Students to Reach New Heights at Robotics Competition

WHAT: Sixty-four high school teams will compete in the 20th season of the Los Angeles regional FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics competition.

This year’s “Logo Motion” game consists of two competing teams, with three robots each, on a flat, 8.2-by-16.5 meter (27-by-54-foot) field. The teams earn points by hanging as many plastic shapes (triangles, circles and squares), on their scoring grid, in a two-minute-and-15-second match. The higher the teams hang their game pieces on their scoring grid, the more points their teams receive. The robots can also deploy mini-bots to climb vertical poles for a chance to earn additional points.

Students have six weeks to design, build, program and test their robots to meet the season’s engineering challenge. These young inventors create a robot – with the help of engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., aerospace and other companies and higher-education institutions. They participate in competitions that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration and the determination of students. JPL is sponsoring 11 robotics teams.

These students are among the 51,000 students in more than 2,000 teams from around the world vying to compete in the FIRST championships April 27 to 30 in St. Louis, Mo. The FIRST Robotics competition is part of NASA’s Robotics Alliance Project, which aims to expand the number of robotics systems experts available to NASA.

WHO: Sixty-four high school teams and their coaches and mentors from Southern California and Chile.

WHEN:

Friday, March 25

– 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Seeding matches

Saturday, March 26

– 9:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Seeding matches
– 1:30-4:30 p.m. Final competition rounds
– 4:45 p.m. Awards ceremony

WHERE: Long Beach Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, Calif. 90802
Phone: 562-436-3636. Competition admission is free. Parking fees apply.

More information and a short video about FIRST is at http://www.usfirst.org/ .
More information on NASA’s Robotics Alliance Project is at http://robotics.nasa.gov/ .

Los Angeles FIRST robotics competition list of participating high schools

* denotes schools sponsored by JPL.

1. Mark Keppel High School, Alhambra
2. Anaheim High School, Anaheim
3. Servite Alumni Association, Anaheim
4. Arcadia Unified School District, Arcadia*
5. Atascadero High School, Atascadero
6. Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Hills
7. Canoga Park High School, Canoga Park
8. California Academy of Mathematics & Science, Carson
9. Tower Christian School, Clovis
10. Culver City High School, Culver City
11. Diamond Bar High School, Diamond Bar
12. El Segundo High School, El Segundo
13. Dos Pueblos High School, Goleta
14. Granada Hills Charter High School, Granada Hills
15. Centinela Valley Union High School, Hawthorne
16. Hope Chapel Academy High School, Hermosa Beach*
17. Shadow Hills High School, Indio
18. City Honors High School, Inglewood
19. St. Mary’s Academy, Inglewood
20. Woodbridge High School, Irvine
21. Arnold O. Beckman School, Irvine*
22. La Canada High School, La Canada*
23. Crescenta Valley High School, La Crescenta*
24. Clark Magnet High School, La Crescenta*
25. Lancaster High School & Antelope Valley Union High School District, Lancaster
26. Antelope Valley High School, Lancaster
27. Frazier Mountain High School, Lebec
28. The Archer School for Girls, Los Angeles
29. Foshay Learning Center, Los Angeles*
30. Fremont High School, Los Angeles
31. King Drew High School, Los Angeles
32. Manual Arts High School, Los Angeles
33. Crenshaw High School, Los Angeles
34. Milken Community High School, Los Angeles
35. West Adams Preparatory Senior High School, Los Angeles
36. Loyola High School, Los Angeles
37. John Burroughs High School, Los Angeles*
38. Bishop Alemany High School, Mission Hills
39. Newbury Park High School, Newbury Park
40. Campbell Hall School, North Hollywood
41. North Hollywood High School, North Hollywood
42. Orcutt Academy High School, Orcutt
43. John Muir High School, Pasadena*
44. El Rancho High School, Pico Rivera
45. Mira Costa High School, Redondo Beach
46. Reseda High School, Reseda
47. Poly High School, Riverside
48. Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Rolling Hills Estates
49. Canyon Crest Academy High School, San Diego
50. San Marino High School, San Marino*
51. Rolling Hills Preparatory School, San Pedro
52. Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks
53. West Ranch High School, Hart High School, Academy of the Canyons, Stevenson Ranch*
54. Harvard-Westlake School, Studio City
55. La Reina High School, Thousand Oaks High School, Westlake High School, Newbury Park High School, Thousand Oaks
56. South High School, North High School, West High School, Torrance High School, Torrance
57. Vacaville High School, Solano County Office of Education ROP, Vacaville
58. High Tech-LA High School, Van Nuys
59. Saint Bonaventure High School, Ventura
60. Foothill Technology High School, Ventura
61. West Covina High School, West Covina
62. Chaminade College Preparatory, West Hills

New Jersey and International schools:

63. West Side High School, Newark, New Jersey
64. Region Metropolitana, Santiago, Chile