Students win 1st in state robotics competition

A team of three Altamont students recently won the Alabama State Championship in First Lego League (FLL) Robotics.

The team, including Hoover residents Jaye Conn and Toby Conn and Mountain Brook resident Noah Warren, participated in the World Class FLL Robotics Alabama State Tournament in Huntsville on Dec. 12. Their team name is The Variables, and they competed against 35 other teams and more than 300 participants.

The students received the first place Champions Award, which recognizes the team that embodies the FLL’s core values as well as exhibits excellence in innovation during the competition’s robot game and project.

By receiving the Champions Award, the students will move on to the FLL World Festival in April. More than 233,000 individuals from 80 countries compete in the FLL, and The Variables will be one of 85 teams moving on to the World Festival.

The theme for this year’s competition is “The Trash Trek Challenge,” which presents teams with the challenge of exploring the collection, sorting, production and reuse of trash. 

The Variables’ project mission looked at K-Cups, which are not biodegradable, and the problems they can present to landfills.

For more information about FLL and next year’s competition, visit firstlegoleague.org.