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The Northeast Ohio FIRST Robotics Alliance (NEOFRA), recently announced the 2016 Mahoning Valley Robotics Challenge high school robotics competition, set for Sept. 25 at Austintown Middle School, located at 800 South Raccoon Road in Austintown. 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 and proceeds will help 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. They encourage spectators 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. Watch the competition and help out a great cause.
FIRST robotics teams from Warren G. Harding, Girard, Champion, Austintown Fitch, Canfield and Hubbard High Schools will be a part of a 24-team field that includes additional teams from across Ohio and Pennsylvania. You may have previously seen local robots at community demos or on the news, but this is an opportunity to showcase these robots competing on a regulation playing field.
In an FIRST Stronghold match, two alliances of three robots each are on a quest to breach their opponents’ fortifications, weaken their tower with boulders and capture the opposing tower. Robots score points by breaching opponents’ defenses and scoring boulders through goals in the opposing tower. During the final 20 seconds of the quest, robots may surround and scale the opposing tower to capture it.
The 2016 MVRC could not exist without the generous support of signature sponsors: 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.
FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, was founded by inventor Dean Kamen and MIT professor Dr. Woodie Flowers to inspire young people’s greater interest and participation in science, technology, engineering and math endeavors, and to lead them into STEM career fields. FIRST offers four levels of robotics programs for students in grades K-12. For more information, stop by the Event Information Table, or visit www.usfirst.org.