Hosted by Marshalltown Community College, 13 teams will compete in a double elimination tournament which will determine the ultimate winner. MCC Esports Coach Andrew Goforth will serve as emcee and color commentator, and the competition will be live-streamed on Twitch.

MCC Foundation Director Carol Geil said the event is being used as a fundraiser for scholarships and the MCC Foundation.

“We felt that this was a great opportunity to showcase the technical expertise and talent in Marshalltown, including with our students,” she said.

Most of the 13 teams have four or more participants. The business teams, called the “Earners” include two teams from Emerson, and two representing Marshalltown Company. One team each will represent Lennox, Mechdyne, the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce and Dandy-Lion Early Childhood Learning Place.

The arena for the Battlebots Competition was built by Marshalltown Community College Construction Trades program students. The arena features sliding doors for the robots to enter. There is also a pull-out lid covering a trap that will be a competition hazard in the second half of each match.

Then there are the “Learners” — three teams consisting of MCC physics/pre-engineering and skilled trades students. These teams are sponsored by Mechdyne and Wells Fargo Advisors. There will also be a team of Marshalltown High School Industrial Arts staff.

The teams began working on their Battlebots in late September. Each received a Battlebot kit to assemble and modify as desired.

“So, they’ve had to build their robot, program it, learn to drive it and design weapons and defense capabilities,” Geil said.

She came up with the idea of the event after working with the Marshalltown High School robotics team for five years. People would ask her if battle bots were involved.

“Their disappointed faces when I said ‘No’ led me to believe that there was an unmet Battlebots need in the community,” Geil said. “The Foundation had been looking for a unique fundraiser, and everything started coming together.”

She hopes the challenge will be continued in the future, and perhaps expanded to include more teams. If that happens, she anticipates more advanced teams competing in a higher weight class with their competition robot.

Geil said they are hoping 200 people will attend the showdown.

“I think most people see the small size of these robots and feel a little disappointed at first; I know I did,” Geil said. “These are not the large machines seen on the show. But, once they start attacking each other, all the fun is still there, just at a more manageable scale. We’ve got the arena, now we let them fight!”

EVENT DETAILS:

Location: MCC Student Activity Center, 3702 S. Center St.

Date: Saturday

Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.