JAY — The Spruce Mountain Area Robotics Team (SMART) will host the 4th Annual Western Maine Lego League Qualifier on November 17 at Spruce Mountain High School in Jay.

Up to 28 FIRST Lego League (FLL; FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology”) teams from central Maine will compete for awards and a slot at the Maine FLL Championships at the Augusta Civic Center on December 8. SMART is looking for volunteers to help make the event a success.

In FLL students ages 9 through 14 design, build, and program Lego Mindstorm robots to compete on a 4’ x 8’ table. FLL challenges kids to think like scientists and engineers.

During the INTO ORBIT season, teams will choose and solve a real-world problem. They will build, test, and program an autonomous robot using LEGO® MINDSTORMS® technology to solve a set of missions during the robot games. There is also a research project competition involving a five-minute presentation on a related issue.

According to Spruce Mountain FLL and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) advisor Rob Taylor, “We have had Lego League in our community for over a decade. We are so lucky to have the support of so many community members and businesses. Assisting with the Qualifier is a great way to support our program. Anyone can help, regardless of experience; there is a job for everyone.”

There are many roles that volunteers can take at the Qualifier.

Judges are needed for research project presentation judging and for the teamwork competition. Technical judges are needed for evaluating the robots and the programming code. Programming judges will want to have had previous experience with code. This part of the program will be held in the morning.

Table games are held in the afternoon, when the robots will compete in the gym. Volunteers are needed for refereeing, scoring, and table resetting in the afternoon.

Judges can work the morning, afternoon, or both shifts.

Training for all judges and table workers will begin at 8:15 am.

Volunteers are also needed for the registration table and as team greeters, score keepers, and other tasks.

Anyone interested in serving as a judge or volunteering at the event should contact the Judge & Volunteering Coordinator Kathleen Pike at 897-5815 or kathleen.joel@gmail.com.

Concession stand volunteers will be needed and SMART Robotics is accepting donations of baked goods and food items. To help at concessions or make a food donation, please contact Concession Coordinator Sarah Delaney at 897-0978 or rdelaney5@roadrunner.com

Donations are needed to purchase merchandise to be raffled off during the competition. Contact FRC Mentors Dan Lemieux dlemieux@rsu73.com or Rob Taylor rtaylor@rsu73.com with any questions.