LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It’s a modern-day colosseum of sorts, setting the battleground for high school competitors in the Robot Gladiator League. Bots clash and clang up against each other, as teams try to score points to win and advance.
LEX 18 first learnedabout the Robot Gladiator League (RGL) back in February. On Thursday, the state championship took place at the Central Bank Center.
“Everybody’s here. Everybody wants to win,” said Morgan County High School senior Carolina Keeton.
“I mean it's battle bots. Who doesn't like battle bots,” Russell County High School senior Matthew Townsend added. “At the end of the day, actually seeing them and getting to fight with them is the best part for me.”
Keeton is the social media manager for the Morgan County team, a new competitor in the RGL this season.
“When we hosted in November, it was much like this,” Keeton explained. “Very loud, very energetic, very upbeat, and it’s really great to see how encouraging that is to all the students.”
The matches combine STEM with a sports environment. To earn points in a match, teams try and knock over each others bowling pins. Eight of the 16 teams competed in a bracket today, leading to one victor as the state champion.
“I would say I'm pretty confident,” Townsend said of his team’s chances, “but, then I don't want to be overconfident and then just end up losing our first match.”
Townsend, who is the captain of the Russell County team, did end up leading his group to a victory in the opening round. Russell County was invited to join the RGL for its inaugural season last year.
As high school seniors, both Townsend and Keeton have their own takeaways.
Townsend shared his position taught him “leadership skills that, train you a lot in those aspects. It's actually really cool and I love doing it and of course building the bots is always fun too because, I mean, that's what I want to do.”
“It’s provided job opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise,” said Keeton. “It’s enhanced my senior year in ways that I couldn’t imagine.”
The league, in just its second season, hopes to continue growing, potentially bringing in teams from surrounding states.
Newton’s Attic developed the league in partnership with the Center for STEM and eXcellence at Morehead State University. League organizers hope to reach a point where all teams involved are funded by industry sponsors, the Kentucky Department of Education, or other fundraising means with each team being fully supported by Season Five.
