On November 2, teachers, principals, administrators and community members from Long Island school districts came out to Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix Hills to watch the Eighth Annual Half Hollow Hills Invitational, which was presented by the school and School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI).
 
Now in its eighth year, the FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Long Island Half Hollow Hills Invitational has become a staple of the local FIRST Robotics Competition season. The event also signifies the conclusion of the 2019 season. The 2020 FIRST Robotics Competition season will begin with the kickoff, which will take place on January 4, 2020 at LIU Post Tilles Center.
 
This year’s event featured 17 teams, which competed using the robots they built for the 2019 SBPLI Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition that was held in March. The challenge was dubbed DESTINATION: DEEP SPACESM Presented by The Boeing Company, in which two three-team alliances had two minutes and 15 seconds to prepare the rockets and cargo ship with hatch panels, load as many cargo pods as possible and return the robot to its Habitat.
 
The winning alliance was comprised of Sachem High School Team #263 “Sachem Aftershock,” Westhampton Beach High School Team #3171 “Hurricanes” and Hicksville High School Team #1468 “J-Birds” The finalists were Kings Park High School Team #5736 “Kingsmen,” Patchogue-Medford High School Team #263 “Mohawks” and Our Lady of Mercy High School Team #6746 “Mustangs.”
 
The Invitational is designed to showcase the benefits of robotics programs and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education to students, schools, communities and local businesses.