIRST sponsors that made this season possible...as seen on The Big E's jumbotron!
Highlight teams' Woodie Flowers Finalist Award nominees for this year (send us a message if you'd like to update your mentor's slide)

Congratulations to our NE FIRST District Championship Finale and Cultural Award Winners:

Woodie Flowers Finalist Awards:

Brendan Browne from FRC 3467, Windham Windup from Windham, NH

John Sangiolo from FRC 2877, LigerBots from Newton, MA

Dean's List Finalist Awards:

Suchita S. from FRC 999, MechaRAMS from Cheshire, CT

Dyuthi P. from FRC 1153, Timberwolves from Walpole, MA

Cooper M. from FRC 4925, The Resistance from Wolfeboro, NH

Zena G. from FRC 1153, Timberwolves from Walpole, MA

Clay N. from FRC 9101, Green Mountain Robotics from Burlington, VT

Volunteer of the Year: Rob Cormier, FRC Mentor and FTC Partner

FIRST Impact Awards:

FRC 195, CyberKnights from Southington, CT

FRC 125, NUTRONs from Revere, MA

FRC 1071, Team MAX from Wolcott, CT

Engineering Inspiration Awards:

FRC 5112, The Gongoliers from Foster/Glocester, RI

FRC 4905, Andromeda One from Ayer, MA

Rookie All-Star Award:

FRC 10063, S.C.R.A.P. from Weymouth, MA

New England District Championship Winners:

FRC 6324, The Blue Devils from Salem, NH

FRC 7407, Wired Boars from Wallingford, CT

FRC 839, Rosie Robotics from Agawam, MA

New England District Championship Finalists:

FRC 3467, Windham Windup from Windham, NH

FRC 190, Gompei and the HERD from Worcester, MA

FRC 7153, Aetos Dios from Manchester, CT

Congratulations to all Sosik Division award winners:

NE FIRST District Championship Sosik Division Champions:

FRC 6324, The Blue Devils from Salem, NH

FRC 7407, Wired Boars from Wallingford, CT

FRC 839, Rosie Robotics from Agawam, MA

NE FIRST District Championship Sosik Division Finalists:

FRC 1153, Timberwolves from Walpole, MA

FRC 88, TJ² from Bridgewater/Raynham, MA

FRC 5142, RoboDominators from New Haven, CT

Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors: FRC 1768, Nashoba Robotics from Nashoba, NH

Judges' Award: FRC 131, CHAOS from Manchester, NH Rising All-Star Award: FRC 9443, Aluminum Panthers from West Newbury, MA

Team Sustainability Award: FRC 8046, LakerBots from Meredith, NH

Team Spirit Award: FRC 175, Buzz Robotics from Enfield, CT

Excellence in Engineering Award: FRC 172, Northern Force from Falmouth/Gorham, ME

Gracious Professionalism Award: FRC 5000, Hammerheads from Hingham, MA Creativity Award sponsored by Rockwell Automation: FRC 8724, Mayhem from Bedford, NH

Quality Award: FRC 6324, The Blue Devils from Salem, NH

Innovation in Control Award: FRC 177, Bobcat Robotics from South Windsor, CT

Autonomous Award sponsored by Ford: FRC 1153, Timberwolves from Walpole, MA

Imagery Award in honor of Jack Kamen: FRC 238, Crusaders from Manchester, NH