AEDC sponsored FIRST® LEGO® League teams compete

  • Published
  • By Deidre Ortiz
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  The FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) of Middle Tennessee, which is sponsored by AEDC, recently held its second Tullahoma Regional Qualifying Tournament.

Roughly 400 people were at Tullahoma High School volunteering, watching or participating in this year's qualifying tournament Dec. 6, an event that's officially sanctioned by FLL and sponsored by the Tullahoma Chapter of the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE).

Brian Coate, member of the Tullahoma TSPE Chapter and local tournament director, stated the tournament has grown dramatically over the last few years.

"Our FLL event started seven years ago with a small competition at West Middle School," he said. "From there we moved to UTSI for a year, then to East Middle School for about 4 years. Once we outgrew East Middle School, we had to find a larger venue. So, I am very thankful for the hospitality of Tullahoma High School and its principal Cathy Rose for being so supportive and allowing us to host the event there."

At the qualifying event held in December, a total of 23 teams competed for a chance to attend the regional tournament. Only the top overall teams will now advance to the East Tennessee Championship at Tennessee Tech University (TTU) in Cookeville on Feb. 14.

The area teams that will be moving on to the next round include the Challengers of Shelbyville; Westwood Middle School of Manchester; Thomas Magnet School of Shelbyville; the Cougar Creators from College Street Elementary in Manchester; FHFM Lego League Team from Manchester; BrickCrafters from Murfreesboro; Challenge Accepted from Central Middle School in Murfreesboro; Lord of Legos from East Middle School in Tullahoma; Brick Dynasty from Murfreesboro; the Knight O.W.L.S. of Riverside Christian Academy in Fayetteville; the Lego Masters from Clark Memorial School in Winchester; and the Lego Warriors from Woodland Elementary in Bradyville.

Not only do the students put in a lot of time and preparation for each competition, but volunteers also play a big part in making the area FLL such a success by serving in various roles.

AEDC employee John McInturff, FLL volunteer who has been head referee for the three years now, stated that one of the best things about the event is watching the teams and kids grow from year to year.

"You can see what teams have been doing it for a while but the new teams always have novel ideas," he said.

McInturff added the FLL tournaments are unique in that though a competitive event, there's little conflict between the kids, coaches or parents.

"Most teams are really engaged and enthusiastic and try to help each other. The teams are competing and the desire to win is great but they do so in a very positive manner." 

The positivity shown by everyone involved in FLL reflects the emphasis put on the following Core Values (CVs):
· We are a team
· We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors
· We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together
· We honor the spirit of friendly competition
· What we discover is more important than what we win
· We share our experiences with others
· We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything we do
· We have fun!

ATA Deputy General Manager Jeff Haars and AEDC engineer Dana Alexander served as one team of CV judges for this year's regional qualifying tournament. Haars explained that he and Alexander's assignment was to assess each team's understanding of the FLL Core Values, application of the CVs to their FLL project and broader application of CVs outside of the FLL.

"I have experience as a Project Judge in FLL but this was my first time as a Core Values judge," he said. "Since Core Values represent a philosophy, assessing the team's understanding required much more interaction with the kids. We were charged with assessing that the teams understood the Core Values and, more importantly, how they guided their behavior within the FLL team. It was a great experience. 

"The kids worked very hard to come up with novel approaches to demonstrate their Core Values - skits, songs, games, displays and candid conversation. I was impressed with their effort and heartened by their enthusiasm."

FLL's goal is to introduce younger students to real-world engineering challenges, and as part of the program, youth are able to build teamwork skills and learn about exciting career possibilities.

McInturff encourages anyone interested in seeing the teams in action or helping the league in any way to become a volunteer.

"Without the volunteers the events would not take place," he said. "I personally feel that volunteering allows me to give a little back to community and maybe make a small difference."

Having another successful qualifying tournament in the bag, organizers and volunteers are already thinking about the next one.

"I think this year's tournament went really well and I have to thank Judge Advisor Harry Clark (AEDC senior manager of test facility planning) for all the work he put into coordinating the volunteer judges," Coate said. "This is the biggest year we have had and I anticipate it being even bigger next year."