Updated 11/16/2009 08:11 AM
Twin Tiers Robotics Challenge 2009
Hundreds of people crowded in the Wings of Eagles Discover Center Sunday to watch some teams battle it out for "FIRST”, but this wasn't a sports competition, or was it? Our Vince Slomsky tells us more about the Twin Tiers Robotics Challenge 2009.
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HORSEHEADS, N.Y. -- It may look like all fun and games, but it was a pretty fierce competition too.
"Winning is good, there's nothing wrong with winning," said Tristan Ponader, an ASMS student.
The Twin Tiers Robotics Challenge 2009 inside the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center featured some of the brightest children in the region Sunday, all between the ages of 9 and 14.
They were competing in the LEGO League program, just one of the worldwide first competitions designed to get children involved with science and technology. Over the past eight weeks they've been working in teams to create the robots.
"It's really fun to make something and then see it work," said Costin Schelling, a Chemung Valley Montessori student.
Their hard work was put to the test as each robot had to perform specific tasks, like picking up loops and knocking over walls.
Somehow these kids are able to take these simple Legos and turn them into these really cool machines. It's all a pretty complex thing, I can't explain it, but then again, these kids are pretty smart.
"Some of them are very smart and this is a way for them to reaffirm the fact that being smart is okay. This is really a sport for nerds," said Roe Hemenway, the director of the challenge.
To some it may not look like a sport, but when you think about it, there really are a lot of similarities.
“You’re a team, you wear the same team colors. You have to do something. You get points and it's something to do for fun," said Ponder.
"It's not like a sport where you play with balls or stuff like that," said Caleb Weimer, a student from Corning Christian Academy.
I'm willing to bet with their smarts, they won't ever need to step on an athletic field to make the big bucks.
The top four teams at the end of the competition will advance to the regional championships in Rochester in December.