Hello!

We are a FIRST Tech Challenge team based in British Columbia, Canada.
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Most of our members have been part of FIRST for a few years now, having participated in FIRST LEGO League competitions. Some of us went to school together,  and others were part of the same neighborhood or community. The majority of us were part of the Forces of the Galaxy FLL team. You can find more about our FLL team exploits in our Forces of the Galaxy webpage.
We’ve been involved with FIRST for about 5 years now - with this being our fifth. We previously did 3 years of FIRST Lego League and went to Internationals and World Championship.  We’re now in our second year of FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), and have learned quite a few things. FTC is definitely on a much bigger scale than First Lego League, and is vastly different in the fact that we are no longer working with toys, but with real robots. It's been our first time building with metal, "CADing" our designs, and programming without labview or block form. We’ve also had more autonomy in our decisions, and through the keeping of an engineering notebook, have become more of a small business, which is new for us, but also very exciting.

The Team!





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​KYOUNGJOO
Hello! I am 16 years old and I have been a part of FIRST for a very long time. Currently, I am co-captain of the team, and one of my strongest suits is robot building.  My hobbies include playing basketball and video games. 




​MADDI
Hey, I'm 17 years old currently in grade 11th. This is my second year in FTC and in robotics in general. This year, I am co-captain with Kyoungjoo, and help manage the team's agenda at meetings, outreach events and fundraisers. I'm also one of the robot drivers, focusing on the slides and grabber mechanisms. Plus I help troubleshoot robot problems. In my spare time play libero for my high school and club volleyball team. I love working together and problem solving!!


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​LULU
Hello, my name is Lulu. I'm currently in 12th grade, hoping to enter an engineering program at a local university next year. I can confidently say that I have an overfondness of robots. I’ve been a part of FIRST for 6 years. My current roles in the team are Robot Builder, Wiring, workshops training lead, and outreach coordinator. I also officially mentor 3 FLL teams, and peer mentor one FTC team not affiliated with ours. In my spare time I love to read and watch movies.  


​KIERAN
Hi! I am 17 years old and currently in 12th grade. My hobbies include playing and making video games. I'm the lead Programmer, the lead Robot Designer in our team. I also help mentor FLL Teams., and provide programming general assistance to teams in our league. 
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DAVID
Hi! This is my fourth year in FTC. I am 16 years old in grade 11. My roles are Lead Driver, computer aided design ICAD), and I basically fill any gaps needed. I officially mentor one FLL team and peer-mentor one FTC team. In my spare time I like to play video games, indoor rock climbing, play piano, and read. 
MASIHA
Hi there! I am 16 years old and in my 11th grade. I am in charge of the team's inventory, plus I coordinate outreach efforts in Vancouver, especially those around UBC.  I guess PR is my jam! Plus I am involved in all things CANCode. In terms of technical expertise, I am interested in programming, and have gone through FTC Sims for our team and also to help other teams. My hobbies are playing soccer, swimming, playing video games and playing outside with my friends. 
NOAH
Hey! My name is Noah, and this is my last year of high school. I go to R.E. Mountain Secondary, and have been doing FIRST for almost three years now. I enjoy building and driving our robots. This year, I designed and built most of our robot's first prototype. I hope to learn how to code with Java in the next couple years. Outside of robotics I have fun reading and playing sports or games.
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​SOOMIN
Hi there! I'm 14 years old and this is my 4th year with FIRST and my second year with FTC. This year I have been more involved in social media for the team, and upkeeping the website. I'm also in charge of keeping the Pit in order at competitions. During matches, I am one of the human players as well. I do a lot of outreach too, and I've very involed in CanCode.  Besides robotics, I also love playing volleyball.  
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RAYAN
Hello there! I'm a 16 years old student and this is my first year in a robotics team. I am new to FIRST and there's so much to learn. I am also new to Canada. My interests are in drama and photography, so I can bring the arts to this robotics team. I've been able to get involed in CanCode with the elementary school kids.  Besides robotics, I also love playing vchess and hanging out with my friends. 

JACOB
Hello there! I'm a 14 years old student and this is my first year in a robotics team. I am new to FIRST. I can't wait to see how this season will develop.

our coaches and mentors

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August Hale



​ANA (Coach)
I make sure the team has the resources they need, help keep the team on track with their goals, transport materials wherever practices are, orders parts, and oversee overall running of the team. Besides devoting oodles of hours to FTC, I am also a teacher trainer in STEM using LEGO Education products, and I homeschool my kids. Hobbies: movies, books, D&D.

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JAVIER (Coach / Mentor)
I love asking the team questions that provoke an answer to a problem with the robot. I help out with any questions they have about robot design, and I also use my 3D printer to make parts that the team has designed. Outside of FTC, I work for Genesis Advanced Technology, as a Patent Manager for the engineering team. In my free time, I like to go hiking, as well as playing occasional D&D.




AUGUST (Coach)
A.K.A. The Lord of the Squirrels, he is a brilliant mathematician and a walking encyclopedia. He helps us trouble shoot all sorts of issues, in the most Socratic way. And he is just fun! 






MIKE (Mentor)
A half hour session with Mike of our team is like awakening of the third eye we did not know we had! In very little time, he is able to diagnose our problem, prescribe a solution, and give us the tools (we mean actual tools) we need to fix stuff. When not working at Ballard  Power Systems, you can find him in his garage fixing something, helping his son's FLL team, or hiking someplace awesome. 
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our alumni

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​LAURYN
Art Student
​Emily Carr

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MATTHEW
Comp. Sci. Student
​Simon Fraser University

our sponsors