About Us
Established in 1999, Team 449 is composed of students and mentors from Montgomery Blair High School and the surrounding area. We compete in the FIRST Chesapeake District of the FIRST Robotics Competition.
What is FIRST?
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators. It fosters mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills; inspire innovation; and teach self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
Team 449 participates in the FRC, the highest echelon of FIRST events, along with more than 3,000 high-school teams around the globe. Each year, FIRST issues a new game for the season, and each team designs, fabricates, and programs a robot to compete in it.
By competing in FRC, we enable students to tackle complex problems in a collaborative environment. Our student-led, mentor-guided team keeps students at the forefront of decision-making, project leadership, and execution.
We also work in the community to encourage youth to pursue degrees and careers in STEM. 449 member teach practical courses, create and attend outreach events, teach practical courses, mentor teams, and share their knowledge and resources in person and online.
Team History
The Blair Robot Project was founded in 1999 by Mark Curran, Dr. James Distler, and a group of students who sought to expand their engineering knowledge by building robots.
Scroll down for more. And find our full competition history at The Blue Alliance.
2025-26
Team 449 went 49-15-0 in official play. At the FIRST Chesapeake District Championship, the team went undefeated to win for the second straight year.
- CHS District Alexandria VA Event: 11-5-0 | Rank 7 | Won the FIRST Leadership Award
- CHS District Bethesda MD Event: 10-6-0 | Rank 5 | Won the Engineering Inspiration Award
- FIRST Chesapeake District Championship: 17-0-0 | Rank 1 | District Event Winner; won the Quality Award
- FIRST Championship, Galileo Division: 11-4-0 | Rank 7
2024-25
Team 449, along with their alliance partners, won:
- 2025 FIRST Chesapeake District Championship
- 2025 CHS District Severn MD Event
- 2025 CHS District Glen Allen VA Event
At Severn, 449 also received the event's highest award, the FIRST Impact award. The award citation read: "This highly motivated team created meaningful and lasting changes within their community. Their extensive mentorship efforts have this team breaking down barriers and extending access to stem education. Their dedication to inclusion, innovation, & outreach shows with their annual BUNNYBOTS competition."
Newsletters: Fall 2024 | Winter 2024-25 | Spring 2025
2023-24
The team and their alliance partners won the 2024 CHS District Blacksburg VA and 2024 CHS District Owings Mills MD events, made the playoffs at the 2024 Chesapeake District Championships, and played in Daly Division at Worlds.
2022-23
We started a FIRST Lego League team for elementary and middle schoolers.
We presented team news and notes in very nice-looking newsletters: Oct 2022 | Nov 2022 | Dec 2022 | Jan 2023
2020
Stuck at home, we started Pandemic Programming, a comprehensive coding curriculum that offered free virtual classes in Scratch, Python, and Java, taught by 449 members to K - 12 students anywhere.
2018
We held our first Bunnybots—an annual fall build season and competition designed to help teams get rookies up to speed, veterans to learn project management, and mentors to bond with students.
1999
Students and mentors at Montgomery Blair High School formed The Blair Robot Project to compete in FRC as Team 449. The name alludes to "The Blair Witch Project," one of the year's hit movies. (Watch the trailer—if you dare!)