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RED BLUFF — The final competition for the NorCal Vex Robotics league was held Saturday at Red Bluff High School.

“Two of the three Red Bluff teams advanced to the quarter finals,” said robotics instructor Stan Twitchell. “I thought that was great, being our first year and all.”

Staff sets up the arena for the robotics competition at Red Bluff High School Saturday. (Julie Zeeb — Daily News)

Each team built and programmed a robot to compete. They run on software programmed by students, which allows them to complete tasks, though they can receive commands via a remote controller.

The robots are given three tasks that must be completed. They have to spin a switch on a pole using a ball-launch mechanism, climb onto a raised platform and flip large plastic discs using an arm.

When judging the robots based on technical skill, students are not allowed to control them. The robot must complete the three tasks based solely on how it is programmed. After this test, a student from each team gets to use a controller to command the robot to showcase the physical mechanics.

A big twist in the competitive format comes during the final rounds when teams from different schools are paired together and share a final score. This puts students in a position to work together with new people.

During these rounds, Twitchell said, robots battle it out by taking the main competition objectives and mixing them up to make them more competitive. Two robots in the ring at the same time must now flip discs and switches so their color is showing. These rounds last two minutes each.

In order to compete, the robots must meet a size guideline and be built using parts approved by Vex.

This school year marks the first time Red Bluff has had a robotics class and teams in competition. Previous matches were held at the Shasta District Fair & Event Center in Anderson, Dunsmuir High School and Central Valley High School in Cottonwood.

Next comes the state competition, for which two of the 24 teams in attendance qualified — Build It of Palo Cedro and one of Shasta High School’s three teams.

“It went really well,” Twitchell said.

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