GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – For the first time ever, East Carolina University hosted the North Carolina FIRST Robotics Competition State Championship.

40 teams, 1,300 high schoolers, all gathered at the minges coliseum to compete head-to-head.

“We have six weeks to kinda figure out how we wanna do that, so about every night for six weeks, the teams meet down at the shop just right around the corner, and everybody comes out and does their part,” Pitt Pirates Coach Wyatt Tripp said.

The Pitt Pirates coach said that every student has worked hard to reach the state level, but they have much higher goals.

“That’s the limit goal right there if we can make it to worlds and compete on the world’s level,” said Tripp.

While some think robotics is only stem-related, a senior who started with robotics in elementary school said there is a spot for everybody.

“It’s a lot of fun, and it’s more than just the robot we have. Although were panned as it being a robotics thing, we have people behind the scenes that help with everything, and they also play a big part,” said Rachel Stokes a Slices team member.

The competition will be held Saturday and Sunday, where the winners will be announced, to find out who will go on to compete at the FIRST World’s Competition.