Claxton’s First Lego League Teams bring home trophies!

Congratulations to Claxton’s FLL Teams!

Claxton’s two FLL teams really shined at the FIRST Lego League regional tournament in Flat Rock last weekend!  The Hot Shots took home the 1^st place trophy for their research presentation, as well as the 1^st place for the tournament high score in robot performance.  The Hurricane Hunters took home a 2^nd place trophy in core values, and scored exceptionally well with the judges for robot design.  

Both teams will compete in the state tournament at NC A&T State University on January 12^th.

The competition includes four judging areas:  A project in which the kids researched a real-world problem caused by natural disasters and propose a new and innovative solution; Core Values in which kids are judged of how the work as a team and their ability to demonstrate the eight Core Values of the FLL Program; Robot Design where the kids are judged on the robot they’ve built and programmed for competition; and Team Spirit which is all about strutting your stuff throughout the tournament!  In the afternoon, team-built robots compete for points in a game based on the scientific research theme.   Our fourth and fifth graders competed against 19 other teams from the region.  Kids range in age from 9-14 years old, and many of the teams we competed against were veteran teams.  This is the third year Claxton has participated in FLL, and the third year we’ve had a team progress to the state tourney! And, it was a lot of fun to see Claxton FLL alumni now competing with Asheville Middle School and ArtSpace teams. 

We are exceptionally proud of the outstanding teamwork, dedication and commitment shown by our teams!   We’re also deeply appreciative to our sponsors – Lockheed Martin, Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company and Chuck Giezentanner, a local artist who turned the kids ideas into t-shirt designs!  And, of course, we’re deeply in debt to the many parents and teachers who volunteered their time to help the team in ways large and small.  FLL is a team effort and it would not be possible for the kids to succeed without a great network of support!