BEST Robotics Game Day takes place Saturday at Trojan Arena

For the second year, Troy University will host a BEST Robotics Game Day this Saturday, Oct. 19 in Trojan Arena. BEST, which stands for Boosting Engineering Science and Technology, is a national program with local competition sites in 19 states.

The robotics competition includes students from 13 schools in the Troy University BEST area as well as seven schools from the Wiregrass BEST hub area.

The mission of BEST is to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through participation in a competitive robotics program that fosters knowledge, teamwork and communication.

The BEST program is free to schools, and the competition is open to middle and high school students.

Game Day, which starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, includes the robotics competition and the BEST Award competition.

The robotics competition involves a sports‐like environment in which student‐driven robots compete against the challenges of the game. Teams across the country are provided with an identical kit with equipment and parts. Teams are also given a set of game specific rules before entering their local competition, then given six weeks to design and build their robot.

The BEST Award competition involves oral marketing presentations, construction of educational team exhibits and showing team spirit and sportsmanship.

“Technology is the cornerstone of what is to come, so this gives students in our rural areas a chance to perform and get knowledge on how to do these kinds of engineering jobs,” said Faye Allen, program coordinator for in-service education at the Southeast Alabama Regional Inservice Center.

Winners of the robotics and BEST Award competitions will advance to the regional championship in December.

The full list of schools competing Saturday include:

Troy University BEST Robotics

Abbevile High School – Abbeville

Goshen High School – Goshen

Highland Home School – Highland Home

Pike County School for Advanced Academics and Accelerated Learning – Troy

Pike Liberal Arts – Troy

Enterprise Career and Technical Center – Enterprise

Florala High School – Florala

Tallassee High School – Tallasee

Hillcrest High School – Workforce Development Center – Evergreen