DiscoveryChannel.ca has launched full-scale coverage of a weekend event that one producer described as the rock concert of high school science competitions.

The FIRST Toronto Regional Robotics Competition brings together some of the brainiest Canadian and American high school students to compete in a range of robotics-based events at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ont.

After spending the past six weeks designing, building and testing a robot from a standard parts kit, the teams meet on the "playing field" to compete. Every year, competition organizers come up with a new game in which the teams have to complete tasks like shooting balls, stacking objects and climbing over or under obstacles.

This year's game, called Rack 'n' Roll, pits two teams of three robots against each other. The teams will try to score points by placing inflatable rings on 24 swinging targets called "spider legs."

The competitions take place Friday and Saturday.

• Click here for DiscoveryChannel.ca's live webcast of the Greater Toronto Regional event beginning Friday.

"We've had massive response to this sort of interactive event over the last few months," said Peter McMahon, acting lead web producer for DiscoveryChannel.ca.

He said the competition is the rock concert of high school science fairs, involving MCs, play-by-play announcers and referees.

"People are amazed. We're basically producing a live TV event that you can only see on the Internet -- so much so that we're constantly explaining that this isn't a slide show or text chat -- you're actually seeing science happen live right in front of you."

The FIRST website describes the competitions as high-energy, exciting events "with sophisticated audio/video, sophisticated playing fields, judges deciding on both technical and non-technical awards ... much like a high-profile sports event."

McMahon says DiscoveryChannel.ca webcasts give enthusiasts the science coverage they want at a level of depth that can't be equaled in other mediums.

"Though these events are not necessarily something TV would cover in their entirety, there's a huge audience that is craving the ability to see all of an eclipse, or a dinosaur unearthed live, for example -- YouTube is no longer enough for these folks," McMahon said.

In addition to the in-depth coverage, the live webcast also provides viewers a chance to weigh in on what they want to see.

"We're really interested in knowing what people think about this. They can email in and talk to us and the competitors live while the event is happening. We certainly want to know if they like what they see," McMahon said.

The webcast will also provide a gateway into the competition for teams that have come from outside the Toronto area.

Colin Johnson and his team of 20 from Bishop Grandin High-School traveled from Calgary to compete in this year's competition.

He believes all the hard work his team has put into building their robot will pay off in the end.

"We would spend about six or seven hours a day after school trying to get ready. For about six weeks we worked around 40 hours per week," Johnson said.

"We are feeling incredibly confident. We just have to wait for the opportunity to shine and then we'll be ready to go and we'll do really well."

Participating teams are awarded points for excellence in design, team spirit, professionalism and maturity, and ability to overcome challenges.

"The competition this year is a vertical game of tic-tac-toe with giant life preservers. The other part of the competition is levitation where you have to lift other robots off the ground," Johnson told CTV.ca.

"Our robot has a single arm with a work glove on the end that clamps down on the life preservers. It looks like a giant silver box with an arm that sticks out the middle of it."

While Johnson is confident his team will make it to the finals, he may have some local competition. The Where's Waldo team from Trafalgar Castle School in Whitby, Ont., is one of two all-girls teams competing in the competition.

"For this competition, our robot is functioning a lot better and the girls have a great chance of doing really well and qualifying for the championships in Atlanta. Spirits are high right now, which is great," Amanda Cortese, team mentor and mechanical engineering student at the University of Toronto, told CTV.ca.

"When I was in my last year of high-school I was involved in this program and I intended to go into architecture in university. Right before the application deadlines were coming around, I applied to mechanical engineers and was totally inspired by this program to do that."

Cortese explains the competition is not just for science and technology enthusiasts.

"I think this is a really great program and a lot of other high-schools should try it as well. It's something that not only applies to science and technology but to kids who are in English or interested in graphic design; they also have role in this. So, it's a really inclusive program to be a part of."

Launched in 1992, the FIRST competition attracts students from Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Israel.

More than 1000 teams from 30,000 high-schools compete at regional events with the possibility of going to the championship event in Atlanta, Ga.

The competition draws major corporate sponsors on both sides of the border including:

• The University of Toronto
• Bell
• ExxonMobil
• Halliburton
• NASA
• Chevrolet
• The Government of Ontario
• Google
• General Motors
• Shell Oil

Inventor Dean Kamen, best known for inventing the two-wheeled Segway human transporter, founded FIRST in 1989 to promote an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, NH, FIRST designs programs that build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology and engineering.

Besides the robotics competition FIRST also hosts the Lego League for children 9-14 years old.

The 2007 Championship Event will be held in Atlanta, Ga., from April 12-14.