FIRST Robotics Competition Suspends Season, Cancels Championships

RobinH writes: The FIRST organization suspended their season and cancelled both world championships today amid concern about the COVID-19 pandemic. In the FIRST Robotics Competition, high school teams with the assistance of adult mentors design and build a 125 pound (~57 kg) robot in about 8 weeks and compete it in regional competitions to earn points allowing them to compete in district and eventually world championships. It's common for teams to spend 3 or more late nights a week and all weekend building their robot during the "build season" so teams are understandably disappointed. A few were able to compete in week 1 and week 2 events, but many weren't able to compete at all. It's still unclear if the regional events will be rescheduled.