Lights, music, fanfare and thousands of people from across the globe greeted members of Roberts Creek Extreme Robotic Minds (RCXRM) during their recent trip to Atlanta, Ga. for the First Lego League World Festival April 27 to 29. "There was a tidal wave of people coming in the doors when we got there," RCXRM member Terran Tasci said.
The event brought over 9,700 students from around the world to the Georgia Dome and Georgia World Congress Centre to show off their robotic accomplishments and compete for various awards being handed out by the First Lego League (FLL).
The RCXRM team was chosen as ambassadors of Canada at the event and took part in the opening ceremonies. "It was cool. We got to see groups from other countries talking to each other in different languages. We came up with a big Canadian flag and said 'hello and bonjour from Canada,'" Terran said.
The four boys were excited to be at the event and were in awe at the magnitude of it all. Soon it was time to get down to business and show their Lego robot creation's skill on the judging table.
"It was absolutely intense on the floor. The music was going and there were play by plays and a big screen for everyone to see what was going on," said coach Wendi Rottluff.
RCXRM had two tough runs where they lost points for incomplete actions by their robot. Their third and final run seemed to be going well until a close-up video camera got in the way of their robot.
"The camera was stuck right in the middle of the table where our robot was going to go, and with the camera in the way it was totally disastrous," team member Kiel Strang said.
After Rottluff talked to the judges, they decided to let RCXRM run their robot again. "Everything went almost perfectly that time," Kiel said.
Rottluff noted this was one of many times the team had to keep their cool, regroup and try again.
"They just worked so well as a team the entire time. I was really proud of them. The days were long and exhausting but whenever someone was down or losing steam, another one would have that extra oomph to give them a little boost and they always came through for each other," Rottluff said.
The event wasn't all stress and hard work. The boys had time to meet other teams and have a little down time.
"We played Frisbee in the Olympic Centennial Park in Atlanta with teams from Cleveland, New York and Virginia," Terran noted.
"It was really neat to meet all the people from different places. That was the highlight of the whole thing for me," team member Oliver Gidora said.
Another highlight was the third place trophy the team took home in the robot design category.
"It's a Robot Consistency Award because the judges liked all the different programs we had installed and our problem-solving capabilities," Kiel said.
The judges were very impressed with the Roberts Creek team and circled their pit area often asking questions and making small talk. "That's always a good sign," Kiel noted.
"The whole thing was amazing. I can't take one thing out of the experience and say it was the best. All of it was great," Terran said.
The team is already gearing up for the next provincial tournament to be held in November this year, and they are currently fundraising for the purchase price of a new Lego robotics system that will be released this summer.
"It's a lot better than what we're using now so we really want to get some new equipment," Kiel said. That purchase will cost the group about $2,000.
They are holding a fundraiser for their efforts on June 10 at Trail Bay Centre in Sechelt from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., which will showcase the team and their robots as well as offer a bake sale.
The group is interested in helping a new FLL group start up on the Coast. Rottluff notes she is able to help mentor a new coach willing to take on the role.
For more information, contact Rottluff at 604-885-6472 or email [email protected].
The team would like to thank all their sponsors who made the recent trip to Atlanta possible.
