The Wizards Do It Again...

On Sunday Beetleboy competed in a robotics program sponsored by Lego. They have been programming, researching and running the course since September. Finally, all their hard work was done and the pressure was on to perform for the judges. There were 34 teams in the competition comprised of kids ages 8-14. Each selects a name and attire to match accordingly. This year BB's team wore shirts designed by ML and pants painstakingly, hand-painted by Coach Fisherman which were awesome. Of course the team wore their traditional wizard hats too. The event was held at a local technology college in their field house. It was a noisy, busy day with lots of standing and very little rest. The Wizards team consists of seven boys all in BB's grade. They are a great group, really complementing each other with their various strengths and abilities. The competition consisted of three parts. The first is an oral presentation on a subject relative to power plants. The Wizards chose to do theirs on alternative energy sources. The second part is to present their robot to the judges and explain their programs, the design and their plan to run the course. The last, most exciting (and emotionally draining) part is running the robot through the course. It must perform several different tasks successfully and quickly. After several heats each robot is judged for efficiency and timeliness. Once all is said and done the teams get to rest (Coaches too, WHEW!) while the closing ceremony is being prepared. The Closing Ceremony starts out with cool giveaways, a funny video prepared and narrated by the judges. Then all teams efforts are recognized and medals are awarded to all participants and Coaches. Next, several categories of awards are presented. Last year the Wizards won the trophy for Best Presentation. This year we all held our breath each time a trophy was presented as we were not sure if another would be earned. But sure enough, when the award was presented for First Place in Robot Design, the Wizards got it!!!! As his Mom I must add that the robot was designed by BB, not that I'm bragging at all. In no way was this a solitary effort; the whole team deserves credit for the win. But I just had to add that detail, LOL! After the event we all retired to the Fisherman household for pizza, wings and delicious gourmet cookies shaped like, you guessed it--wizard hats. Thanks Mrs. B! We are so proud of the WHOLE team for all your hard work, perseverance, patience and sportsmanship. You really shined Wizards!! We can't wait until next year, but let's give the Coaches a couple weeks off, OK?