Where Pigs Fly
4-H Exploding Bacon Robotics Team 1902 is a Central Florida 4-H Club that participates in the FIRST Robotics Competition. The FIRST Robotics Competition, called the Sport of the Mind by many, is “the hardest fun you’ll ever have.” Students participate in a 6-week build season, where they have to build a 120-pound robot that has to play that year’s game. During these 6-weeks, the students strategize, prototype, design, build, wire, and program their own robot. After the 6 weeks, the team then attends regional competitions where the students compete with their robot against dozens of other like-minded teams for both victory and awards.
Our team has been thriving and growing since its inception in 2006. At the first meeting that year there was a total of six kids and three adult mentors for the team. By kickoff, which was only the second meeting, the team had grown to ten kids from four different schools, and roughly six adult mentors. Since then the team has grown, winning more than 50 awards in the past 16 seasons and competing at the world championship every year but once. We were honored to be selected for the Chairman’s Award at the 2019 World Championship and inducted into the FIRST Hall of Fame.
But, just like FIRST, Exploding Bacon isn’t just about building robots. This team is about building people. Our students learn skills that not only will help them compete, but will prepare them to go out into the world. Students can gain skills such as programming, design, CAD (Computer-Aided Design), and public speaking. In addition to what the students learn, they participate in a wide range of community outreach projects from educational robotic demonstration events to helping those in need. Please check out the impressive and consistent history of impacting our community.
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Age Level: High School students
Link to FIRST: http://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc
Season: Year-Round
2022 Season Registration: Opens July/August 2021
Registration and Student Info
Our FIRST Robotics Competition Lead:
Carrie Udowychenko, Email
Click here for Current Students and Officers
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Where we’ve competed:
- FIRST World Championship: 2006-2010 and 2012-2019
- Orlando Regional: 2006-2019
- Palmetto Regional (South Carolina): 2011, 2019
- South Florida Regional: 2012-2014, 2018
- Bayou Regional: 2008 and 2017
- ROBOTICON: 2015-2017
- Inaugural Rocket City Regional (Alabama): 2016
- Panther Prowl: 2012-2016
- Inaugural Georgia Southern Classic Regional: 2015
- Indiana Robotics Invitational: 2007-2013
- Tempest -N- Tampa: 2007-2009 and 2011
- North Carolina Regional: 2010
- Connecticut Regional: 2009
- Mission Mayhem (Ft. Lauderdale): 2006-2008
- Las Vegas Regional: 2007
- Lone Star Regional (Houston): 2006
Where we’re going in 2022:
Regional #1: TBD
Regional #2: TBD
FIRST World Championship (Houston): April 20th – 23rd; George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX
See our competition results on our awards page!