Colorado Springs teens compete in a national robotics competition at Broadmoor Hotel

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Teens from all over the nation went head to head in a national robotics competition at the Broadmoor Hotel aimed at encouraging kids to pursue a career in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics.

Half of the over 60 teams are from Colorado, including Sabin Middle School and Widefield High School.

"Every single time that we see the field, I feel like we're always kind of stressing before the match," said Declan Martin from Sabin Middle School.

The teams come by invite only, according to event organizers. They get a few months to prepare for the competition. The four teams that win get a ticket to the world competition in April in July. However, beyond the competition, the event exists to get kids interested in STEM careers, according to an event organizer.

"Over 80% of students who compete in these robotics programs go on to get STEM degrees and become STEM professionals. So the return on investment is amazing," said Russ Feller, the Vice President of Education for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association International.

AFCEA also plans the Cyberspace Symposium, hosted in the same event center at the Broadmoor. Major companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle show up to collaborate with the armed forces on technological defense and advancement.

Generating nearly half a million dollars every year, the money from the Symposium goes directly into funding STEM education for kids. The money goes into events like Monday's Robotics competition but also funds other things, linked here.