Port Elgin Harambe Lovers compete at provincial LEGO League championships

The Harambe Lovers (above), Port Elgin’s FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO League (FLL) team, completed a successful inaugural season by competing at the provincial finals held at University of Waterloo, Saturday, Feb. 4.

The team fared well in the three judging sessions: core values/team work challenge, and the research project and robot design presentations. The Harambe Lovers’ robot, Marco Robo Junior, placed ninth out of 40 in the robot performance round.

The Harambe Lovers had won the Kincardine regional championship in the fall, making them eligible to advance to the provincial finals. 

Port Elgin FLL had received encouragement from Saugeen Shores mayor Mike Smith, as well as operators of the Bio-digester at Georgian Bluffs, the Kincardine LEGO Warriors and the Saugeen Shores parks Manager, Frank Burrows, with whom the team had discussed its research project on dog poop collection and bio-digestion. Smith's participation in one of the club meetings was a great morale booster for the team.

The Kincardine LEGO Warriors had loaned their robot kit and mission table to the first-timers from Port Elgin, a true display of “Co-opertition,” an FLL core value which is founded on a philosophy that teams can, and should, help and co-operate with each other even as they compete.

The Port Elgin’s FLL club was formed in September with students from Northport St. Joseph’s, led by a group of parent volunteers. The experience that this rookie team gained at provincial finals will play a key role as it begins a new session with the theme of “Hydrodynamics.”

The team appreciates the generous contributions and support from its sponsors: The Society of Energy Professionals, Living Hope Church, and the Bruce County Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic; and the new sponsors: Bruce Power and Jensen Hughes.