BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — There was plenty of action in the arena for 10th annual 'Rage in the Cage' competition at Bloomsburg High School.
The robots were built from scratch by students around the area, and they put in months of work to get here.
"It's like a three to four-month process, but this has been iterations over the past few years, slowly improving and figuring out what works and what doesn't," said Max Decker, Bloomsburg High School senior.
"It's not like a kit you buy, and you put together, this is an idea that came out of their head, and they need to make to go against another team," said Kirk Marshall, Bloomsburg High School Technology senior.
21 teams competed, ranging from college students to 11-year-olds like Brayden Rank of Williamsport.
"It's fun to build them, put them together, and play when they break, you're like, 'oh great, they broke,' but you just put it back together, go back in the cage, then you win," said Brayden Rank, Williamsport.
In between matches, teams are putting their science, math, and engineering lessons to work troubleshooting and repairing the robots.
"Honestly, when you are in the classroom, you are learning about building and learn how to assemble the robot, but at these competitions, you understand what it's like to be in the stress of the moment, and you understand putting everything together and fixing everything," said Ben Sohosky, Bloomsburg High School senior.
Competitors say a lot of what goes down in the arena boils down to strategy, helping them advance to the next round.
"A lot of it is avoiding head-to-head collisions and just trying to stay nimble, come around the back, hitting weak spots on your opponent, and just avoiding getting hit," said Decker.
The team with the winning robot goes home with a trophy.
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