UNC Asheville will host the North Carolina District FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition on campus from March 24-25 in Kimmel Arena in UNC Asheville’s Sherrill Center. Thirty-two teams of high school students from North Carolina and Georgia will assemble on campus to engage in a field competition with industrial-sized robots, which they have built and programmed themselves. The competition is free and open to the public.

Competition begins with the opening ceremonies at 10:30 a.m., and continues until 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 24. The event resumes on Sunday, March 25 with opening ceremonies at 9:30 a.m., more robotics competition, and concludes with an awards ceremony at 5 p.m.

Under strict rules, with limited resources and an intense six-week time limit, student teams are challenged to raise funds, design a team brand, hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors.

Winning teams earn the right to compete in the FIRST North Carolina State Championship, held at Campbell University on April 7.

Those interested in getting close to the action during the FIRST Robotics Competition can sign up to volunteer at firstnorthcarolina.org/volunteers. For more information, contact Marie Hopper, president of FIRST North Carolina, at marie@firstnorthcarolina.org or 336-375-3861.