About Team 291
Learn together.
Build something real.
We’re a FIRST Robotics Competition team based in Erie, Pennsylvania, connecting high school students with engineers and mentors.
Students, engineers & mentors
Ask questions.
Try ideas.
Keep learning.
Students and mentors work side by side on the challenges of building a competition robot. Mechanical design, wiring, programming, and testing become opportunities to learn from one another.
We also take part in a few community outreach events to share our interest in robotics.
Guided by FIRST
How we approach
the work.
The FIRST values give us a shared starting point—in the workshop, at events, and with each other.
About FIRST values- Discovery
- Stay curious and make room for new skills.
- Innovation
- Try, test, adjust, and learn from the result.
- Inclusion
- Welcome different people, experiences, and ideas.
- Teamwork
- Share the work and help each other improve.
- Impact
- Put learning to use and contribute where we can.
- Fun
- Enjoy the process and celebrate progress together.
A little team history
From Tenacious Technomotivators to CIA.
Since 1999.
- 1999
The team was started by General Electric mentors who had mentored Team 63, The Red Barons, one year earlier. Students from Central High School and Villa Maria Academy founded the team as “The Tenacious Technomotivators.”
- 2000
The team became Creativity In Action (CIA) after its original name proved difficult to market and harder to chant. In later years, students from Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy and several other area schools joined the founding schools.
- 2006
We changed from all black to neon orange and black for a distinctive color scheme. The team’s win rate rose considerably in the seasons that followed, so we kept the eye-catching orange.
- Growth
At first, this relatively inexperienced group of engineers and students did not even know that scouting other teams was permitted. Over time, it grew into a cohesive, well-rounded team.
Team founders
People who shaped the team.
The team’s historical record preserves these contributions and service spans.
- Joyce Gerry
- Fundraising, purchasing and inventory, and compliance.
- 20 years
- Mike Hayes
- Fundraising, Chairman’s Award, and mentoring.
- 21 years
- Brad Jones
- Design and manufacturing support.
- Retired, 2014
- Cathy Park
- Trip planning and team spirit.
- Retired, 2015
The FIRST experience
Engineering meets
team sport.
FIRST Robotics Competition gives high school teams a new engineering challenge each year. Students build a robot, work with alliance partners, and learn to compete with respect for others.
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