Bailey Swayne, 12, of Harrisonburg, cheers his team's robot during the FIRST LEGO League Championship Tournament at Harrisonburg High School on Sunday. Hundreds of students from around Virginia and Washington, D.C., took part in the event hosted this year by James Madison University. Photo by Thomas J. Turney

HARRISONBURG - A Jock Jams remix poured from the speakers, over the risers of parents and onto the floor of Harrisonburg High School Sunday afternoon where 600 students crowded onto the basketball court.

The bleachers quaked as an emcee called each team to the floor. More than 60 made it this far.

Elementary and middle schoolers from every corner of Virginia and D.C. - including local teams from the Harrisonburg Children's Museum and Mountain View Elementary - streamed in, shouting slogans and waving noisemakers under a rainbow balloon arch.

"Did anybody have a good time today?" the emcee shouted.

The gym roared with applause. It's a lot of excitement for a competition that's got nothing to do with basketball, or any sport for that matter.

Two days earlier, these teams were just arriving in Harrisonburg for a competition that blends science, teamwork and problem solving skills - the FIRST LEGO League Championship Tournament, hosted by James Madison University for the first time in the competition's 10-year-history.

Power Puzzle

Each year, students are challenged to build autonomous robots out of special LEGOs and complete tasks assigned by the FIRST LEGO League, a program by the New Hampshire-based Foundation for the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

The theme this year? "Power Puzzle," which asks students to analyze energy resources and ask critical questions about the resources we use.

Students manipulated their robots through LEGO environments to show how they could save energy and resources in the real world. They're judged both for innovation and performance, as well as teamwork.

"We learned a lot," said Anthony Malabad, a 10-year-old who competed on Mountain View Elementary School's team, ic NRG.

Like what? "Well, we use a lot of energy," he says.

He figured that out after a custodian led the students on a tour through the school's boiler room. Students in the competition have to audit a building's energy use, an activity that supplements the robotics competition, said Margo Jantzi, a gifted-education specialist who coached Mountain View's team along with parents Winston Rhodes and Brian Boettger.

"This is real-world, real-life stuff," Jantzi said.

With a bit of help from one of the tournament's sponsors, students at Mountain View can now implement some of their energy-saving ideas. Dominion Power awarded four $1,000 grants Sunday, including one that will pay for solar panels at Mountain View's courtyard.

"We put a lot of time into this," said Erin Rhodes, a 9-year-old on the team. "It's cool getting the award and coming here."

The team from the Harrisonburg Children's Museum - the Super Power Atomic Men, or SPAM - audited Hose Company No. 4 and briefed the fire department on how to save energy.

"They went through the fire station and researched how they could save energy," coach Nick Swayne said. "They learn how to come into a situation and analyze a situation and its parts. It's an intro to engineering; just not as scary and a little more fun."

Three, Two, One, LEGO!

Students gathered in the high school gym for one last competition Sunday afternoon as James Madison University President Linwood Rose looked on.

"Three, two, one, LEGO!" the kids shouted, kicking off the competition. Two teams showed off their robots as tournament director Andrew Rose gave play-by-play.

"These robots work better with cheering," he shouted.

JMU's Rose chimed in. "I believe there is enough energy in here to light the campus for a week."

The scoreboard kept time and the audience erupted in a countdown. These are, as the FIRST LEGO League puts it, "sports for the mind."

To Learn More

For more information on the Virginia/DC First LEGO League, log on to www.vadcfll.org.

Contact Kelly Jasper at 574-6273 or kjasper@dnronline.com