FIRST is a nonprofit organization created by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway personal transporter. The FIRST Tech Challenge is a mid-level robotics competition for high-school students. The inaugural New York City FIRST Tech Championship was held Sunday, March 8 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Approximately 40 teams from New York City, Westchester County, Long Island, and Connecticut competed in this event. The Midwood robotics team was part of a winning alliance and went on to compete at the FTC World Championship in Atlanta, Georgia (April 15-17, 2009).
- Adis Malevic, Alex Afanasyev, Lawrence Tse, Jonathan Lee, Umair Karim, and Dmitriy Pinchuk received the New York City Championship Tournament Winning Alliance Award. They teamed up with the Staples High School "Wreckers" and the "Raiders of the Lost Parts".