36 teams to make robots

The annual event draws as many as 350 participants from across the region.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Middle and high school teams from the region will demonstrate their skill at building robots at The Northeast Ohio Robotics Competition on Wednesday at Youngstown State University.
A total of 36 teams have entered this year's competition, which will run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Beeghly Center.
The competition, created by a consortium of high school and college engineering technology programs, was founded in 1998 to provide pupils an opportunity to learn outside the classroom. It now draws about 350 participants.
The goal is to motivate young people toward studies and careers in science, technology, engineering and math by providing a robotics sports-like contest. It is a collaboration between Mahoning Area Consortium Tech Prep and YSU.
Eligibility
The competition is open to both middle and high school teams. The middle school contest (grades five to eight) is limited to schools from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. The high school event is open to any schools from Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
Each team, aided by a teacher/coach, builds a programmable robot over a 10-week period. The robots must perform certain tasks in the competition.
Some schools have more than one team entered. Local schools with teams in the competition are: Austintown Fitch, Canfield, Columbiana County Career and Technical Center, Howland, Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, The Rayen School, Springfield and the Trumbull Career and Technical Center.