You won’t see Hopkinton and John Stark fans rooting for the same team during basketball games. During the three-day FIRST robotics competition, however, fans were rooting for Oz-Ram, a team made up of students from both high schools.

Fans weren’t the only ones united by the team, as the students taking part in the competition also grew closer over the months working on their creation, which needed to be able to move around a track and lift track balls to score points.

“It (combining the schools) really worked out well,” said Oz-Ram adviser Will Renauld. “We were a little worried about it because the school sizes are so different, but the team members have really formed a great bond through robotics.”

The competition didn’t go as smoothly as Oz-Ram had hoped, as they finished in the middle of the pack of 48 teams from across New England.

“We struggled, but that is part of the learning process. You work through problems and then fix them,” said Renauld “The best part of the competition is seeing teams get to see teams get to help each other out, and to see the kids making friends.”

The alliance of Pembroke Academy, Trinity High School and a team made up of several high schools from Rhode Island took the crown to earn a spot at the national competition in Atlanta, Ga.

Although the teams in the competition all have the same goal of winning, Manchester West team member Thomas Provencher said there is a balance between victory and being a friendly competitor.

“There’s a lot of energy and competition. We’re all vying for the same thing, and we want to win,” he said. “We’re helping each other here (in the pit area), but out there it’s a war. If your neighbor in the pit area has a broken part you help them, but one the floor it’s a different story.”

Renauld said he has experienced first-hand the friendly nature of the competition.

“We’ve been at events where people gave us time outs and we’ve beaten them, and the same thing has happened to us. They’re grateful we got the chance to compete at an even level,” he said.

Bedford High School team member Ian Helmke witnessed the spirit of the competition during last weekend’s event. Helmke said upon arriving at the arena, his team realized they had a problem with one of the sensors on its robot. They went to the announcers table, and asked if any teams had the piece they required.

“Within a minute we had one from another team,” said Helmke. “It’s a lot of fun and you know the guys next to you will get you that if you need something. Everyone wants to win, but everyone wants everyone else to be at their best.”

Although Hopkinton and John Stark’s robotics team didn’t leave with the result they had hoped for, they didn’t leave the Verizon Wireless Arena empty handed.

“They made some longtime friends out of it,” said Renauld. “The competition makes for a great bonding thing outside of robotics.”