Regional robotics competition being held in La Crosse

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — Robots are getting in the ring to battle it out during the First Robotics Regional Competition this weekend.

54 high school teams have been tasked with designing a robot that can pick up disks and balls before loading them into rockets.

Students learned about the details of the challenge at the beginning of the year.

Since then, they’ve been putting together designs and creating prototypes before putting together their robot.

One of the team’s coaches says the competition provides meaningful learning with a competitive edge.

“Students don’t have to be told that they need to learn more about programming, they don’t have to be told to put in the practice time getting better at CAD, because they know exactly why it’s important,” said coach Liz Rosendale.

While the teams are competing against each other, they’ll also have to work together in some of the rounds, providing valuable teamwork lessons and other skills for students.

“I went into robotics not knowing how to use many of the tools we use. But now coming out of it, I can use more programs, I know how to use more hand tools. I also just have a better sense of creating something through engineering and problem solving,” said Ethan Whiteaker of Holmen.

If you want to watch the competition, it kicks off tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. at the La Crosse Center.

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