[Kings Park, New York] — School-Business Partnerships of Long Island (SBPLI) has officially been appointed as a FIRST® Tech Challenge Affiliate Partner. Effective immediately, SBPLI will assume responsibility for managing all aspects of the program in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The inaugural event will be the official FIRST Tech Challenge Kick Off at Half Hollow Hills High School East on Saturday, September 10 at noon. During the coming FIRST Long Island season, there will be a practice scrimmage, four FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifiers and a Championship.

Started in 2005, FIRST Tech Challenge is designed for students, grades seven to 12, to compete in a head-to-head robotics competition, using a sporting tournament model, which falls within the parameters of the annual theme of the Challenge. Over the course of a 10-week build period, teams are asked to design, build and program a robot using a reusable kit of parts and Java or MIT App Inventor software. At the close of the build period, the teams then compete in an alliance format against other alliances of teams – a style dubbed by FIRST as “coopertition.”

Teams are made up of students, coaches and mentors who all work together to develop a strategy and build robots based on sound engineering principles. In each round of the tournament, awards are given for the competition as well as for community outreach, design and other real-world accomplishments. The ultimate goal of FIRST Tech Challenge is to reach more young people at a lower-cost, furthering the opportunities for accessible STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education to everyone.

“By incorporating FIRST Tech Challenge into its purview, SBPLI is now able to present the full progression of FIRST® programs, which also includes FIRST® Lego League Jr., FIRST® Lego League, and FIRST® Robotics Competition, to all Long Island students, ages six through 18,” explains Dr. Yacov Shamash, Chairman of the Board, SBPLI. “This partnership further benefits SBPLI in our mission to provide substantial hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning opportunities for students on Long Island.”

SBPLI is a completely volunteer-run organization. Its STEM-focused enrichment opportunities would not be possible without the generous donations of its sponsors.