The sport of robotic combat is growing exponentially nationwide. According to the event promoter, Steve Brown, founder of Steel Conflict and himself builder of three successful combat robots, "This new sport is huge and growing every day. The largest gathering of combat robot builders is right here in Southern California, yet so far there isn't a local tournament for these guys to do battle. We're changing all that."

Christian Carlberg, a nationally recognized, award winning pop superstar in this sport says, "Right now we have about a billion kids out there who desperately want to build battling robots. This is awesome for our country. Imagine all the talented researchers, engineers and scientists we are going to have 20 years from now. However, we need these local tournaments in order to nurture these future scientists and researchers. Any kid can dream to be a professional basketball player and then go pick up a ball at the local courtyard. What we need are local arenas for our kids to dream about changing and improving America."

This is the very reason Steel Conflict has invited every combat robot enthusiast in Southern California to gather for two days of intense combat robot action. According to Brown, there are over 100 robots coming to Steel Conflict and not just from the local area. Builders from all over the country are planning to attend for their shot at the coveted Steel Conflict Tournament Series title.

This new sport actually started a number of years ago by a few friends who got together to destroy each other's machines under freeway overpasses. Since that time, the builder base has grown into the thousands. Now, with the television coverage garnered by some of the larger tournaments, the fan base is well into the millions.

Apparently the local media has taken notice as well. Solstice Productions, a Southern California based video production company, has selected the Steel Conflict tournament to be one of their featured elements in a documentary on this new sport. "The arrival of Robotic Combat into the category of main stream sport has happened. This sport attracts to male and female audiences from the age of six to sixty, its fast, fun and highly explosive," said Eric Abrahamson, segment producer.

What makes this sport so exciting to the public are the robots themselves and the destruction they cause. "We've got robots made from aluminum, Kevlar, titanium, bulletproof plexi-glass and of course, good old fashion steel. The power packed into the weapons of these machines is incredible. There's nothing like watching pieces of a robot get torn off and thrown against the safety walls!" says Brown with a fanatical grin on his face. "Every one of the builders attending is hungry for destruction and they know how to dish it out!"

The Steel Conflict - "Robots with Attitude" tournament will be held August 24th and 25th at the Fairplex in Pomona. Steel Conflict is expecting over 1,000 spectators with tickets going on sale July 15th, 2002. Tickets can be purchased from the Steel Conflict web site http://www.fightclubproductions.com.

"The world will never be the same after this one," Brown says.