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Hundreds of young robot masters compete for fame and scholarships in Tallahassee this weekend

Laura Leonard

Dozens of high school teams from Florida and the Southeast will be in Tallahassee this weekend. They'll be competing in the opening round of First Robotic regional competitions.

Laura Leonard coordinates the Capital area's participating teams: SAIL High School, Tallahassee Collegiate Academy and a TallyRobotics Community team.

"Three First Robotics competition teams, which will be competing this weekend."

They'll be among a total of 43 teams. All of their robots will be tasked with removing make-believe algae blooms from underwater artificial coral reefs. Leonard said the local area gets a big boost from having the event here.

"Students are coming to Tallahassee for the competition and seeing all that our universities have to offer and they're starting to apply and attend our universities and college of engineering in Tallahassee."

FAMU/FSU's College of Engineering being a big sponsor of the competition. The top teams from this weekend's Lawson Center event will have a chance to win it all next month at the World Championship First Robotics finals in Houston.

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Tom Flanigan has been with WFSU News since 2006, focusing on covering local personalities, issues, and organizations. He began his broadcast career more than 30 years before that and covered news for several radio stations in Florida, Texas, and his home state of Maryland.

Find complete bio, contact info, and more stories. here.