High schoolers compete in FIRST Robotics Central Illinois Regional
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Hundreds of high school students combined math and metal at the FIRST Robotics Central Illinois Regional Competition for a chance at the World Championships in Houston.
'Every year there's a brand-new game. So they get to come up with a new strategy, a new design, and build a robot from scratch to play the game,' said Tim Koch, chairman of the Central Illinois Regional Planning Committee.
In all, 35 teams from all over the United States came to Renaissance Coliseum on the Bradley University campus for the competition which began on Thursday and will wrap up Saturday.Students have been preparing for the competition since the beginning of 2025. Teams of three students race against the clock to see how many PVC pipes their robot can place on the post in the center field. Grace Hatten is a senior at Illini Bluffs High School in Glasford. She said she has put her blood, sweat, and tears into making the team's robot.
'I've probably spent over 100 hours at robotics like building some program, doing like everything. So to see it work and we actually get like winning, and having a good robot is the most rewarding,' said Hatten.
Koch said he firmly believes these students that are competing, are the future engineers of our country.
'These students are building job skills and life skills. You know, they're learning how to do things in the mechanical, electrical programming space. They're also learning how to talk to judges and explain what they're doing to other people. So they end up with a full skill set for going to college and getting a job in the future,' he said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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