On Saturday January 24th the Continuing Education and Conference Center at the University of Minnesota-St. Paul Campus was filled with young engineers as the 2009 Minnesota State FLL Tournament for Division I took place. After a competitive regional tournament, The NXT Generation, a team based at The Works, Edina, was thrilled to have made it to the State competition during their first year together as a team. It was a long, nearly 12-hour day, beginning with an 8:20 a.m. technical judging held before the Opening Ceremony at 9:00 a.m. Throughout the day, the team competed at three robot performance rounds, and presented their research findings on climate change to a panel of research and teamwork judges. After approximately 8 hours of competition and fun, the results were announced and distributed to each team. Although the NXT Generation didn’t win, they made it to the quarterfinals of the head-to-head competitions and were 5th overall (out of 34 teams total) in their robot performance. An all girls team, the DITSci Chix, won the tournament and an opportunity to advance to Dayton, Ohio, where they will compete in the National Open.
But FIRST is more than just about winning. It’s about having an experience that you will never forget and learning skills that will carry you far in life. So with one year of FLL experience behind them, and two medals to prove it, the NXT Generation looks forward to a new chance next year and maybe an opportunity to compete at either the National Open in Ohio or possibly even the International Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia.