Some of the members of the O'Fallon High School's robotics team - dubbed the Metool Brigade - pose for a photo during practice sessions Thursday morning. They are (from left) Jacob Medder, the robot's driver; Justin Nicholson, the robot's operator; and Nghia Nguyen, whose job is to reload flying discs into the robot during events. Saint Louis University's Chaifetz Arena is the site of the St. Louis Regional of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FIRST is an acronym "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology"). Teams at the St. Louis Regional had to program and guide their robots to throw flying discs at a target, and climb a metal pyramid structure in a game called "Ultimate Ascent". The World Championships will also be held in St. Louis, on April 24th through 27th at the Edward Jones Dome. TIM VIZER — tvizer@bnd.com Buy Photo