Infinite Recharge (2021)

Infinite Recharge
Year2021
Season Information
Number of teams3,079[1]
Number of regionals0
Number of district events0
Championship locationVirtual
FIRST Championship Awards
Chairman's Award winnerHouston Group
4613 - "Barker Redbacks"
Detroit Group
503 - "Frog Force"
Woodie Flowers Award winnerMatt Fagen - Team 4253
ChampionsGame Design Challenge winners
2168 - "Aluminum Falcons"
1678 - "Citrus Circuits"
4342 - "Demon Robotics"
Innovation Challenge winner
5553 - "Robo’Lyon"

Infinite Recharge (stylized in all caps) is the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) game for the 2021 season.[2] The season is in partnership with Lucasfilm as part of its Star Wars: Force for Change initiative.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 season is the first season in history to begin with no events scheduled, with teams instead invited to take part in three virtual challenges that will include judged awards.[3] FIRST has also committed to regular reevaluations of the status of the pandemic to determine if in-person events are possible, with the first reevaluation taking place in January. In light of this, some districts had developed plans for limited hybrid events. For example, FIRST Chesapeake, which runs events in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., had plans for events that would have taken place in March and April.[4] After completing a review of health measures and COVID statistics, FIRST announced that no North American events would be approved until June 2021.[5]

Teams have also worked on their own individual projects, such as producing personal protective equipment (i.e. face masks).[6] Other teams are taking the season off to develop improvements to their robot that can be applied to future seasons, such as a new drive system.[7]

  1. ^ "FIRST 2021 Annual Report" (PDF).
  2. ^ "FIRST Robotics Competition Game and Season Info". FIRSTinspires. 2019-04-20. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  3. ^ "FIRST HQ Update on 2021 FIRST Robotics Competition Season". FIRST. 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
  4. ^ "CHS Events". FIRST Chesapeake Events. Retrieved 2021-01-09.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Update on the 2021 FIRST Robotics Competition Season". www.firstchesapeake.org. Retrieved 2021-03-08.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Hutchinson, Steve Garagiola, Derick (2020-03-30). "Romeo robotics team builds masks to help those on front lines of coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis". WDIV. Retrieved 2021-01-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Hosford, Joy. "Billerica robotics team members talk about how the canceled season could bring success". Wicked Local. Retrieved 2021-01-12.