(LAKEFRONT, NEW ORLEANS)---Of the 31 high schools from around the nation set to compete in the Bayou Regional FIRST Robotics Competition to be held at the Lakefront Arena of the University of New Orleans, five of the teams will be from St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parishes.

The competition will take place Thursday, March 19, through Saturday, March 21, as teams from across the country literally pit their robots against those of other schools in skills competitions.

Louisiana has 13 schools in the competition, while Mississippi has some 9 teams. From St. Tammany Parish, teams include St. Paul's School, Covington; Northshore High School, Slidell; Fontainebleau High School, Mandeville; and Mandeville High School. In Tangipahoa Parish, Hammond High School will compete.

FIRST stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology". And the "first" competitions will get underway Friday, March 20, from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The competitions continue on Saturday, March 21, from 9:30 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. Competitions are free and open to the public.

Awards ceremonies will be held Friday, March 20, at 4:45 p.m. and on Saturday, March 21, at 4:30 p.m. Regional winners will go on to compete in the FIRST Robotics National Championship in April at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

NASA and the Stennis Space Center provided coaches, mentors, training, judges, referees, a machine-shop, and other volunteers. NASA grants to Louisiana-Mississippi teams totaled $84,000. NASA also gave $100,000 to sponsor the regional competition at UNO and will give another $100,000 in in-kind support by the end of the season.

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