It is an event that touts names like Mysterious George and Rebelbot and whose participants are high on computer, mechanical and strategic challenges.

“It gives kids a venue to compete that’s not athletic,” said Arik Andersen, adviser for Austin team Mysterious George, a veteran squad of robotic whizzes made up of high school and middle school kids. “These are kids who like to build things and this is a great opportunity to be challenged.”

Austin was home to a 16-school state  VEX robotic qualifying event on Saturday. Participants from elementary to high school-age kids competed. Locally, Austin was well-represented with nine VEX IQ teams with at least one team from each elementary school and from the I.J. Holton Intermediate fifth grade and six VEX Robotic teams with two from I.J. Holton, two from Ellis Middle School, two homeschool and/or high school/middle school team.

From a distance, it almost looked like kids surrounding a boxing ring.

Upon closer inspection, you saw kids with remote controls, leading their robots to pick up toy-like stars and cubes and picking them up to dump them on an opponent’s field.

Mysterious George ran into a problem against a first-round opponent when, in simple terms “it [the robot’s arm] stopped working,” said Oliver Andersen, 14. “It couldn’t pick anything up,” leaving the robot with only the ability to push the stars and cubes through the fence to the other side.

So, Jarod Feifarek, 16 — the most veteran of the vets on this team — began writing computer code to tell the robot to start lifting again, doggone it.

“It’s a fix in the programming,” explained Ted Lund, 15. The boys also worked on a mesh of rubber bands across the top of the robot to eliminate the problem of an opponent’s star getting stuck in the Mysterious George robot. The network of bands would protect the gears.

Being able to adapt and fix issues is a big plus for teams who want to advance, said Arik. There were six more rounds to go before the contest was done.

Lukas Howard, 15, said one of the best things about the competition was working with the team, but also watching how the other teams’ robots were designed. Others nodded in agreement.

The challenges begin at a young age. The IQ challenge for the younger set allows the kids to create a robot that is more similar to Legos than not; the older kids’ creations, which are more involved and less directed by a kit, look more like the Erector sets of old.

Emily Hjelmen, 11, a member of an I.J. Holton team, watched her older brother, Carson, compete the previous year and wanted to be part of a team.

“I like the competition,” she said.

Her parents, however, see more.

“It’s thinking outside the box,” said her mom, Corrine. “It allows to think more creatively.”

Emily’s dad, Derek, added that the children also learned “about being a good sport.”