In 1997, Motorola sponsored the first regional event held outside of New England for FIRST Robotics, at Harper Community College in Palatine, IL, a suburb of Chicago.  In 2000 as the size of the event grew, the regional moved to Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.  In 2005, it moved to its current location at the University of Illinois at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.

Many championship teams have passed through the Midwest Regional, and the competition has always been exciting.  Each year the game played by the robots changes.  Below is a list of the different FIRST challenges that have been held at the Midwest Regional in Illinois.

2010 – Breakaway                  

2009 – Lunacy                                    

2008 – FIRST Overdrive                       

2007 – Rack n’ Roll                 

2006 – Aim High                       

2005 – Triple Play               

2004 – FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar         

2003 – Stack Attack            

2002 – Zone Zeal       

2001 – Diabolical Dynamics               

2000 – Co-Opertition FIRST                   

1999 – Double Trouble            

1998 – Ladder Logic           

1997 – Toroid Terror