Two GSSI Robotics Teams Headed to FIRST LEGO League State

Purple Robot Penguins

Lightning Storm

Two Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois robotics teams have qualified to compete in the FIRST LEGO League State Tournament on Jan. 24 at

University of Illinois Rec Center in Champaign-Urbana.

 

Purple Robot Penguins from O'Fallon/Shiloh qualified at the regional tournament on Nov. 22 at Carriel Jr. High in O'Fallon.  They also won the Project Award.

 

On Dec. 6, Lightning Storm from Belleville had the top table score and won the Champions Award at the regional tournament at Cassens Elementary School in Glen Carbon to qualify for state level competition.  

 

FLL is a robotics program for 9 to 14 year olds which is designed to get children excited about science and technology, as well as teach them valuable life skills. Along with programming robots, teams are also evaluated on an elaborate research project, as well as how well they demonstrate FLL Core Values, which include teamwork, collective learning, active participation and gracious professionalism. After practicing and preparing for months, teams meet at regional qualifying tournaments to be graded on the three elements, with the top teams advancing to state competition.

Four GSSI Robotics Teams to Compete in FIRST Lego League State Tournament

Four Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois' Robotics Teams will be competing in the FIRST Lego League State Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 18 at University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

The Lego Divas from Effingham qualified for state during the Dec. 7 FLL Regional at Carriel Jr. High in O'Fallon.   At the tournament, they also won the Project Award for their research project, the "Heat Buddy," a battery operated heated blanket designed to aid stranded motorists.   Read more...

See photos from the Dec. 7 FLL Regional

On Dec. 14, eleven GSSI Robotics Teams had been scheduled to compete in the McKendree University Regional.  However, a winter storm and icy road conditions caused the event to be cancelled.*  As no makeup date could be arranged in time to meet deadlines for the FLL State Tournament, teams were selected to advance to state competition by a lottery system.  GSSI teams made up nearly half of the total number of teams that were registered for the double tournament and three teams drawn ended up being from GSSI: TBot 907 from Roxana, Lightning Storm from Belleville and G4S4 from Ozark.

“We’re very excited to send four Girl Scout Robotics teams to the FLL State Tournament,” said GSSI Stem Program Manager Mary Buchanan. “Teams work very hard for months to design and program robots, as well as complete their research project and perfect their presentation skills.  Competing among the best teams in the Illinois is a wonderful experience for the girls.”   

*An exhibition tournament was held Jan. 11 at Carriel Jr. High in O'Fallon for the teams originally scheduled to compete in the McKendree Regional.  Four GSSI Robotics Teams received awards!  Read more...

Four GSSI Robotics Teams Take Home Awards at FIRST LEGO League Tournament

GSSI Teams mingle while waiting to compete on game table.

Four GSSI Robotics Teams took home awards at the FIRST LEGO League Robotics Tournament at Carriel Jr. High in O'Fallon on Jan. 11, 2014.The tournament was an exhibition that made up for the McKendree University Regional that was cancelled due to weather in December.  Because of the large number of teams participating, squads were split into two groups that competed in identical tournaments, "Class A" and "Class B."

Teams from the McKendree University Regional were selected to advance to the state tournament by lottery after the cancellation.  While the tournament at Carriel Jr. High did not determine which teams qualified for state competition, awards were given for remarkable performance. 

GSSI teams receiving awards were:

Class A Tournament:

TBot 907 from Roxana earned the "Champions Award" for the team that displayed the best overall performance.

Gir! - Girls Investigating Robots from Staunton earned the "Core Values Award" for best exemplifying the cornerstones of the FLL program, which include active participation, teamwork and gracious professionalism.

The Tornado Twist*rs from Albers earned the "Rookie Award" for the best first-year team.

Class B Tournament:

Lightning Storm of Belleville earned the "Judges Award" for the team that the FLL Judges found to be remarkable.

Additional teams to compete in the Jan. 11 tournament were The Purple Robot Penguins from O'Fallon, The Fireworks from Glen Carbon, The Catastrophic Cadettes from Staunton and Robo Fury from Alton.  In addition, two GSSI teams, Shiloh Robo Bears and The Tornado Tech Girls from Pinckneyville were unable to attend the rescheduled tournament. GSSI also had four Girl Scout Robotics teams participate in a Regional Qualifying tournament on Dec. 7: The Lego Divas from Effingham, The Twisters from Troy/Marine, The Robotic Gems from Washington Park and The Unknowns from Belleville.

See more photos

Four GSSI Robotics Teams will compete at the FLL State Tournament on Jan. 18 at University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.  These teams are TBot 907, Lightning Storm, The Lego Divas and G4S4 from Ozark.