BCMS to host first Lego League

The Boundary County Middle School robotics team OMEGA will be hosting their first Lego League (robotics) Qualifying Tournament this Saturday in the BCMS gymnasium.

An estimated 66 teams will be showing off their student-designed robots at this year’s tournament. Doors will be open at 8 a.m., opening ceremonies are scheduled for 8:30 a.m., competitions begin at 9 a.m., and finally the awards will be announced at 4 p.m.

Many Boundary County residents are familiar with Bonners Ferry High School’s Alpha+ robotics team, but many people are unaware that there has been a robotics team at BCMS for the last three years.

BCMS’s Team OMEGA has competed in other school districts, but this will be the first time they will host the event, which will enable them to showcase their talent to the mentors and the Boundary County community, demonstrating that there has been a growing robotics team for local students from sixth to eighth grade.

Alisa Hannaman, an eighth grader at BCMS, joined team OMEGA this year as a programmer.

“I’m really excited, but nervous at the same time,” said Hannaman, “because if we are one of the teams that advance, we get to go on to the state competition in Moscow. Teams that win at state go on to nationals, which are held in St. Louis, Mo., and you and your teammates have the opportunity to win scholarships.”

Though on a smaller scale than the high school team, Team OMEGA compete under the same set guidelines that the Alpha+ team members follow, according to BCMS robotics advisor Jaak Sanders. This allows the middle school to help the high school in preparing for the challenges that they will face in the First Robotics Competition.

Each team has a group of engineers, programmers and students assigned to business relations.

“Our team creates one robot that we enter in the competition,” Hannaman explained to the Herald. “Each engineer designs a component of the robot and the programmers use the app Lego Mindstorm to program it. We can make it do basically anything we want, from making it follow a line to telling it what noises to make. We are like the teachers to the robot. We put the program in their “brain” and make them do it.”

The business team presents the robotics program to members of the community and get sponsorships. Local sponsors purchase items for the team, such as T-shirts, Lego pieces, and necessities for the hosted tournament.

This year’s sponsors are: Eagles No. 3522 Aerie, Army National Guard, Joe’s Philly Cheesesteak, Bonners Ferry Rotary International, Beta Sigma Phi, and Shamrock Ad Specialties.

“The idea is that we work as a team to accomplish our goal,” Hannaman said. “My favorite part has been learning the science behind the programming. It’s provided a great learning experience and I’m glad I decided to participate.”

According to Sanders, all competitors in the United States First Competitions follow strict guidelines of fairness and teamwork.

“Gracious professionalism and coopertition are keys to overcoming the challenges facing these young programmers and engineers, and are ideals that they are taught to carry with them throughout their lifetimes,” Sanders said.