JMU Hosts 'FIRST/LEGO League' Virginia Tournament

From: Media Relations

December 5, 2007

HARRISONBURG — Putting their engineering and design skills to the test, more than 600 elementary- and middle-school students from across Virginia will compete Dec. 8 and 9 in the FIRST/LEGO League state robotics tournament at James Madison University.

Formerly held in Blacksburg and hosted by Virginia Tech, this is the first year the state tournament will be held in Harrisonburg and hosted by JMU. The tournament will take place at Memorial Hall (the former Harrisonburg High School) and the new Harrisonburg High School.

Teams competing in the two-day tournament earned their way to Harrisonburg with top finishes in regional tournaments earlier this fall, including one at JMU Nov. 10.

Sponsored by the Foundation for the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology and LEGO company, this year's team-based robotics competition is designed to help young people understand energy concerns in a creative and interactive way. Part of each team's score will be based on the performance of its robot completing tasks based on this year's Power Puzzle theme.

Nearly 80 teams comprised of students from public schools, community-based organizations and home-school programs will compete for a place at the world competition to be held in Atlanta in March 2008.

More information about the tournament, including schedules, is available at www.vadcfll.org/championship.html.

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