About Us

The Ionizers are a new community-based (i.e. not affiliated with any single school) FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team in the Reno area, working with students between the ages of 13 and 18 to develop engineering, software, marketing, accounting, project management, hands-on industrial arts, and teamwork skills in a competitive robotics environment. The Ionizers strive to enable students of any background to join robotics. Therefore, they are a free, community team with no experience requirements. Through robotics, The Ionizers expose local high school students to real-world applications that Northern Nevada needs to ensure the continued growth of our innovation economy. 

In 1989, inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen launched a technology competition for high school students that would be as exciting as any traditional sporting event. With the help of an MIT engineering professor, FIRST Robotics Competition was born. Thirty-six years later, there are 3,500 teams totaling 87,000 students and 28,000 mentors that compete in 180 competitions in 28 countries. There is no challenge like FRC. Every year, teams of 10-50 students have six weeks to design and build a one-of-a-kind, 120 lb industrial robot to win a new game that is designed for that particular year. In January, the game rules and field setup are revealed and teams begin the six week sprint to design and build a unique competition robot. Teams travel to competitions in late February and March, culminating in the World Championships in Houston in April. The design, construction, and coding of the robot is a very real-world, nearly impossible task on a compressed timeline. However, FRC is much more than robots. The most prestigious awards in FRC are reserved for community engagement, education, and outreach – for those teams that inspire others to learn more about STEM fields.