[KINGS PARK, NEW YORK] — On November 6, fourteen teams from Long Island competed in the Ninth Annual Half Hollow Hills Invitational at Half Hollow Hills West High School in Dix Hills. It was the first time in two years that the event was held in person. The Invitational was presented by the Half Hollow Hills School District, with support from School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI) DBA FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Long Island.

This year’s winning alliance consisted of the following teams: Team #870 “Southold Team RICE” from Southold High School; Team #2872 “Cybercats” from The Wheatley School; and Team #2869 “Regal Eagles” from Bethpage High School. Runners-up included Team #3950 “RoboGym Robotics” from North Shore High School; Team #5736 “Kingsmen” from Kings Park High School; and Team #1468 “Hicksville J-Birds” from Hicksville High School.

This year’s challenge was INFINITE RECHARGESM, in which both alliances have two minutes and 15 seconds to protect FIRST City from approaching asteroids caused by a distant skirmish in outer space. Alliances scored points by scoring Power Cells in the Power Port, completing both Rotation and Position Control and getting the Generator Switch to the level position. Additional points were scored by hanging the robot from the Generator Switch within the final 30 seconds of the match.