Creativity and science came together at a Santa Clarita robotics competition at the FIRST Lego League Qualifier Tournament (FLL QT) on Sunday, allowing students to showcase their technological creations.

The Santa Clarita Valley FLL QT, held at the West Ranch High School Gym, hosted 27 teams ranging in age from elementary to high school, all ready to demonstrate their problem-solving skills, creative thinking, teamwork, competitive play, sportsmanship, and sense of community.

Each team was given identical lego kits and 15-20 missions on a variety of obstacle courses to complete with a robot made out of legos and other components.

Jade Aubuchon/KHTS News

The competition is judged in three areas: Innovation Project; Robot Design, and Core Values, which embody aspects of teamwork and good sportsmanship, according to organizers. Top robot game scores are also honored.

West Ranch High School Robotics Club member Robert Leggat, a sophomore and volunteer for the FLL Competition, felt that the competition was a great opportunity for students like him who held an interest in the STEM fields.

“I started in my sophomore year… I thought that robotics was a really interesting subject and I wanted to get involved in the STEM field, said Leggat. “It’s a really cool opportunity to build a project and compete as a team with all the robotics equipment.”

The Santa Clarita event has been held for the past 7 years and is successfully organized and hosted by local students, becoming a model for new events around the Los Angeles area.

Jade Aubuchon/KHTS News

Because the West Ranch tournament is a qualifier, several teams from this competition are set to go on to the regional championship, and on to the world championship in April.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology is an international organization for youth that facilitates the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), FIRST Lego League (FLL) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) competitions.

FIRST is divided up into four subprograms aimed at specific age groups and skill levels of design and programming.

The FIRST organization is a non-profit organization founded by Dean Kamen in 1989 to inspire students in engineering and technology fields with the help of Lego blocks and other components.

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