The robotics club is one step away from qualifying for state, with the final stage coming this weekend at the VEX Competition Saturday in Richardson.

“This is our last competition to qualify for state, the top two to five teams in each regional competition get to compete at the next level,” robotics club adviser Brian Lidington said. “We then move from state to world champions, where it’s teams from China, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico.”

Unlike athletic events, there is no division between big and small schools. But there are some similarities to sports.

“It’s like a basketball game, but you can’t flip people over,” Lidington said. “As well, we have scouts going, who go to talk to their partners to come up with strategies to win and you play with random robots that may not be from your school.”

After the competition, the top eight robots draft who their partners are going to be. Four robots compete at once with each team including a driver, a coach, and at least one scout.

“They really go at it,” Lidington said.