Local Teams Compete at First Lego League Tournament in Riverview

Desh Bagley of in Riverview hosted her third First Lego League challenge at HCC at The Regent on Jan. 7.

The 2011 tournament brought to the Riverview site hundreds of kids, coaches and parents from Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas Counties, and one team from Orlando.

The Robotic Raptors and Terminators teams from Kids Community College joined Stewart Middle Magnet School in earning bids for the Suncoast First Lego League challenge. The team is coached by Bill Shaw (See ) and sponsored by in Valrico.

For a list of other award recipients and a list of teams that earned regional bids in previous tournaments, visit Brandon Patch's . 

The tournament was hosted by the Energy Elites and Techno Whizards teams from TechPlayzone, working with the Florida Advanced Technological Center (FLATE), a National Science Foundation Regional Center for Advanced Technological Education. FLATE is in residence at the Brandon campus of Hillsborough Community College.

"Dr. Carlos Soto, president of the Hillsborough Community College Brandon campus, is the main reason we are able to host our event in such an awesome space," said Bagley, of TechPlayzone. "HCC has been a sponsor of our tournament three years, and we couldn't do it without them."

The Jan. 7 competition was for students ages 9-16. A Junior First Lego League competition, for students ages 6-9, was held Jan. 8 at the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) in Tampa.

The local First Lego League faceoff, and other such competitions, determines teams that can move on to the Suncoast First Lego League regional competition, which in turn can lead to a spot in statewide competition and then the world tournament (in the years that there is one).

Each year's challenge focus is on a mix of Legos and programmable Lego Mindstorm bricks, building robots that solve a world problem. This year's problem-solving contest concerned food safety, including ways to avoid food contamination.

Next year's topic is " 'Senior Solutions,' so it will be about challenges facing senior citizens," Shaw said.