What is robotics flinging?
It's something that Wyandotte County student teams will be doing March 15-16 during the Robotics Competition Regional Championships at Hale Arena, American Royal, Kansas City, Mo.
The high school students from Greater Kansas City and the Midwest have designed and built an original robot for the competition. In this year's event, robots will pitch Frisbee-like discs into slots cut out of a raised platform for points.
Student teams from Bishop Ward, Schlagle, Piper, Wyandotte and Harmon high schools, as well as other area schools, will compete, according to competition organizers.
The robotics competition is free and open to the public. Event guests are invited to attend and watch the various teams compete on the field with their robots. Visitors can also see demonstrations and learn more about the other programs. Parking for the event is $7.
The Greater Kansas City Regional Championship is one of the largest annual robotics tournaments in the Midwest. As many as 3,000 spectators, family members and fans have attended this event annually -- this year more than 1,000 students from 55 teams, along with engineering and technical mentors. Teams will compete at the Greater Kansas City FRC Regional Championship for a chance to earn a spot at the FIRST Robotics Competition World Championships, held April 24-27 at the Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Mo.
Ultimate AscentSM is played by two competing alliances on a flat, 27 x 54 foot field. Each Alliance consists of three robots, and they compete to score as many discs into their goals as possible during a two-minute and 15-second match. The higher the goal in which the disc is scored, the more points the Alliance receives. The match ends with robots attempting to climb up pyramids located near the middle of the field.
The event begins March 15, and matches are held between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. On Saturday, March 16, matches are from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the awards ceremony at 4:30 p.m.