Photo of 2012- 2013 FIRST Robotics Competitions

FIRST Robotics Competitions

Photo of FIRST Robotics CompetitionOver 250 youth came to campus on Nov. 17 and 18 to compete in the qualifying tournaments for the 2012-13 FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC) and FIRST® LEGO League (FLL). Twelve high school-aged teams from Illinois, Indiana and Missouri faced off in the second annual FTC tournament, with the 18-by-18-inch robot created by the Mecha-Hamsters from Martinsville, Ind., taking the tournament’s top prize. The inaugural FLL tournament brought 14 teams of 8-14 year olds to campus to compete with their LEGO Mindstorms robots. Three local teams advanced to the state championships in January - DA EX BOTS from O’Fallon, Ill.; Albers Elementary from Germantown, Ill.; and VX3 from Lebanon, Ill.