Robots, to Your Battle Stations

The nation's best and brightest students battled with robots today to begin the three-day Los Angeles regional FIRST Robotics Competition in Long Beach.

The competition, which is put on by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, runs through Saturday at the Long Beach Arena.

Hayden Downum, captain of Sparatroniks Team of Orcutt Academy High School in California's Central Coast, said he felt honored to be part of the competition.

"This is the highlight of my year," Downum said. "The adrenaline rush when walking into the convention center is just amazing, seeing all the other teams and being able to compete with teams from all over the world is just amazing."

David Berggren, regional director for FIRST Southern California, said the goal is to get kids excited about science and technology.

"If you come down and see the event here, you'll realize these kids are essentially playing sports with the robot," Berggren said. "There is high action and energy on the field."

The competition is free and open to the public.

--City News Service