FIRST Robotics and What it means to Me When discussing the FIRST Robotics Competition, you establish the entire point until you, at least, touch base on Gracious Professionalism. According to Dr. Woodie Allen, “Gracious professionalism is the backbone of the competition.” Yet, you can’t begin to develop an idea of gracious professionalism without knowing what the competition is. FIRST is an organization developed to encourage up and coming youth of all ages to be involved in the field of science and technology.