Israeli Robotics Team Leaves Final Of Global Contest After It Was Scheduled On Shabbat

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — One of Israel’s youth robotics teams, Trigon Amit Boys, has declined to participate in the final stages of the FIRST robotics finals due to their being held on Shabbat.

The Trigon Amit Boys robotics team, known in their competition as Trigon 5990, is a religious boys team from Modi’in, Israel. Advancing through the final stages of a competition, which included more than 3,000 teams from across the world, the group was prepared for the possibility of having to decline the opportunity to participate over the date of the competition.Because the competition was to be held on a Saturday, the team was prepared to have to withdraw from the competition in order to observe Shabbat.

Trigon Amit Boys was one of eight Israeli teams to advance to the final round of the Houston, Texas-based competition. However, they were prepared for the possibility to have to pull out should the competition take place on a Saturday.

The First Robotics competition, a global initiative designed to engage young people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), features teams of students aged 14-18. Teams design and build large robots from scratch to perform specific tasks during the competition. This year, Israel’s robotics teams have once again proven themselves to be world leaders in the field, with several teams making it to the later stages of the competition, including the Trigon Amit Boys.

The Trigon Amit Boys, known for their exceptional engineering skills, had performed admirably during the event. By all accounts, they had the potential to win, having been chosen to join a top alliance in the competition’s final stages. The team was ranked 27th out of 3,600 teams worldwide, a notable achievement that speaks to Israel’s strength in robotics and technology.

For this team, though, their love for robotics did not trump their commitment to faith. The schedule of the competition presented an irreconcilable conflict between their passion for robotics and their commitment to Shabbat observance, a cornerstone of their Jewish faith.

על מה הייתם מוכנים לוותר בשביל ערכים?
בשבת האחרונה תלמידי אמי”ת מודיעין ויתרו על שלב הגמר.
“איננו יכולים להמשיך להשתתף ולהתחרות בגמר העולמי של תחרות הרובוטיקה שיוצא בשבת, משום שאנחנו קבוצה של יהודים דתיים ואנחנו ”שומרים שבת”. זהו ערך עליון עבורנו. אנו מאחלים הצלחה לכל הנבחרות” pic.twitter.com/eqsDWq7MKD

— שחר צ’קוטאי (@chicotay3) April 21, 2025

“We had prepared for this situation, understanding that if we made it to the finals, we would have to withdraw,” Kenny Green, Trigon’s team mentor, told The Jerusalem Post. The team’s decision to leave the competition at that point, despite the potential for victory, was a powerful testament to their values.

While the team’s decision to forgo the opportunity to compete for the championship was heartbreaking, they knew it was the right one. The withdrawal also drew attention to the broader issue of Shabbat observance in Jewish life, particularly for those involved in activities that span the weekend, such as international competitions.

This incident highlights a growing conversation within the Jewish community about how to balance religious observance with the demands of modern life. The Trigon team, alongside other religious teams, has written to First Robotics, advocating for changes in the scheduling of competitions to avoid such conflicts in the future. The hope is that by 2029, the competition’s final rounds could be moved to a day that does not overlap with Shabbat, allowing religious teams to participate fully.