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Opening Ceremony FIRST LEGO League |
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Saturday, 19 May 2007 |
People from all over the world seem to gather at Bodø Spectrum to join the FIRST LEGO League. Wether you are a joining team, supporter or volunteer, the great spectacle is all around the city.
Saturday morning 8 a.m. is supposed to be all quiet and relaxed. But not at Bodø Spectrum. As silent as it is downtown Bodø as busy it is at the sports hall where all the teams, supporters and volunteers are gathering for the FIRST LEGO League European championships. Today is the start of the big weekend for the 66 teams who have been traveling from all over the world to join this competition.
An international tournament it is! In total the teams are representing 26 countries from 4 continents. When you look around, the cultures are everywhere. At the pit area (where all the teams have their own stand) it is a colorful mess. Every team shows something from their country. From wooden shoes (RISbotics, Holland) to fresh made rice cake (Sponge, Korea) and even lessons writing Arabic (Robo Jordan, Jordan) and dancing (T.K.C. Space Station, Taiwan). A short walk along the pit area represents a trip over the world.
When it is coming closer to 10 a.m. you can feel the nerves arise, the opening ceremony is about to start. Music, an MC introducing the teams and all the teams marching in, the opening ceromony is impressive! Over 800 very enthusiastic children and their coaches come in waving their flags and cheering.
Per-Arild Konradsen, managing director of FIRST Scandinavia wishes everyone a warm welcome and introduces the mayor of the Muncipality of Bodø. They both carry out the same message; they are very proud to welcome all the teams here today.
They also underline that this competition is more than just building a robot and trying to win the cup. It is a competition for young technical innovators. Therefore the kids have to be talented in several ways. The theme of this year is nano-technology and they have had to research this subject and show their findings in a presentation. Then there is building the most innovate robot and of course programming it. And if that weren’t enough they are also jugded on their team spirit and most important of all, their teamwork. And that is the keyword, teamwork. Because it is not only necessary to succeed in FIRST LEGO League, it will be very important in any project. That is why the organizers think that the team who shows great enthusiasm, exceptional partnership and are supportive of other teams should be rewarded.
Apart of all the competitions FIRST LEGO League is a great spectacle that brings people together. As the mayor said today in his opening speech, ‘It is a good opportunity to make new friends from all over the world’, and that is after all the most important thing this weekend!
Good luck to all the teams! May you all have a lot of fun this weekend!
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 (Picture by www.bodo-fotoklubb.no)
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