Local students shine at Lego tournament

These are the Warren County students and coaches who participated in the 2005 Tennessee FIRST Lego League Tournament held at Tennessee Tech.

A Warren County team captured a second-place overall finish during a statewide Lego League Tournament held earlier this month in Cookeville.

Called the Sea Monkeys, the second-place team was composed of Ben Gawel, Robert Eschenbacher, Austen Moore, Elizabeth Oxley, Emily Gawel and Maxine Bouldin.

The Sea Monkeys squad was one of four teams to compete Dec. 3 at Tennessee Tech. Overall, Warren County teams excelled and captured seven of the 24 coveted “call-back” slots. Local teams brought home five trophies in three categories.

The McMinnville-Warren County Chamber of Commerce has sponsored Lego League teams since 2001 through independent donations.

“This is a great program that allows students from Warren County the chance to work on mechanical and intellectual problem-solving skills and compete in a team setting,” said Chamber of Commerce Education Committee chairman Nick Gawel. “The Chamber is really doing a great thing here. Nowhere else in Tennessee is there a community that steps up to provide the level of support and sponsorship for their students like Warren County does.”

This year’s competition theme, Ocean Odyssey, called for teams of 9- to 14-year-old children to perform research and present technology solutions to help solve mounting problems in the world’s oceans.

Teams from Bobby Ray Elementary, Eastside, Warren County Middle School and a combined team of Bobby Ray, Hickory Creek and middle school students represented the county.

The competition is judged in five areas: research and presentation, robot performance, technical mechanics of the robot’s construction, teamwork, and gracious professionalism.

The official name of the competition is FIRST Lego League (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Lego League is an international program for students created in a partnership between FIRST and the Lego Group based on their common belief that fun and learning go hand-in-hand, and that an inspired mind can accomplish anything.

The Lego League’s seventh year is also its biggest season, with close to 7,700 teams, and more than 63,000 students from 30 countries, competing in hundreds of tournaments.

Anyone interested in supporting or participating in next year’s competition should contact the Chamber of Commerce at 473-6611.