Berlin First Team Will Compete In Hartford

As March Madness continues to winnow down the list of NCAA hopefuls this month, another ‘hoops’ game — one that requires the kind of science, technology, math, engineering, problem-solving solving and teamwork skills coveted by today’s employers — will bring to Hartford more than 2400 high school students on 64 elite robot teams from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Texas.

The Northeast Utilities FIRST Connecticut Regional robotics competition will be held Friday and Saturday, March 30-31 at the Connecticut Convention Center, 100 Columbus Blvd., Hartford, Conn. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on both days and is free and open to the public.

The Berlin Techno-Nuts Team 155 will be there and have unveiled a photo of their robot, as well.

There is also a video of its video training for the competition before it was packaged at: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=3232079598751&oid=260240771691

During the competition, teams will play FIRST’s 2012 “Rebound Rumble” game, where robots will face off three-on-three to shoot baskets at the ends of an eight-hoop field during a series of two minute, 15 second matches. Balls scored in higher hoops score teams more points. Teams' alliances are awarded bonus points if, at the end of the match, their robots are balanced on bridges in the middle of the playing field.

The competition has been held for the past eighteen years in Hartford. High school teams will showcase their hard work after an intense six weeks of designing and building an original robot in the FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. With the support of technical mentors from sponsoring corporations and schools, teams in the competition will demonstrate their skill for science, mathematics, and technology. They will compete for honors and recognition that reward their design excellence, competitive play and sportsmanship. Teams are also recognized for the partnerships they form with schools, businesses and communities.

The Northeast Utilities FIRST Connecticut Regional will also be broadcast live through a webcast which can be accessed through the following link: www.shsrobotics.org/webcast.html.

The winners of the regional will advance to the FIRST International Championship in St. Louis, Missouri from April 25-28.