‘Robo Riders’ from Wicklow emerge as overall Champions at SAP FIRST LEGO League

Scoring highest points across the four competition categories – Robot Game, Robot Technical, Core Team Values, and Project – the Wicklow team will go on to represent Ireland at the Open International Finals in Bath next June.

The competition, sponsored by SAP and now in its 11th year, sees teams from around the country submit a research project on a specific theme and collaborate on the design and build of a robot, which must perform a series of tasks to progress through the various rounds of the competition. Teachers, parents and other mentors, including previous competitors, work with each team to foster problem-solving, lateral thinking and teamwork skills in the young competitors.

This year’s competition brought 23 teams from primary and secondary schools across the country together for the finals at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Galway this weekend. As well as the Champions Award, additional awards were presented for:

– Presentation Award to ‘Clontuskert Super Amazing People’, Clontuskert NS, Galway
– Research Award to ‘The Wooftones’ Citywise Education, Dublin
– Robot Performance Award to ‘Codice’ Colmans College, Claremorris, Co. Mayo
– Strategy & Innovation Award to St. Gerard’s 1, Co. Wicklow
– Teamwork Award to ‘Sledgehammers’, Chuimín & Caitríona, Oughterard, Co. Galway
– Innovation Solution Award to ‘Robo Bots’, St. Patrick’s College, Lacken Cross, Co. Mayo
– Gracious Professionalism Award to St. Gerard’s 2, Co. Wicklow
– Against All Odds Award to St. Killian’s 1, Dublin 14
– Rising Star Award to ‘The Biometrics’, Scoil Bhride, Shantalla, Galway
– Mechanical Design Award to ‘SGC Robotics 1’, St. Gerald’s College, Castlebar
– Inspiration Award to ‘Lego Legends’, Roscommon Community College
– Programming Award to ‘Lab Raths’ of Rathdown School, Co. Dublin
– Adult Mentor Award to Patrick Brennan, Ardgillan Community College
– Volunteer Aware to Louise Owens, SAP

Bernard Kirk, Director of the Galway Education Centre, who helps co-ordinate the event, says,

“It was great to see the excitement of the winners and thanks to all the SAP volunteers and Colmac Robotics we had a fantastic competition highlighting the best of engineering, sportmanship and education”