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106-458: FIRST also operates FIRST Place, a research facility at FIRST Headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire , where it holds educational programs and day camps for students and teachers. FIRST operates as a non-profit public charity corporation. It licenses qualified teams, usually affiliated with schools or other youth organizations, to participate in its competitions. The teams in turn pay

212-510: A senior management team, consisting of a CEO and a variety of vice presidents and additional officers for a total of 10 individuals. The first and highest-scale program developed through FIRST is the FIRST Robotics Competition, which is designed to inspire high school students to become engineers by giving them real world experience working with engineers to develop a robot. The inaugural FIRST Robotics Competition

318-411: A competition, one does so only with their allies. However, with the element of gracious professionalism, one would share resources with their opponent as well. For example, if a team needs a part or tool to fix their robot, it is expected that any team, even an opposing team would give that team a hand in order to compete. This helps students learn that success is in learning and helping others no matter

424-410: A cultural and commerce hub for the state of New Hampshire. The mill town 's 19th-century affluence left behind some of the finest Victorian commercial, municipal, and residential architecture in the state. Manchester is in south-central New Hampshire, 18 miles (29 km) south of Concord , the state capital, and the same distance north of Nashua , the second-largest city in the state. Manchester

530-484: A fee to FIRST ; these fees, the majority of which are redistributed to pay for teams' kit of parts and other services, comprise the majority of revenue of FIRST . The supreme body of FIRST is its board of directors , which includes corporate executives and former government officials. FIRST also has an executive advisory board and several senior advisors; these advisors include engineers, involved volunteers, and other senior organizers. Day-to-day operations are run by

636-651: A great industrial center arising, "the Manchester of America", in reference to Manchester , England, then at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution . In 1809, Benjamin Prichard and others built a water-powered cotton spinning mill on the western bank of the Merrimack. Apparently following Blodgett's suggestion, Derryfield was renamed "Manchester" in 1810, the year the mill was incorporated as

742-481: A mix of Counties within the State. Most Partners have a two-tier system; teams first go to a "Qualifier", and if they meet certain criteria and perform well in all three judged areas, they can receive a bid to advance to the next level of competition, which is most often a Regional-Level event. Certain territories have 3-tiers and may also employ a State Championship. The largest single-day regional qualifying tournament

848-569: A more accessible and affordable option for schools. FIRST has also said that the FIRST Tech Challenge program was created for those of an intermediate skill level. FIRST Tech Challenge robots are approximately one-third the scale of their FIRST Robotics Competition counterparts. The FIRST Tech Challenge is meant to provide a transition for students from the FIRST LEGO League Challenge competition to

954-607: A nationally broadcast television program hosted by Ari Melber , on February 7, 2020. Mayor Craig officially declared Manchester "The Chicken Tender Capital of the World" on July 27, 2023. Lavallee read the city's official resolution on field at Delta Dental Stadium before the New Hampshire Fisher Cats played as "The Manchester Chicken Tenders". The city is home to McIntyre Ski Area , which opened in 1971. There are also college sports teams that play in and out of

1060-619: A panel of judges, and the first place and other finalist teams winning the cash prizes are announced. Teresa Paneque Ruthe Farmer Felienne Hermans Anima Patil-Sabale The challenges for the FIRST LEGO League Challenge are annually themed based on a real world problem: This was a unique year as competition rules changed, a “home area” was created and for the first time contestants were asked to stop on

1166-457: A penalty, resulting in the removal of a Precision Token. These are stationary LEGO models that increase the final score if they remain until the end, providing an incentive to not interrupt the robot. The robot is not required to return to base; some teams have completed all their missions without returning to base during the time allowed to complete the missions. In fact, in the 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011-13 and 2021 challenges, points were awarded if

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1272-804: A period of nine months . After the strike, the textile industry began a slow decline, with the Great Depression hitting the city particularly hard. The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company declared bankruptcy in 1935. During the Great Flood of 1936, the McGregor Bridge was destroyed and $ 2.5 million of damage was incurred to the city's mills and buildings. After the flood, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company reorganized out of bankruptcy as Amoskeag Industries, diversifying its manufacturing operations with new industries in

1378-470: A program similar to the FIRST Robotics Competition was formed. It is aimed at 9 to 14-year-old students and utilizes LEGO Mindstorms sets (EV3, NXT, RCX) to build palm-sized LEGO robots, which are then programmed using either the ROBOLAB software (RCX-based systems) or Mindstorms NXT or EV3 software (for NXT or EV3-based systems respectively) to autonomously compete against other teams. The ROBOLAB software

1484-538: A programmed LEGO Education robot with no outside assistance. The robot has two and a half minutes to complete the missions; called the Robot Game . Each team has a minimum build period of 8 weeks to analyze the challenge mat, design and build a LEGO Education robot, and program it to fulfill the given missions in any manner they see fit. The robot must be autonomous , and may contain only one LEGO Education programmable block and no more than four motors. In addition to

1590-765: A real-world situation for students to learn about through the season. In 2020, the program was re-branded to FIRST LEGO League Challenge. The simplistic nature of its games, its relatively low team startup costs, and its association with the LEGO Group mean that it is the most extensive of all FIRST competitions, despite a lower profile and fewer sponsors than FIRST Tech Challenge or FIRST Robotics Competition. In 2009, 14,725 teams from 56 countries participated in local, regional, national, and international competitions, compared with around 1,600 teams in roughly 10 countries for FIRST Robotics Competition. FIRST LEGO League Explore (formerly known as FIRST LEGO League Jr.)

1696-602: A reality. As of the Animal Allies Season, the First Place team wins $ 20,000 and two other Finalists each win $ 5,000. The money can be used to further the team's ideas or to continue in FIRST programs. All three finalist teams also receive a LEGO Mindstorms Education EV3 Robot Set. All submissions are reviewed by a panel of judges consisting of experts from engineering and industrial fields as well as experts in

1802-481: A rearrangement of the programs around the city. FIRST itself is a self-supporting organization; however, individual teams typically rely on outside funding sources. It also takes significant outside funds to run regional events and the FIRST Championship. In 2010, FIRST was a recipient of a Google Project 10^100 grant. Teams may request that team members, whether mentors or students, contribute to

1908-460: A robotics class that Flowers taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Coopertition is patented under US Patent 7,507,169 by Dean Kamen. Note: All years indicate the year that the championship for that game was held. Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the tenth most populous in New England . As of

2014-770: A school year earns the Queen City Cup. Manchester is the only city in New Hampshire with professional sports teams. The three-time Eastern League champion New Hampshire Fisher Cats play at Delta Dental Stadium . The New Hampshire Kingz of the American Basketball Association play within the Manchester Baller's Association complex at Sundial Center. From 2001 to 2015, the Manchester Monarchs played in

2120-457: A scientific and real-world challenge for teams to focus and research on. The robotics part of the competition involves designing and programming Lego Education robots to complete tasks. The students work out a solution to a problem related to the theme (changes every year) and then meet for regional, national and international tournaments to compete, share their knowledge, compare ideas, and display their robots. The FIRST Lego League Challenge

2226-453: A source of pride as the city's entertainment scene has grown. By 2003, it was well enough known that a note on Virtualtourist.com said, "Residents reflect the regional dry humor by referring to sedate Manchester as 'ManchVegas'." By 2005, an article in Manchester's Hippo (a local alternative weekly) said that then-Mayor Robert A. Baines "is pushing to replace the nickname ManchVegas with Manchhattan" (meaning Manchester+Manhattan). In 2009,

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2332-594: A teamwork activity, usually timed, to see how the team works together to solve a new problem. Secondly, in the Robot Design , or technical judging, the team demonstrates the mechanical design, programming, and strategy/innovation of their robot. The goal of this judging session is to see what the robot “should” do during the Robot Game. Thirdly, in the Project , the students must give a 5-minute presentation on

2438-727: Is 51 miles (82 km) north-northwest of Boston , the largest city in New England. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 34.9 square miles (90.5 km ), of which 33.1 square miles (85.7 km ) are land and 1.9 square miles (4.8 km ) are water, comprising 5.33% of the city. Manchester is drained by the Merrimack River and its tributaries the Piscataquog River and Cohas Brook . Massabesic Lake

2544-481: Is a baseball park on the Merrimack River in downtown Manchester and is home to the local AA baseball affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays , the New Hampshire Fisher Cats . Historic Gill Stadium supported professional minor-league baseball into the early 21st century and continues to be a viable and popular downtown venue for many sporting and entertainment events, seating nearly 4,000 patrons, depending on

2650-697: Is a major supporter of FIRST . In 2018, the first episode of season five of STEM in 30 , the National Air and Space Museum 's television show for middle school students, featured FIRST . FIRST seeks to promote a philosophy of teamwork and collaboration among engineers and encourages competing teams to remain friendly, helping each other out when necessary. Terms frequently applied to this ethos are Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition ; terms coined by Woodie Flowers and Kamen that support respect towards one's competitors and integrity in one's actions. The concept of Gracious Professionalism grew from

2756-494: Is a partnership between FIRST and the Lego Group . It is the third division of FIRST Lego League, following FIRST Lego League Discover for ages 4-6, and FIRST Lego League Explore for ages 6-10. At the beginning of the competition season, FIRST sends a set of official competition materials to each registered team, consisting of a 'challenge mat', LEGO electronic and mechanical components, and instructions for building

2862-420: Is a variation of the FIRST LEGO League Challenge, aimed towards elementary school children, in which kids ages 5 to 8 build LEGO models dealing with that year's challenge. At least one part of a model has a moving component. The teams participate in exhibitions around the country, where they demonstrate and explain their models and research for award opportunities. Unveiled in 2019, FIRST LEGO League Discover

2968-401: Is based on National Instruments ' LabVIEW industrial control engineering software. The combination of interchangeable LEGO parts, computer 'bricks', sensors, and the aforementioned software, provide preteens and teenagers with the capability to build simple models of real-life robotic systems. This competition also utilizes a research element that is themed with each year's game, and deals with

3074-493: Is designed for children ages 4 to 6 and centers on a playful introduction to STEM concepts and ideas. Teams use LEGO Duplo kits to complete each year's challenge and present their models at exhibitions similar to those found in FIRST LEGO League Explore. The FIRST Championship is the annual event which celebrates the finale of all of their programs by bringing them all together for their final rounds in

3180-822: Is held at the Edward Jones Dome and America's Center in St. Louis. In 2016, FIRST announced that they were expanding the FIRST Championship to two back-to-back events. Through 2020, these events will be held first in Houston, Texas at the George R. Brown Convention Center and the following week in Detroit, Michigan at the Cobo Center . Additionally, top-performing teams from the highest level of regional/state competition may be nominated to participate in one of

3286-536: Is home to the Southern New Hampshire Skating Club. The nickname "ManchVegas" was derived from illegal gambling in local businesses during the late 1980s or early 1990s. Many pizza shops and local bars had video poker machines that would pay out real money. The nickname was coined following a citywide campaign of law enforcement. It was then adopted as a lampoon of the city's limited entertainment opportunities. The term has since become

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3392-609: Is hosted by First State Robotics and First State FIRST LEGO League in Wilmington, Delaware . Taking place every January, this event holds FIRST LEGO League Explore , FIRST LEGO League Challenge, FIRST Tech Challenge , FIRST Robotics Competition , and robot sumo competitions under one roof at the University of Delaware's Bob Carpenter Center. Teams from Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland (among other regions) attend this tournament to make it

3498-673: Is in Manchester. The Manchester City Library has served the city's residents since the mid-1850s and has been housed in the Carpenter Memorial Building on Pine Street since 1914. There is a branch location on North Main Street on the West Side. At a public meeting on December 6, 2022, comedian Nick Lavallee suggested that Mayor Joyce Craig and the Board of Aldermen declare Manchester "The Chicken Tender Capital of

3604-418: Is incorporated as a city under the laws of the state of New Hampshire, and operates under a strong mayoral form of government. The mayor serves as chairman of the fourteen-member Board of Mayor and Aldermen, the city's legislative body. Each of Manchester's twelve wards elects a single alderman, and two additional at-large members are elected citywide. Jay Ruais is the current mayor . The mayor also serves as

3710-655: Is on the eastern border. The highest point in Manchester is atop Wellington Hill, where the elevation reaches 570 feet (170 m) above sea level . The Manchester Planning Board, in its 2010 Master Plan, defines 25 neighborhoods within the city. LivableMHT has drawn maps of the neighborhoods and neighborhood village centers as defined by the city. Recognition of particular neighborhoods varies, with some having neighborhood associations, but none have any legal or political authority. The major neighborhoods, historically, include Amoskeag, Rimmon Heights, Notre Dame/McGregorville and Piscataquog/Granite Square, also known as "Piscat", on

3816-527: Is shorter than City Hall Plaza by a mere 16 feet (4.9 m). Other major buildings include the 18-story Wall Street Apartments tower; the 14-story, recently renamed Brady Sullivan Tower, which was the former New Hampshire Insurance building; the 12-story DoubleTree Hotel and Convention Center Manchester (which serves the SNHU Arena across the street), the Carpenter Center (a former hotel), and

3922-483: Is to foster vibrancy and redevelopment in the neighborhoods, and to restore the sense of neighborhood communities that had been overlooked in the city for some time. The city began the program with street-scape and infrastructure improvements in the Rimmon Heights neighborhood of the West Side, which has spurred growth and investment in and by the community. Despite the success of the program in Rimmon Heights, it

4028-408: Is well-spread throughout the year, though winter is the driest season while early spring tends to be the wettest. Record temperatures range from −29 °F (−34 °C) on February 16, 1943, up to 103 °F (39 °C) on July 22, 2011. The city is the center of the Manchester, New Hampshire, New England City and Town Area (NECTA), which had a population of 187,596 as of the 2010 census . As of

4134-544: The 2020 census , it had a population of 115,644. Manchester is, along with the city of Nashua , one of two seats of New Hampshire's most populous county, Hillsborough County . Manchester lies near the northern end of the Northeast megalopolis and straddles the banks of the Merrimack River . It was first named by the merchant and inventor Samuel Blodget(t) , eponym of Samuel Blodget Park and Blodget Street in

4240-556: The 2020 census , the city had a population of 115,644. The Manchester- Nashua metropolitan area, comprising all of Hillsborough County, with a population of 422,937 at the 2020 census, is home to nearly one-third of the population of New Hampshire. As of the 2010 census, there were 109,565 residents, 45,766 households, and 26,066 families in the city. The population density was 3,320.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,281.9/km ). There were 49,288 housing units at an average density of 1,493.6 per square mile (576.7/km ). The racial makeup of

4346-816: The American Hockey League . In their final season in Manchester, the Monarchs won the league championship . From 2015 to 2019, the city hosted the lower-division Manchester Monarchs in the ECHL . Both teams were based at the SNHU Arena (formerly known as the Verizon Wireless Arena .) From 2002 through 2009, the arena was also the home of a professional arena football team: the Manchester Wolves of AF2 . Manchester

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4452-596: The Amoskeag Cotton & Woolen Manufacturing Company . It would be purchased in 1825 by entrepreneurs from Massachusetts, expanded to three mills in 1826, and then incorporated in 1831 as the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company . Amoskeag engineers and architects planned a model company town on the eastern bank, founded in 1838 with Elm Street as its main thoroughfare. Incorporation as a city followed for Manchester in 1846, soon home to

4558-709: The FIRST Robotics Competition. FIRST Tech Challenge was developed for the Vex Robotics Design System, which is available commercially. The 2005 FVC pilot season featured a demonstration of the FIRST Vex Challenge using a 1/3 linear scale mock-up of the 2004 FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar . For their 2005-2006 Pilot Season, FVC teams played the Half-Pipe Hustle game using racquet balls and ramps. For

4664-654: The New Hampshire Executive Council , Manchester is included within the 4th District and is represented by Republican Ted Gatsas , the city's former mayor. Manchester is included within New Hampshire's 1st congressional district and is represented by Democrat Chris Pappas . At the presidential level, Manchester leans Democratic. George W. Bush narrowly carried the city by 170 votes in 2004 , but no other presidential elections since then have been nearly as close. In 2020 , Joe Biden won

4770-654: The Open Championships (also called "Invitationals"), which are organized by FIRST LEGO League Challenge Partners. With the exception of Local Awards (a special recognition designed by that region's Partner), the Rookie Award, which recognizes a team for whose this is their first year competing and displayed extraordinary achievements, the Judges Award, which recognizes a team that displays much achievement, but did not qualify for any typical award, and

4876-548: The SEE Science Center . Valley Cemetery , the resting place of numerous prominent citizens since 1841, is an early example of a garden-style burial ground. The John F. Kennedy Memorial Coliseum is another, smaller venue in downtown Manchester with a capacity of approximately 3,000 seats. It was completed in 1963, serves as home ice for the Manchester Central and Memorial High School hockey teams, and

4982-886: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Jon Dudas was selected to be the President of FIRST . At the Championship in St. Louis, former President of the United States Barack Obama spoke via a pre-recorded message from 2011 to 2014. FIRST has received the attention of politicians in Canada as well. Ontario MPP Bob Delaney and Ontario MPP Vic Fedeli have made remarks in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario regarding their FIRST Robotics Competition experiences and showing their support. NASA , through its Robotics Alliance Project,

5088-543: The University of New Hampshire at Manchester , have been uniquely retro-fitted into properties along Commercial and Canal Street. Manchester has three main retail areas: downtown Manchester, South Willow Street (NH Route 28), and Second Street (NH Route 3A) on the West Side. The Mall of New Hampshire is on South Willow Street, and, with more than 125 stores, is one of the largest shopping centers in southern New Hampshire and central New England. Cultural landmarks include

5194-542: The 2006-2007 FIRST Tech Challenge season, the teams competed in the Hangin'-A-Round challenge using softballs, rotating platforms, a hanging bar, and a larger 'Atlas' ball which is significantly larger than most Vex robots and harder to manipulate. Competitions were held around the United States, Canada, and Mexico. For the 2008-2009 FIRST Tech Challenge season, a new kit was introduced, as FIRST moved away from

5300-414: The 2010 census, there were 45,766 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. Of all households 32.4% were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 persons and

5406-527: The 2015-2016 FIRST Tech Challenge season, in a partnership with Qualcomm , the LEGO Mindstorms NXT was replaced as the "brain" of the robot by an android device that communicates to a separate "driver station" android device via WiFi Direct. In addition, students were allowed to use either MIT App Inventor or Android Studio (Java language) to program their robots. In 1998, the FIRST LEGO League Challenge (formerly known as FIRST LEGO League),

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5512-602: The Championship Event will be held in St. Louis, Missouri for 2011 through 2013. Each year the FIRST Robotics Competition has scholarships for the participants in the program. In 2011, there were over $ 14 million worth of scholarships from more than 128 colleges and universities, associations, and corporations. The district competition system was introduced in Michigan and as of 2017 has expanded to include districts in

5618-609: The Elm Street thoroughfare closed during this time, as foot traffic declined. At the turn of the century, renewed interest in the Millyard led to a boom in development and business. Several high-tech firms opened offices or relocated to the Manchester Millyard in the 2000s, including Autodesk in 2000 and Dyn in 2004. Brady Sullivan, a local real estate developer, opened its first Millyard apartments in 2013. During

5724-479: The Hampshire Towers condominium building; the 10-story Citizens Bank Building, which was, for much of the early- and mid-20th century, Manchester's iconic Amoskeag Bank "skyscraper"; and several high-rises of or exceeding 10 stories on the city's West Side. This partial list only includes residential and commercial buildings and does not include hospitals, spires and domes, etc. The SNHU Arena has become

5830-491: The Millyard into a high-tech center for smart manufacturing and offices. John Madden, a local developer, and Kamen worked with the city to implement capital improvements to the Millyard in the 1980s and early 1990s. City Hall Plaza was built in downtown Manchester in 1992, to this day the tallest building in New Hampshire and northern New England. In 1991, the city went into economic decline as four major banks were shut down by federal regulators. Many shops and restaurants along

5936-444: The Millyard. Manchester's economy benefitted from World War II , as the city was already well-positioned and equipped with industry to handle war-time production. In 1941, Grenier Field , on the city's border with Londonderry , was converted to a U.S. Army air base . The city faced a decline in manufacturing in the 1950s and 1960s, with many Millyard buildings becoming abandoned during this time. An anthrax incident in 1957 led to

6042-706: The Pacific Northwest, the Mid-Atlantic, the Washington DC area, New England, Georgia, North Carolina, Ontario, and Israel. When they were created in 2017, the Ontario and Israel districts became the first districts outside of the United States. The district competition system changed the traditional "regional" events by allowing teams to compete in multiple smaller events and using an associated ranking algorithm to determine which teams would advance to

6148-558: The Robot Performance Award, which recognizes the team with the single highest numeric robot performance score at that particular event, teams are only allowed to win one award at any particular event. Officially registered teams can also be nominated by their region for the Global Innovation Award, where they could win a grant to make their innovative solution to the annual challenge theme's problem

6254-479: The VEX platform and worked with several different vendors to create a custom kit and control system for FIRST Tech Challenge known as TETRIX . Based around the LEGO Mindstorms NXT "brain" and including secondary specialized controllers to overcome the limitations of the NXT, teams use a Bluetooth link between the NXT and a laptop running FIRST Tech Challenge driver station software. A team's drivers then use either one or two USB gamepads to control their robots. For

6360-450: The West Side; the North End, Janeville/Corey Square, Hallsville and Bakersville on the East Side; and Youngsville and Goffes Falls on the periphery of the city. In 2007, the city began a Neighborhood Initiatives program to "insure that our neighborhoods are vibrant, livable areas since these are the portions of the city where most of the residents spend their time living, playing, shopping and going to school." The purpose of this initiative

6466-465: The World". Lavallee's initiative, documented by New Hampshire magazine , included paying respect to the Puritan Backroom for having invented the chicken tender and celebrating all chicken tenders offered by other Manchester establishments. Mayor Craig positively recognized the effort on her Facebook page on February 16, 2023. Lavallee first mentioned Manchester's association with the chicken tender during his appearance on The Beat with Ari Melber ,

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6572-450: The abandonment and later razing of the Arms Textile Mill along the river (today a parking lot in front of Arms Park). As part of urban renewal projects, the city filled in the Millyard canals to make room for roads and demolished several mill structures to make way for parking and roads. The Mall of New Hampshire opened in 1977, leading to further decline of downtown. However, during this time several important buildings were constructed in

6678-406: The annual challenge theme. When the official competition convenes, each team brings their robot to compete on an official challenge mat identical to their own. Two team members are allowed at the board during a match; however, they can switch out with others in the team. In the case of a serious problem, such as the entire robot breaking down, the entire team is allowed at the board for as long as

6784-405: The average family size was 2.99. In the city, 21.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.2% were age 18 to 24, 30.4% were 25 to 44, 26.0% were 45 to 64, and 11.8% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males. In 2011, the estimated median income for a household in

6890-425: The centerpiece of downtown Manchester. The venue can seat slightly less than 12,000 patrons for concerts, and at least 10,000-seat configurations for sporting and other forms of entertainment. It has also hosted major recording artists and comedians, national touring theatrical productions, family-oriented shows, and fairs since it opened in 2001. The Northeast Delta Dental Stadium (formerly MerchantsAuto.com Stadium)

6996-402: The chair of the board of school committee. Like the board of aldermen, the school board has twelve members elected by ward and two at-large members. The school board is not a city department; rather, it is a school district coterminous with the city, which obtains financing from the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. In the New Hampshire Senate , Manchester is represented by three state senators: In

7102-413: The challenge theme for that year. Teams are judged on problem identification, innovation, implementation, and effective use of STEM principles. From all of the teams nominated by every FIRST LEGO League Challenge region, twenty teams are selected as semi-finalists and are invited to attend the Global Innovation Award Celebration in San Jose (formerly in Washington, D.C.) At this event, the teams present to

7208-484: The circumstances. With this in mind, the judges give a Gracious Professionalism award at every FIRST Robotics Competition tournament, to a team that shows outstanding gracious professionalism. The term "Gracious Professionalism" was created by Dr. Woodie Flowers , former FIRST National Advisor and Pappalardo Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The most common method of monetary and resource sponsorship teams comes through

7314-468: The city was $ 51,082, and the median income for a family was $ 63,045. Male full-time workers had a median income of $ 43,583 versus $ 37,155 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 26,131. Of the population 14.1% and 9.6% of families were below the poverty line , along with 21.8% of persons who were under the age of 18 and 9.9% of persons 65 or older. Manchester is northern New England's largest city. Its economy has changed greatly, as Manchester

7420-506: The city was 86.1% White, 4.1% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 3.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.1% from some other race, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.1% of the population. Non-Hispanic Whites were 82.0% of the population, down from 98.0% in 1980. In 2011, the largest ancestry groups within the city's population were: French and French-Canadian (23.9%), Irish (19.5%), English (9.9%), German (8.6%), and Italian (8.1%). At

7526-506: The city's North End. His vision was to create a great industrial center similar to that of the original Manchester in England, which was the world's first industrialized city. During the Industrial Revolution , Manchester was a major industrial and economic hub for New England, with the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company being the largest cotton textile plant in the world. After World War II , many textile manufacturing jobs left Manchester, but new industries and companies were introduced to

7632-436: The city's downtown revitalization efforts with a major hotel and convention center already in place across the street from the arena. The building was renamed the SNHU Arena in 2016, after Manchester's Southern New Hampshire University . Manchester is the home of Segway, Inc. , manufacturers of a two-wheeled, self-balancing electric vehicle invented by Dean Kamen . As of 2017, the following organizations and companies were

7738-643: The city, such as DEKA . The native Pennacook people called Amoskeag Falls on the Merrimack River—the area that became the heart of Manchester— Namaoskeag , meaning "good fishing place". In 1722, John Goffe III settled beside Cohas Brook , later building a dam and sawmill at what was dubbed "Old Harry's Town". It was granted by Massachusetts in 1727 as "Tyngstown" to veterans of Queen Anne's War who served in 1703 under Captain William Tyng. But at New Hampshire's 1741 separation from Massachusetts,

7844-617: The city. Saint Anselm College is located less than a mile outside the city's border in Goffstown, although it has a Manchester postal address, and Southern New Hampshire University is located primarily in Hooksett, but has its campus partially within city limits. The two colleges participate in the NCAA Division II Northeast-10 Conference , and the school with the most head-to-head victories in

7950-561: The community surrounding the team. Since the majority of teams are based around a school or a school district, schools often provide the infrastructure needed to run a team. Local governments and individual citizens may provide funds and other support to teams. Local universities and colleges often give significant funds to teams. Corporate donations and grants usually provide the majority of a mature team's funds. Major donors include BAE Systems , Google , Raytheon , Apple Inc. , NASA and National Instruments . Each year during his speech at

8056-929: The construction of the robot due to the varying date of qualifying tournaments but must have a minimum of 8 weeks from "Global Challenge Release" (the date, usually in August, by which the details of the missions and research project become available to the public). They go on to compete in FIRST LEGO League Challenge tournaments, similar to the FIRST Robotics Competition regionals. The initial levels of competition are managed by an Affiliate Partner Organization (commonly affiliated Universities), who are led by an Affiliate or Operational Partner Representative ("The Partner"). The Partner has complete control over all official tournaments in their region. Region boundaries are set by FIRST . Some States represent an entire region, while others, like Central Florida, represent

8162-409: The costs of running a team. For example, members may pay a fee or donate tools and facilities. Teams frequently give other teams support. This may mean providing funds, tools, facilities, or mentorship. Gracious professionalism and Coopertition are core tenets of the FIRST philosophy. Gracious Professionalism is a major belief in the FIRST community. At every regional and national competition,

8268-551: The downtown area, including the Hampshire Plaza in 1972 (the tallest building in New Hampshire until 1994, later renamed Brady Sullivan Plaza). The 1980s brought renewed interest in the Millyard and downtown. The University of New Hampshire at Manchester opened a campus in the Millyard during this time, and Segway inventor Dean Kamen purchased two old mill buildings which became the headquarters for DEKA . Kamen purchased more buildings in 1984 and 1991, aiming to convert

8374-508: The early to mid 2010s, Manchester saw an uptick in opioid-related deaths , reporting more opioid-related deaths per capita than any city in the United States in 2016. Since 2018, the death rate has declined through the efforts of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and local outreach organizations, hitting a 10-year low in 2023. Manchester has continued to grow steadily and transform itself into

8480-483: The event format. In recent years there has been continual redevelopment of the Amoskeag Millyard and its residential Historic District. The increasing popularity of downtown living has caused many properties originally built as tenement housing for mill workers in the 19th century to be converted to stylish, eclectic residential condominiums. Many new retail stores and higher education institutions, including

8586-584: The film Monsters, Marriage and Murder in ManchVegas was released referencing Manchester's popular nickname and using much of the city as its backdrop. Manchester has a growing collective of artists, due in large part to the influx of young students at the New Hampshire Institute of Art , Southern New Hampshire University , and the University of New Hampshire at Manchester . Slam Free or Die, New Hampshire's only weekly slam poetry venue,

8692-772: The game have been released on the first Saturday in January (except when that Saturday falls on January 1 or 2), and the teams have been given six weeks to construct a robot that can accomplish the game's tasks. In 2011, teams participated in 48 regional and district competitions throughout March in an effort to qualify for the FIRST Championship in St. Louis in April. Previous years' Championships have been held in Atlanta, Georgia , Houston, Texas and at Walt Disney World 's Epcot . On October 7, 2009, FIRST announced that

8798-490: The grant was ruled invalid and substituted with Wilton, Maine , resulting in a 1751 rechartering by Governor Benning Wentworth as "Derryfield"—a name that lives on in Derryfield Park, Derryfield Country Club, and the private Derryfield School . In 1807, Samuel Blodget opened a canal and lock system to allow vessels passage around the falls, part of a network developing to link the area with Boston . He envisioned

8904-410: The highest percentage of the vote in Manchester since 1964 . FIRST LEGO League The FIRST Lego League Challenge (formerly known as FIRST Lego League) is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students (ages 9–14 in the United States and Canada, 9-15 elsewhere). Each year in August, FIRST LegoLeague Challenge teams are introduced to

9010-927: The historic Palace Theatre , the Currier Museum of Art , the New Hampshire Institute of Art , the Franco-American Center, the Manchester Historic Association Millyard Museum, the Massabesic Audubon Center, the Amoskeag Fishways Learning and Visitors Center, the Lawrence L. Lee Scouting Museum and Max I. Silber Library, the Zimmerman House and Kalil House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright , and

9116-532: The items for the mat (collectively known as the Challenge Set, formerly the Field Setup Kit). The teams also receive a list of tasks, called 'missions', to complete involving each model on the mat (e.g. taking a loose piece from one model and placing it inside another). The FIRST LEGO League Challenge gives teams complete freedom on how to complete the missions, providing that they are completed by

9222-447: The judges look for teams that are graciously professional. Gracious professionalism is about "competing on an even playing field". That means that each team wants their competition at the best. The way the team system is set up is that every team is matched up with two other teams per match at random. Therefore, a team's opponent in one match may become an ally in the next match. Traditionally, outside of FIRST , when one shares resources in

9328-434: The kickoff event, founder Dean Kamen gives the student participants a homework assignment. It often involves spreading the word about FIRST in various ways, such as increasing attendance at regionals (2005), mentoring rookie teams, making sure that FIRST -specific scholarships are applied for (2004), and researching the capabilities of motors and disseminating that information to other teams (2006). In 2007, Dean's homework

9434-592: The largest cotton mill in the world—Mill No. 11, stretching 900 feet (270 m) long by 103 feet (31 m) wide, and containing 4,000 looms. Other products made in the community included shoes, cigars, and paper. The Amoskeag foundry made rifles, sewing machines, textile machinery, fire engines, and locomotives in a division called the Amoskeag Locomotive Works (later, the Manchester Locomotive Works ). The rapid growth of

9540-518: The largest employers in the Manchester ZIP Code area: In 2021, Business Insider named Manchester number 12 on its list of the 25 best cities to start a business in. Downtown Manchester's One City Hall Plaza stands 22 stories high, quickly followed by the all-black, 20-story Brady Sullivan Plaza, formerly known as the Hampshire Plaza. They are the tallest New England buildings north of Cambridge, Massachusetts . The Sullivan Plaza

9646-713: The largest single-day FIRST event in the world. The only competition run by FIRST is the FIRST Championship In 2007, 96 teams competed in the FIRST LEGO League World Festival in Atlanta, Georgia on April 27–30. The 2007–08 Power Puzzle FIRST LEGO League World Festival and the 2008–09 FIRST LEGO League World Festival on Climate Connections were held again in the Georgia Dome and Georgia World Congress Center . Starting with 2010–11, FIRST LEGO League World Festival

9752-503: The late 19th century and the early 20th century, the city began to expand outward, and many streetcar suburbs such as Mast Road were built. Manchester was formerly home to a streetcar network, the Manchester Street Railway. The streetcar network was replaced with a bus network in the 1940s. In 1922, 17,000 workers from two of the city's largest companies (Amoskeag and Stark Manufacturing Companies) went on strike for

9858-651: The live robot run, or Robot Game , the competition has three additional judged sections with the purpose of providing teams with feedback on their achievement of the FIRST LEGO League Challenge learning objectives. The first judging session, Core Values , is designed to determine how the team works together and uses the FIRST LEGO League Core Values in everything they do, which include inspiration, teamwork, Gracious Professionalism , and Coopertition . In addition to discussing how their team exhibits these values, teams may also be asked to perform

9964-402: The mills demanded a large influx of workers, resulting in a flood of immigrants, particularly French Canadians . Many current residents descend from these workers. In 1871, the arch dam was built on the Merrimack River, enhancing the mill's water power delivery system. By 1912, the production of woven cloth in the Millyard had reached a production rate of 50 miles in length per hour. Throughout

10070-403: The next level of the competition. In general, there have been pushes to move more regions to the districts system; California, Texas, and New York have especially been pushed to move to the district system. The FIRST Tech Challenge, formerly FIRST Vex Challenge, is a mid-level robotics competition announced by FIRST on March 22, 2005. According to FIRST , this competition was designed to be

10176-661: The official NXT-G software (now outdated), or Robolab . All these are built around Labview . The robots used are Lego Education units. Until 2021, the platform of choice was the Lego Mindstorm EV3 . While the EV3 will still be permitted in FLL competitions, starting in August 2022, the Guided Mission will only be available for SPIKE Prime. Teams in different parts of the world have different times allotted to complete

10282-410: The problem persists. Members are not permitted to bring additional robots or any other items to the board during the competition. The robot starts in an area marked as 'base', a white area in the corner or to one side of the table. While at base, two team members are allowed to touch the robot and start programs. If the team touches the robot outside of base (an 'interruption'), the referee will issue

10388-463: The research of a topic related to the current challenge. The required steps of the project as teams to first identify a problem that is related to the topic of that year's competition, then create an innovative solution to their identified problem by modifying something that already exists or creating something completely new (an "innovative solution"), and then they must share that solution with others, such as real-world professionals who have expertise in

10494-421: The robot was in one of two specified areas, not including base, at the end of the two and a half minute match. FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams may use "any LEGO -made building parts in their original factory condition " to construct their robots. The robots are programmed using any language allowing autonomous movement. Many teams opt for a block-based programming environment such as the official EV3 software,

10600-458: The same event. The FIRST Championship was split into two events, initially held in St. Louis, Missouri, and Houston, Texas, in 2017 due to the rise in teams. From 2018 through 2020, the FIRST Championship will be held in Detroit, Michigan, and Houston, Texas. At the 2014 Championship, FIRST announced changes to the 2015 structure that will bring a more " Olympic Village " feeling, and involves

10706-449: The teams can reuse only certain components from previous years. The robots weigh at most 125 pounds (56.7 kg), without batteries and bumpers. The kit issued to each team contains a base set of parts. Registration and the kit of parts together cost about US$ 6,000. In addition to that, teams are allowed to spend another $ 5,500 on their robot. The purpose of this rule is to lessen the influence of money on teams' competitiveness. Details of

10812-517: Was for each team to contact their government officials (e.g. mayors , legislators , governors , federal officials) and invite them to a FIRST regional or the championship to expose them to the competition and increase the level of political awareness of FIRST . In 2008, it was to inform the media more about FIRST . In 2009, the homework was for each team to have all students, mentors, and other persons involved with their team (past or present) register with FIRST . One goal of this registration process

10918-628: Was held in 1992 in the Manchester Memorial High School gymnasium . As of 2019, over 3,700 high school teams totaling over 46,000 students from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Turkey, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, and more compete in the annual competition, with more than 9000 teams (active and inactive) in existence. The competition challenge changes each year, and

11024-490: Was primarily a textile mill town throughout much of its history. Manchester is nicknamed the Queen City, as well as the more recently coined "Manch Vegas". The Mall of New Hampshire , on Manchester's southern fringe near the intersection of Interstates 93 and 293, is the city's main retail center. In 2001, the Verizon Wireless Arena , a venue seating more than 10,000, opened for major concerts and sporting events, enhancing

11130-668: Was to provide FIRST with data to demonstrate that many people had benefited from their experiences in FIRST robotics and to encourage more funding of robotics-related events. At the World Championship in Atlanta, speakers included former President of the United States George Herbert Walker Bush in 2008 and United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in 2010. In 2010, former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce and Director of

11236-976: Was unclear in recent years how the city planned to implement similar programs throughout the city. The city announced plans for extending the Neighborhood Initiatives program to the Hollow neighborhood in February 2012. Manchester has a four-season humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfa ), with long, cold, snowy winters, and very warm and somewhat humid summers; spring and fall in between are crisp and relatively brief transitions. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 25.6 °F (−3.6 °C) in January to 73.8 °F (23.2 °C) in July. On average, there are 16 days of highs at or above 90 °F (32 °C) and 3.0 days of lows at or below 0 °F (−18 °C) annually. Precipitation

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