​Two Kincardine FLL teams advance to provincial finals after tournament in Kincardine

Two Kincardine FIRST Lego League (FLL) teams have advanced to the provincial finals next month, following the qualifying tournament held Saturday, Nov. 30, at Kincardine District Senior School.

The Aqua Blocks won the Champions Award, while The Classics won the Robot Performance Award, making them eligible to move on to the provincial championships, Jan. 18-19, in Oshawa. Both teams are comprised of Grades 4-8 students in Kincardine and Ripley.

Hosted by the Kinetic Knights Robotics Team (FRC Team 781), the FLL Submerged challenge is part of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Dive season, presented by Qualcomm. In this challenge, teams used their creative thinking to explore the layers of the oceans.

Six teams competed at the tournament, including five from Kincardine and Ripley, and one from Owen Sound. The seventh team, from London, could not attend due to inclement weather.

The teams have been working on their robots, their innovative projects and their presentations throughout the fall, with the help of their coaches, and this competition was their opportunity to demonstrate everything they had learned.

Besides the Kinetic Knights volunteers and referees, the event featured several volunteer judges. Teams played games on competition fields where their robots had to complete a number of missions for which they had been programmed. By the end of the day, it was a tough contest for the judges to determine the winners.

Thanks to members of the Kincardine Lions Club for barbecuing hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch.

During the closing ceremony, the following awards were presented:
 

• Champions Award – Team 3178, Aqua Blocks
• Core Values Award – Team 64506, Coding Crusaders of Owen Sound
• Innovative Project Award – Team 13262, The Sapphire Seas
• Robot Design Award – Team 41137, Killer Whales
• Robot Performance Award – Team 4139, The Classics
• Coach/Mentor Award - Sara Ahmad of The Shark Club, Team 58165
• Volunteer Award - Cooper Moffatt of the Kinetic Knights

The Kincardine qualifying tournament was funded through FIRST Canada and Kinetic Knights Robotics.