High School Teams Compete in FIRST Robotics Orange County Regionals
Photos: Lisa Woon
On most weekends, the University of California, Irvine’s Bren Events Center in Orange County has thousands of fans in blue and gold cheering on the school’s basketball or volleyball teams.
About 5,000 cheering fans were still on hand this past weekend, but this time they came out to support more than 50 robotics teams competing at the FIRST Robotics Orange County Regional.
In total, about 1,300 students competed during the two-day event. The top nine teams — including Diamond Bar High School, Granada Hills Charter High School and Crescenta Valley High School — moved on to the finals which will take place in Houston, April 20-22.
“Events like these robotics competitions provide students with an opportunity to take their interest in STEM to the next level,” said Tami Bui, Southern California Edison’s principal manager of Corporate Philanthropy, who noted Edison International’s sponsorship of FIRST Robotics. “Providing students with the opportunity to access science and technology will be crucial in developing our future energy workforce.”
The regional competition included international teams of students and professional engineers competing in design and obstacle competitions. Local teams also included: Hawthorne High School, San Marino High School and El Camino High School.
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