Join the FIRST^® community this Saturday, January 8, for the 2022 FIRST^® Robotics Competition Kickoff presented by Ford. We’ll reveal the RAPID REACT^SM presented by The Boeing Company season game and invite special guests to celebrate. The FIRSTtv broadcast will begin at 12 noon Eastern Time on January 8. Learn more and sign up for a day-of tune-in reminder.

Now available, the 2021 FIRST Annual Impact Report celebrates our mission impact and looks back at our 2020-2021 sports and fitness-themed season, FIRST GAME CHANGERS^SM powered by Star Wars: Force for Change. With support from mentors, educators, volunteers, sponsors, donors, and alumni throughout the year, we cheered our youth participants on from the virtual bleachers and were inspired by the ways they innovated and impacted their own communities as FIRST game changers. Through powerful impact data and stories, Our Game-Changing Year shows how our global robotics community rallied to inspire young people to go on to better our world and the culture around our Sport for the Mind^™ grew stronger. View the report.

Congratulations to FIRST mentor and champion Andre Douglas, who was selected by NASA to join the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class and reports for duty this month! Andre's education and experience in engineering has greatly prepared him for this incredible opportunity and serves as an inspiration to the entire FIRST community. Learn more about Andre in his NASA bio.

What better way to start the new year than with exclusive FIRST^® FORWARD^SM presented by Qualcomm merchandise? Gear-up for Kickoff with cool, new RAPID REACT merch. Find your best fit at the FIRST Store.