(ABC 6 News) – Saturday afternoon, Southland Senior High School hosted the largest robotics competition in the area, with teams from across South East Minnesota.

This event comes after the Southland High School program took one team to the MN State Championship just last year, and had several teams qualify.

The program hosts multiple teams from Southland, with each team made up of two students.

One team, dubbed the ‘Country Kids’ has been competing for years.

“First, we start with the drive trains, because you have to get a base first, and then you have to make sure you have a spot to attach the brain, and make sure the drive train is the speed you want,” said Boe when asked about their robot-building process.

Many students say they love competing in the tournament every year.

Eli Boe, 11, and Wesley Neuvirth, 12, are on the “Country Kids” robotics team. They’re already robotics veterans with Neuvirth in his 3rd year with the program, and Boe in his 2nd.

The Country Kids are always trying to up their game, chasing the title of “State Champion.”

“So first we start with the drive trains, because you have to get a base first, and then you have to make sure you have a spot to attach the brain, and make sure the drive train is the speed you want,” said Boe when asked about their robot-building process.

Although these steps sound complicated to a layman, the Country Kids are happy to working with friends.

“Building with my friends and just enjoying the sport itself — If you like working with teams, then [robotics] will probably be a good sport for you,” said Neuvirth.

The Country Kids aren’t the only people who believe teamwork is a vital part to the program. Southland High English Teacher and Robotics Coach, Clint Phillips, says collaboration is by far the common denominator.

“If you came to a practice, and even here [at today’s competition], you’ll see kids in teams giving each other pointers and helping each other out, so there’s a ton of collaboration with [the sport],” said Phillips.

Don’t be fooled by their rookie status, because even newcomers like Damien Gross, 10, and Shiva Frost, 11, have learned some valuable lessons along the way. “Trial and error. Learn from your errors to make a better bot,” said Gross when asked about what is his biggest take away from the program.

“I would say it’s all about imagination, a robot, you could build anything with those pieces; It just depends how creative you are,” said Frost.

The elementary Southland Robotics program is aiming for a State Championship; while the high school team is hoping to make it to the Word Championship, which is being hosted in Dallas, TX.

For anyone interested in joining and/or competing with a robotics team; the IJ Holton Intermediate School in Austin, MN will be hosting a competition on January 20th, 2024. The event is free of charge, and the school would love any and all attendants.