Center Moriches High School was home to the second of three FIRST^® (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) Tech Challenge Qualifying Tournaments, which was presented by School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI) on Sunday, January 15. During this qualifying event, 26 Long Island teams, comprised of students age 12 to 18, used their problem-solving skills, creative thinking and sportsmanship to compete for a chance to compete at the Long Island Championship at Smithtown High School on February 11.

Working along with their mentors, these students built and programmed robots for VELOCITY VORTEX^SM, during which two alliances of three teams attempt to score as many points as possible by moving particles into their own center vortex or corner vortex and claiming beacons for their alliance by triggering them to illuminate their alliance color. At the end of the game, the color of the beacon determines the alliance credited for the successful claiming of the beacon.

After the conclusion of the event, teams were presented with a variety of awards, as follows:

The following teams have advanced to the Long Island FIRST Tech Challenge Championships, which will take place on February 11 at Smithtown West High School:

Local sponsors included School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. and Center Moriches Public Schools; national sponsors included Qualcomm, Rockwell Collins and PTC.