40 Michigan teams compete in FIRST Robotics District Competition

By: ABC57 Staff

Posted: Mar 23, 2012 9:14 PM EDT | Updated: Nov 5, 2014 7:37 PM EDT

NILES, Mich. -- Rock 'em, sock 'em, shoot 'em! The battle of the basketball 'bots is on in Niles!

It's part of their FIRST Robotics District Competition.

This weekend, nearly 40 teams from across the state of Michigan are on hand to compete for the district title.

Each team's robot will compete in a "Rebound Rumble" to see who can shoot the most hoops in just over two minutes.

That means a busy weekend for the city of Niles.

"We've got a lot of people coming into Niles for the weekend, staying overnight, spend a lot of money in town... good stuff!" said Wayne Borr of Niles High School.

The second round will competition continues on Saturday. The winning team will score a spot in the First Robotics World Competition next month in St. Louis.