The UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams aren’t the only ones on a roll going into the weekend. It’s also the time of year when hundreds of high school students from around the region will match up their mega-machines in what is known as the FIRST Robotics Competition.
The district events begin Saturday at Southington High School, where 32 teams will compete. The students and their advisers had six weeks to complete their robots. In past years robots would be charged with shooting basketballs and flinging Frisbees. This year they will be throwing exercise balls into goals. The Southington team is known as “Team 195, the Cyber Knights,” and they are always among the best in the competition, having moved on to national events in past years.
“It’s about students coming together and showing off their robots,” said Megan Graham, a Southington High senior and member of the Cyber Knights.
Gino Brino, a Southington dentist who also serves at the Cyber Knights coach, said, “This is basically the celebration of science and technology.”
The competition at Southington High School runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and it is open free to the public.