‘The social aspect of it was simply amazing’
TRURO – Heading to an international competition, members of the Trurobotics walked away with more than they could have imagined.
“It was absolutely amazing,” said head coach Jeremy Goyette about the FIRST Lego League International Open the team attended in Toronto earlier this month. “There were a lot of participants and a lot of flavour from international communities. We were partnered with a team from Lima, Peru. The kids had an amazing time and learned about all the different cultures.
“The social aspect of it was simply amazing.”
The Truro team, consisting of Zach Gray, Fraser Robinson, Kyla O’Neill, Ella Goyette, Sam Elgee, James Robinson, Jack Somers, Jacob Byers and Xavier Barrington, was one of three teams from Nova Scotia to attend the international competition.
With their highest score before going into the competition sitting at 238, the youth ramped up their game for the competition.
“They did very well in judging design and core values, and in the game, they finished with 445 points,” said Goyette. “They placed 27th out of 73 teams.”
The overall winner was from China.
While this year’s season is over, the team has a bit of a teaser to next year’s theme, however Goyette couldn’t divulge much information publicly.
“I left the kids with thoughts on what they might do for next season,” he said, adding most of the members plan to return next year.
“Plus, we are looking to add on another member or two, especially females. A lot of the teams that we met were 50/50.”
During the team’s visit to the international competition, they saw a lot of the University of Toronto, where it was being held.
But they also had a chance to catch the Blue Jays game on June 6, and saw the CN Tower lit, thanks to the Rogers Centre’s dome staying open for the game.
They also went downtown and visited the Eaton Centre.
“They all came back with a number of souvenirs,” said Goyette. “All of the teams had some swag with them. There were bottles of maple syrup from Quebec, a lot of candy from international teams, and even powdered sherbet from Australia. And trading of pins was huge.”
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