Hit the sidelines, football. Go home, baseball. Lego robotics is the new sport sweeping the nation, and one needs brains, and not brawn, to play.

The LEGO Co. and the international, nonprofit FIRST organization are the masterminds behind the game, a competition that takes place in a sports-like environment where teams of aspiring young engineers and technophiles test their robotic programming skills with real-world engineering challenges.

The “challenge,” a set of tasks a robot is required to perform, is issued by FIRST at the start of the year. Each team of up to 10 children (nine through 14-year-olds) then deciphers which add-on pieces — light, touch, distance motors and touch sensors — and what series of command-written code will provide the most efficient way to get its robot to do those tasks within an allotted time period. The team, team leaders and their robots compete with other regional groups, with the more-proficient teams graduating to state, national and international competitions.

In 1998, the year FIRST launched the program, 210 teams vied for top honors. Thirteen years later, the number has grown to an estimated 20,000 teams worldwide, and now Beaufort County is set to form its own team.

“I foresee it happening soon,” said Erin Massie, one of Beaufort County’s 4-H youth and development leaders. “We are working with two different groups — Kingdom Kids Academy and the 4-H club, Talented Dreamers, based out of Chocowinity.”

The investment for the LEGO Mindstorm robotics kits can be hefty, but Massie has received a couple of kits from the 4-H sponsor, North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University, and further grant funding by the school is expected.

Though the program will be new to Beaufort County, two Washington residents have been competing in the FIRST LEGO League for the past two years.

Camin Randall-Peangmeth, 11, and Jetsun Randall-Peangmeth, 13, recently placed first with their team, Titanium Uranium, in the eastern regional tournament in Jacksonville. Titanium Uranium, based in Greenville, and two other teams advanced to the FIRST LEGO League state championship, to be held in Greensboro in January.

Competition at the events is fierce but friendly (FIRST calls it “gracious professionalism”). The playing field resembles any other organized sport, with referees in black-and-white-striped shirts, blowing whistles, and each team in uniform.

Though the “table performance,” in which each team’s robot performs the set task, is the main event, it is but one part of the overall score. Each team is required to meet with judges in a timed interview to explain the design and operation of its robot. It also presents a research project about the topic the “challenge” is wrapped around. Finally, judges observe the team members working together, identifying the teams that best demonstrate enthusiasm, partnership and respect for their teammates and others.

“It’s fun to see them work with (the robots),” said Massie. “It lets them have a hands-on approach to technology. In 4-H, we focus on STEM — science, technology, engineering, mathematics — and (LEGO robotics) really fits right into it.”

“It’s a fun, fun experience,” said Addie Randall, mother of Titanium Uranium’s Camin and Jetsun Randall-Peangmeth.

Randall has been instrumental in bringing awareness of the FIRST LEGO League to Beaufort County. She is currently helping Massie organize a local team.

Randall stresses that LEGO robotics is for everyone — the other teams in Greenville include a Girl Scout troop and several church groups.

“The key,” said Randall, “is having a coach that’s really excited about it.”