This story was submitted by Locke Alexander, a senior at Woodside High School and one of two team captains for the Woodside/Carlmont Team 100 robotics team.

Students with 36 teams will compete in a one-day robotics competition -- Cal Games for Robotics -- at Woodside High School on Saturday, Oct. 10.

The event is free and open to the public. Qualifying matches will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the playoffs, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Woodside High School is at 199 Churchill Ave.

The three teams from the Woodside/Portola Valley/Menlo Park/Atherton area that are competing are:

■ Team 100, the Wildhats, with students from Woodside, Carlmont and Sequoia high schools, with their robot "Lunabeast."

■ Team 766, M-A Bears, Menlo-Atherton High School, with the robot "Flying Squirrel."

■ Team 2144, Gators, Sacred Heart Prep, with the robot "RADbot.

In the competitions, 120-pound robots compete in three-versus-three alliances. The action is a combination of autonomous (software control) and remote control.

The robots score by depositing "moon rocks" into the trailers attached to the opposing team's robots. Adding to the challenge is the slippery playing surface and ultra-smooth robot wheels simulating the lower gravity on the moon's surface.

The program is sponsored by the Western Region Robotics Forum (WRRF), a nonprofit supporting Bay Area FIRST robotics teams.

■ View event flier.

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