Leading the Herd
The Holy Cows consider it their mission to embody and support the spirit and goals of FIRST — and to equip members with real-world skills, working knowledge, and a year-round appreciation for STEM.
About The Team
Est. 2004 · San Diego, CA
Students. Builders. The ones who stay late.
When asked why we put so much time and effort into robotics, our answer is simple: FIRST is more than robots and competitions. It's about learning valuable life skills and connecting with others and groups. It's about discovering a newfound passion for STEM and preaching its importance. And more than building a robot, it's about building a team of leaders who want to make a difference.
Team Founded
Team 1538 / The Holy Cows is the robotics team for High Tech High San Diego, located in San Diego, CA. The team was established in the Fall of 2004 by David Berggren, a former Engineering Instructor at High Tech High. Each year, The Holy Cows participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC).
Chairman's Award
Now known as the Impact Award, The Chairman's Award is the most prestigious award at FIRST. It honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and embodies FIRST's purpose and goals. Those who win the FIRST Championship award are inducted into the FIRST Hall of Fame. Our team was inducted into the FIRST Hall of Fame on April 27, 2013.
Media & Technology Innovation Award sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal
Comcast, NBCUniversal, and FIRST have announced San Diego, CA-based The Holy Cows (FRC Team 1538) as the recipient of the 2014 Media & Technology Innovation Award, sponsored by Comcast and NBCUniversal.
FIRST Championship Winners
Capping off a historic season, The Holy Cows won the 2026 FIRST Championship on Einstein Field in Houston as part of the Daly Division winning alliance. Along the way, the team earned the District FIRST Impact Award at San Gabriel Valley, the Excellence in Engineering Award sponsored by Littelfuse at the California Southern State Championship, and the Team Sustainability Award sponsored by Dow at the Ventura County District.
Hall of Fame
The Impact
Award
The FIRST Impact Award (formerly Chairman’s Award) is the most prestigious award at FIRST, it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST. It was created to keep the central focus of FIRST Robotics Competition on the ultimate goal of transforming the culture in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology, as well as encouraging more of today’s youth to become science and technology leaders.
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
At FIRST we honor the Chairman's Award winner above all because they are the role models and change agents reaching out and transforming whole communities to show through their actions the lessons of team work and hard work.
Rebuilt
REBUILT™ presented by Haas challenges teams to score fuel, cross obstacles, climb the tower, and earn match bonuses — requiring precise autonomous routines, fast human-player cycles, and reliable end-game strategies to win alliance matches.
Built around a 360° vision-guided turret shooter, a high-throughput roller intake, and an omnidirectional swerve drivetrain. A physics-based adaptive shot controller automatically adjusts shooter velocity and hood angle in real time, compensating for robot motion to deliver accurate shots from anywhere on the field.
- Drivetrain
- WCP X2C Swerve
- Top Speed
- 16.1 ft/s
- Shooter
- Turret + Variable Hood
- Intake Rate
- 10 fuel / second
Brand Standards
You can spot a Team 1538 robot from across the arena. That’s by design.
Our brand standards cover the logos, typography, colors, bumpers, and apparel behind the team's identity — and the designers who shaped it, from Dieter Rams to Paul Rand. Browse the full guide, and borrow what's useful for your own team.
About FIRST
More Than
Robots
Founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a global nonprofit (501(c)(3)) organization that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12).
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