The annual Los Angeles Regional FIRST® Robotics Competition will be held at the Long Beach Arena on Thursday, March 15 through Saturday, March 17. More than 1,300 high school students from 63 regional high schools, as well as teams from Las Vegas, Nev., Brazil and Chile will participate. Doors open at 8 a.m.
The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics competition is a program that challenges high school students –– working with professional mentors –– to design and build a robot. The students’ efforts will be measured by their collaboration and determination, as well as by the effectiveness of the robots they create.
This year’s competition involves a basketball-like game called “Rebound Rumble” that turns science education into a high energy event. Teams will vie for regional awards and a spot at the First Championship on April 25-28 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Mo.
Raytheon SAS is the Los Angeles Regional competition lead sponsor, and Raytheon engineers are working with 19 of the 66 competing teams. SAS Vice President of Engineering Pete Gould will deliver the morning speech on Saturday, March 17. The company also grants scholarships annually to FIRST participants.
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The public is encouraged to attend the event, where friends, family and other spectators can watch the competition and visit with the teams and their robots. Admission is free. To access the show floor, spectators need to wear closed-toe shoes.