A Huntsville LEGO Robotics team placed sixth at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO League provincials in Oshawa, earning a spot in the FIRST LEGO League international tournament in June.
The team, affectionately known as the MUFFINS, consists of ten Huntsville students, Grades 4 to 8, from Huntsville Public, Riverside, Pine Glen, and VK Greer public schools, who have built a LEGO robot for competitions.
The team’s coach, Leslie Cuthbertson, said the Huntsville Hoya Robotics deserve some credit for the inception of the MUFFINS, as Hoya mentors ran two FIRST LEGO League teams in Huntsville.
“My kids were part of it, and it was an amazing experience,” Cuthbertson said. “We wanted to try and bring it back and share it with more kids.”
The MUFFINS competed in a FIRST LEGO League qualifying tournament in North Bay in December, where they won two awards and placed third, which advanced them to provincials.
The team’s first choice for a placement for the international tournaments is the Canada Cup of Robotics, but other possible placements include events in Texas, Australia, Korea, or Mexico.
“I’m pretty excited personally,” said team member Jaxon. “I would also like to win an award, so I’m going to work my tail off so I can make that happen.”
In the coming months, the team plans to continue their dedicated work and further improve their robot, performing tests, fixing issues, and coming up with new coding, to ensure it is in ready shape for the tournaments in June.
