Wired Boars Reach FIRST® Championship Einstein Field

On the world's biggest stage for youth robotics, a season of precision, teamwork, and relentless problem-solving built toward a historic moment for the Choate Rosemary Hall Wired Boars — an opportunity to compete in the Einstein Field at the FIRST® Championship.

Understanding the 2026 FIRST® Championship

To fully grasp the importance of this moment in the development of the School's robotics program, let's take a closer look at the FIRST® Championship and Choate Rosemary Hall's commitment to learning, growth, and community through robotics. Since 2009, the School has offered students of all forms and experience levels an opportunity to satisfy their curiosity about robotics through academic courses, competitions, and the Advanced Robotics Concentration (ARC) signature program. Ten years into this School-wide commitment, the Choate Rosemary Hall Robotics Team, the Wired Boars, was formed and began competing in the FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC), an international competition that "combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology."

Each year, the FIRST® Championship is held in Texas, bringing together thousands of student teams and attendees from more than 66 countries for the ultimate STEM celebration. Organizers assigned competing to divisions named after historic figures, including Archimedes, Sir Isaac Newton, and Galileo Galilei, among others. Within these divisions, teams participate in qualification matches to earn ranking points. Once teams complete qualifying matches, the highest-ranked competitors are known as alliance captains. Captains select other highly ranked teams within their division to join their alliance. Once captains form their alliances, they compete in divisional playoffs for an opportunity to advance to the final round, also known as the Einstein Field. In the final round, the winning alliances from each division compete in a double-elimination tournament to determine the world champion.

Team 7407 Makes History at the FIRST® Championship

On Thursday, April 29, 2026, the Choate Rosemary Hall Wired Boars hit the ground running at the 2026 FIRST® Championship. Off to a strong start in the qualifying rounds, the Wired Boars finished with a record of 9-7-0 and ranking 30th in a division of 75 teams before joining Alliance 1, led by Team 5940 from Design Tech High School. Working with students from Design Tech in California, West High School in Utah, and across the San Francisco Bay Area, the Wired Boars captured the Archimedes Division after defeating Alliance 2 in two out of three matches.

As Archimedes Division Champions, this year's Team 7407 went where no sounder of boars had gone before — the finals! Going toe-to-toe with the best teams in the world, the Wired Boars were unfortunately eliminated in the third round, but as is often said, "The joy is in the journey."

Throughout the season, Team 7407 consistently put together strong performances. At the New England District Pine Tree Event, the Wired Boars were finalists and won the Autonomous Award sponsored by Google.org. Weeks later, they traveled to the New England District Hartford Event, where they were also finalists and won the Excellence in Engineering Award sponsored by Littelfuse. Above all else, Team 7407 and the staff and faculty who supported them along the way ended the season with unforgettable experiences, lifelong memories, and a ton of confidence heading into next season.

Photo Credit: Choate Rosemary Hall Robotics (via @Choate_Robotics)

Editorial Credit: Ryan Shepard '14 is the Manager of Editorial Services at Choate Rosemary Hall, bringing 10+ years of experience in journalism, copywriting, and content strategy.