Fitch to host robotics competition Sept. 20

The Northeast Ohio FIRST Robotics Alliance (NEOFRA), in conjunction with the OH WOW! Children’s Center’s Seven Days of STEM, is pleased to announce the 2014 Mahoning Valley Robotics Challenge high school robotics competition set for Sept. 20 at Austintown Fitch High School.

The action takes place in the main gymnasium from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. The MVRC is free and open to the public. Concessions will be available with the proceeds helping to fund future NEOFRA robotics competitions.

NEOFRA is hosting a charity food drive at the MVRC to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley. Spectators are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items and drop them off at the food donation table when they arrive. The most needed food items are peanut butter, cereal, canned fruit and vegetables, tuna fish, dry pasta and macaroni and cheese.

FIRST robotics teams from Warren G. Harding, Girard, Champion, Austintown Fitch, Canfield and Cardinal Mooney will be a part of a 24-team field that includes additional teams from across Ohio and Pennsylvania. This is the first ever Mahoning Valley event to showcase these robots competing on a regulation playing field. In an Aerial Assist match, two alliances of three student-operated robots each must quickly pass large game pieces across the field and score them into their goals while under defense from the opposing alliance.

The 2014 MVRC could not exist without the Youngstown State University College of STEM, and LED3, Premium Digital Displays. For more information about sponsoring local FIRST robotics teams or NEOFRA robotics competitions, stop by the event information table where you can pick up handouts, ask questions of event staff and even arrange a VIP tour of the competition and pit areas for an up close look at what FIRST is all about.

If you have additional MVRC questions, contact Andy Yantes at 330-540-6897, or visit www.neofra.com.