I am not a big fan of “Battle Bots” but I am in favor of anything that gets kids excited about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The National Robotics League (http://gonrl.org/) looks to be a battle bots event for High School Kids started by the National Tooling and Machining Association.
I don’t like the fact that the bot is destroyed as part of the competition, but if an interest in STEM lasts, then it is worth it!