FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology”. It was founded in 1989 by to inspire students' interest in science and technology. FIRST is a world leader in helping the youth robotics community thrive. Across the world, students learn how to inspire innovation, build confidence, and prepare themselves for their future through mentors, teamwork, creativity, and yearly engineering challenges.
Gracious Professionalism® is part of the ethos of FIRST. It’s a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community.
Some meanings of Gracious Professionalism include:
Gracious attitudes and behaviors are always encouraged and recommended
Gracious folks respect others and let that respect show in their actions,
Professionals possess special knowledge and are trusted by society to use that knowledge responsibly
Gracious professionals make a valued contribution in a manner that is both pleasing to others and to themselves.
In summary, Gracious Professionalism is very important, meaning being kind and respectful, regardless of how poorly the game is going.
Coopertition fosters innovation by promoting unqualified kindness and respect in the face of intense competition. Coopertition means that teams help and cooperate with each other, even as they compete. It's about learning from teammates, teaching others, collaborating with mentors, managing, and being managed. Coopertition embodies the spirit of competing while assisting and enabling others whenever possible.
This means that we are always working with other teams, even if we will be against them in a later game. Working with other teams and collaborating with them is the heart of FIRST and 2181.
When an FRC team participates for the first time, they are assigned a number depending on the date and time they join. The smaller the number, the older the team is and the more history it has behind it. The numbers act as an easy recognition pattern for other teams to differentiate each other and see which robot belongs to which team.
2181 is our team number and is what is displayed everywhere on our team, from t-shirts, merchandise, pins, and our team website.