The Wolfpack team, comprised of Barrington’s Teddy Alessandro, Nick Clark, Owen Clark, and Matthew Clegg, won the Innovation Project Award in the 2020-21 First Lego League competition in Rhode Island.  

A panel of six judges met remotely with each of the competing teams for an interview where they had an opportunity to ask questions and hear from the teams. The judges reviewed submitted videos and concluded that the Wolfpack had created the most impressive project in the competition.

First Lego League became more flexible this year like so many other programs for today’s youths. FLL is a competition that helps that build science, engineering, and technology skills, inspires innovation, and fosters well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.   

The past year has been incredibly challenging for the Rhode Island Chapter as they changed from a large competition held at multiple locations to a virtual competition that tested the commitment of the participants.  

In Aug. 2020, the Wolfpack team had to decide if they would participate in the FLL global challenge. They are a community team with no support from outside. While most teams across the world put their work on hold, the Wolfpack chose to compete. The team worked together using masks and social distancing.

Each season brings a new challenge, and the 2020-21 season was called RePLAY. The task was to identify a problem and create a solution to a global issue. The team created an app that allowed people to stay fit, especially under COVID conditions. The challenge also consisted of work on the robot game which included coding and robotics. 

Additionally, First Lego League stresses core values which the team is required to adhere to and demonstrate in their work. The Core Values are Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork, and Fun.

All four boys attend Barrington Middle School. Barrington Public Schools do not have a Lego Robotics option, so community teams are sponsored, funded, and coached by parents. The boys spent hours each week from September until the competition in April working on coding their robot, creating the fitness app project and writing supporting materials. The team would also like to thank Hunter Tannock of H.I.T Fitness in Barrington for his help as a mentor with their project.

This is the last year of First Lego League competition for the team as they move on to high school next year.