About FIRST®
FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded by Dean Kamen and Woodie Flowers in 1989. It is a non-profit organization with over 120,000 volunteers and has raised over 50.4 million dollars since its founding in 1989. Its main goal is to inspire students and introduce them to the wonders of engineering and technology.
FIRST® operates a number of STEM-based programs, including FIRST® LEGO League Jr., FIRST® LEGO League, FIRST® Tech Challenge, and FIRST® Robotics Competition. FIRST® oversees a total of over 400,000 students, 34,000 robots, 90,000 mentors, and 38,700 teams.
“To create a world where science and technology are celebrated… where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.” –FIRST® Slogan
More information about FIRST® programs can be found at the FIRST website.
About Team 3189 & Our History
Our diverse team is made up from 5 different high schools in the El Dorado Union High School District. Even though we often compete in other venues, we are committed to working together! Currently, we have team members from Union Mine, Oak Ridge, Ponderosa, El Dorado & Pacific Crest Academy.
In 2008, the FIRST FRC game was RACK AND ROLL. Torgeir Lindborg, our first Team Captain, went to see the competition at UC Davis, Sacramento with his parents when he was in 8th grade. They found out about the competition through an announcement in the newspaper.
Torgeir was inspired and hooked! He sought permission to start an FRC team at his high school when he was a freshman and received it. He looked on the FIRST website to find a team that would mentor us. The Elk Grove Herdinators informed him that it was too late in the year to start his own team, but invited him to join their team for the year. The 2009 FRC competition was LUNACY. Torgeir participated in that competition as a Herdinator and enjoyed the FRC signature…
As a sophomore at Union Mine High School, Torgeir was able, with the help of the school faculty and his family, to start a district wide FRC Team. Another student, Emma Holm, jumped on board during the summer before the school year to help with fundraising and public relations. Torgeir and Emma began recruiting and discovered another student, Luke Jarrett, who held the vision for a robotics team as well and had been looking for a way to create a team. Word spread and before we knew it our team, the Circuit Breakers, #3189, was 32 students and 11 mentors strong.