FIRST is an acronym for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science a
nd Technology.” The FIRST program was begun by Dean Kamen, the inventor of, among other things, the Segway scooter. Kamen noticed that today’s youth were more enamored with sports and competitionthan with science. He created FIRST to combine the lure of competition with the fun and interesting aspects of science involved in designing and building a robot.
“The varsity sport for the mind,” FRC combines the excitement of sportwith the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams of 25 students or more are 
challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. It’s as close to“real-world engineering” as a student can get. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team.
Rebound Rumble is played by two competing alliances on a flat, 27 x 54 ft field. Each alliance consists of three robots. They compete to score as many basketballs into their hoops as they can during a 2 minute and 15 second match. The higher the hoop in which the basketball is scored, the more points the alliance receives.
The match begins with a 15-second Hybrid Period in which robots operate independently of driver
inputs. During this Hybrid Period, one robot on each alliance may be controlled using a Microsoft Kinect. Baskets scored during this period are worth extra points. For the remainder of the match, drivers control robots and try to maximize their alliance score by scoring as many baskets as possible.
The match ends with robots attempting to balance on bridges located at the middle of the field. In Qualification Matches, a robot from each alliance will also try to balance on the white Coopertition™ bridge to score additional ranking points for each alliance.