First Global - Cook Islands Robotics Team

A big meitaki ma’ata to Bank of the Cook Islands for supporting First Global - Cook Islands Robotics Team 🤖💚

Your support helps our young people continue learning, building and developing their skills through robotics and STEM.

We truly appreciate BCI investing in our students and the future of technology in the Cook Islands.

Meitaki ma’ata, BCI!

🇨🇰 ROAD TO KOREA - TEAM UPDATE 02

The Cocobots Cook Islands recently held an internal scrimmage using the competition robot in its current stage of development, alongside a prototype robot fitted with many of the mechanisms the students have been testing.

The scrimmage gave the students a chance to test their progress under competition-style conditions, see what was working, identify what still needed improving, and practise communicating as a team under pressure.

The competition robot is still a work in progress, with the team aiming to complete the build this week before moving into full stress testing and driving tests by the end of the week.

Each test brings First Global - Cook Islands Robotics Team another step closer to being competition-ready for the FIRST Global Challenge 2026 in Incheon, Republic of Korea. 🤖🇰🇷

🔴 MEITAKI MA’ATA, Vodafone Cook Islands

The FIRST Global Team Cook Islands joins the wider Cocobots Cook Islands club in thanking Vodafone Cook Islands, the 2026 Premier Partner of the Robotics Club Cook Islands, for their continued support.

Vodafone’s partnership helps provide opportunities for our young people to learn, build, code, solve problems and develop valuable skills through robotics. It supports the growth of the wider club and the environment that has helped prepare our travelling students to represent the Cook Islands at the 2026 FIRST Global Challenge in Incheon, Republic of Korea.

📺 SMART TV AUCTION — LIVE FROM MIDDAY TODAY!

Vodafone Cook Islands has also generously sponsored a Smart TV for the CocoBots online auction. Bidding opens from midday today, Friday 4th September, through the Cocobots Cook Islands page.

Follow the CocoBots page, place your bid and support the continued growth of robotics opportunities for Cook Islands youth.

Meitaki ma’ata, Vodafone Cook Islands, for believing in our young people and investing in their future! ❤️🤖🇨🇰

🇨🇰 LEADERSHIP CAN TAKE MANY FORMS 🤖🌏

For Social Media Challenge #8 – , Team Cook Islands is honoured to receive words of encouragement from three Cook Islands leaders representing government, traditional leadership and sport:

🇨🇰 Hon. Mark Brown, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
🌺 Tou Travel Ariki, High Chief and President of the House of Ariki
🏋🏽‍♀️ Manine Lynch, 2022 Commonwealth Games weightlifter

Each reflects an important form of leadership in our country -from national leadership and the enduring role of our traditional high chiefs across our islands, to representing the Cook Islands through sport.

Together, their messages encourage our team to be strong, bring their different ways of thinking together, value those supporting them and proudly place the Cook Islands on the global map.

Meitaki ma‘ata for standing behind First Global - Cook Islands Robotics Team as we prepare for the 2026 FIRST Global Challenge in Incheon, Republic of Korea. 🇨🇰🤖🇰🇷

🤖 TEAM UPDATE 01 | Road to Korea 🇨🇰🇰🇷

A major milestone for Team Cook Islands!

Over the past six weeks, our travelling team has worked alongside the wider Cocobots Cook Islands Club to develop and test two robot prototypes, each exploring a different set of mechanisms for this year’s FIRST Global challenge.

With the official 2026 competition kit now here, the team has reviewed what they learned, selected the prototype they want to take forward, and is ready to begin building and refining the competition robot for Incheon.

The prototypes have done their job. Now, the real build begins! 🔥

📦 The kit has arrived! 🇨🇰🤖

From the other side of the world to Rarotonga, our 2026 FIRST Global REV Robotics Kit of Parts has finally made its way to First Global - Cook Islands Robotics Team!

For Social Media Challenge #6 – we went with a little adventure 🎬 - capturing our kit’s journey across the world to Rarotonga, all the way to the moment we finally got to open it! 📦🤖

Now the building, testing, problem-solving and teamwork really begins as First Global - Cook Islands Robotics Team prepares for the 2026 FIRST Global Challenge in Incheon.

The kit is just the start. Next stop - the build! 🔧🤖

🇨🇰🤖 MEET TEAM COOK ISLANDS 2026 : KAITIAKI COUSINS

We’re wrapping up our Meet Team Cook Islands 2026 series with the final member of our five-student travelling team - Kaitiaki Cousins!

At 14 years old, Kaitiaki is one of the new members of Team Cook Islands heading to the FIRST Global Challenge in Korea this year.

A Year 10 student at Tereora College, Kaitiaki joined Cocobots Cook Islands with no previous experience building or programming robots.

What made him want to give robotics a go? “Make cool stuff and learn code.”

Since then, he’s been doing exactly that - learning how coding works, building VEX IQ robots and discovering how gears, mechanisms and all the different parts come together.

What makes Team Cook Islands special?�“We are on an island in the middle of nowhere, somewhere you wouldn’t expect champions to arise.”

Kaitiaki describes his team in three words: Inclusive. Educational. Captivating.

For his first FIRST Global experience, he’s looking forward to the competition itself, driving the robot the team creates and meeting people from around the world.

And when the competition is over, what does he hope people remember about Team Cook Islands?
“Our potential and positive attitude.” 🇨🇰

Cocobots Cook Islands ONLINE AUCTIONS
CocoBots is fundraising to support both Team Cook Islands on their journey to FIRST Global 2026 and the ongoing activities of our robotics club here at home. 🇨🇰🤖

We have plenty of great auction items coming up for grabs!

👉 Like and follow the Cocobots Cook Islands page to keep an eye on the latest items, place your bids and support the continued growth of robotics opportunities for our young people.

🇨🇰 🤖 MEET TEAM COOK ISLANDS 2026 : LUCA LILI'I-TOU
At 14 years old, Luca is a new member of CocoBots and will be representing the Cook Islands at his first FIRST Global Challenge in Incheon, Republic of Korea.

Before joining Cocobots Cook Islands, Luca had never built or programmed a robot. Encouraged to join by his science teacher and friends, he wanted the opportunity to build something beyond LEGO and learn more about STEM.

What has been your favourite part of being in CocoBots so far?
“Building and constructing mechanisms like the linear lift and being able to learn how these things work.”

One of Luca’s proudest moments was completing the linear lift with his group and getting to present what they had built. Now, he is looking forward to travelling to Korea, meeting and learning from other teams, competing and having fun with his teammates.

What does it mean to represent the Cook Islands at FIRST Global?
“I want to show the other nations what we are capable of.”

Luca hopes his experience with CocoBots will help him learn more about STEM and create more opportunities for his future.

And his message to other young Cook Islanders?
“Never give up.”