Posted: December 1, 2005

All Teams

Below is some NEW information for the December 3rd event, as well as repeat information from the November 7th email.  Note the team schedule is included.
For registration, only one person needs to line up to pay the registration, the rest of the team can go directly to the assigned pit location.
 Given this many teams (almost double the 2004 event) the logistics of the day in terms of staying on schedule are even more critical.   We are making every attempt to still finish the competition portion by 3pm and to start the awards ceremony ASAP to complete the day before everyone is too exhausted to enjoy themselves.  Please note the practice round is a rapid fire event compressed to keep the day as short as possible.
Please see the attached documents with addition information such as the event overall schedule, payment information, presentation time allowances, and a checklist.
Don't forget to bring the release forms. Looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday.  It is going to be a great day.

Rob Thom
Tournament Chairman

2005 Arizona FLL State Tournament Information /Word file
2005 Arizona FLL State Tournament Team Information  /Word file
2005 Final Team Schedule / Excel file
Pit Locations / Excel file
2005 FLL Tournament checklist / Word file
Lego Layout / Adobe Acrobat file
NORTH GYM / Adobe Acrobat file
SMALL GYM / Adobe Acrobat file
SOUTH GYM / Adobe Acrobat file


Posted: October 13, 2005
International LEGO users network
LUGNET™ unites LEGO fans worldwide through discussion groups, web pages, and services.

Posted: September 21, 2005
On September 18th, 2005, Tucson LEGO Club members and parents gathered at the Ward 6 Council Office Meeting Room to celebrate its 4th Anniversary. 
Joining the Club were Vice-Mayor Kathleen Dunbar and Council Member Fred Ronstadt  both of whom have been the Club's strongest supporters during its four years in operation.  During the opening ceremony, the Club's co-founder and director - David Kha - reflected on the hard work of many volunteers, parents and members to keep it going. 
     David also took the opportunity to express his appreciation for the sponsorship of Kathleen Dunbar, Fred Ronstadt and Howard Ward.  There were comments from parents and members recognizing the added benefits of the Club - besides the obvious fun - such as communication skill, teamwork, problem solving, etc...  One young member expressed his appreciation for the kinds of new and exciting LEGO toys that he was not aware of prior to joining the Club.
          A surprise and impromptu gift was awarded to the Club by Councilwoman Kathleen Dunbar.  With this gift, the Club will be able to pay for the registration fees for this year's FLL (First LEGO League) Tournament.  This will enable the Club to form a second team and allow more kids to participate in the FLL Tournament.
         A special award of lifetime membership was presented to Club member Thomas Mathine to recognize his perfect attendance.
         Started as a neighborhood gathering of kids with special interest in LEGO toys, the Tucson LEGO Club now has over 200 members with ages ranging from 2 to 15 years old. 
 

Posted: September 15, 2005
LEGO Masters Group / Meeting September 4th, 2005 - collage

Posted: December 10, 2004
 Three-Time US Women's Chess Champion, Woman Grandmaster Anjelina Belakovskaia will be our guest speaker on Dec. 19th. She will share her story of success. She will also explain the advantages of chess game in developing logic, memory and imagination, boosting confidence and self-esteem, building foundation for a future life success. Don't miss this unique chance to learn from the Chess Champion.

 Posted: December 9, 2004

 Robot Performance Award
  text supplied - courtesy of http://www.azfll.org/2004Awards.html

   click to enlarge  Sometimes we measure success by a number only, but in this case, number one represents hours of strategizing and utilizing and improving young team members' mechanical and programming expertise. This award goes to the team whose overall package of robot design, programming, strategy, and teamwork helped it to achieve the competition goal of acquiring more points than any other team.              Winner: Team 4590 – Tucson LEGO Club – Tucson

    

                                     Dear LEGO Club Members and Friends

           Our Tucson LEGO Club Team has won prestigious Robot Performance Award
at the Second Annual Arizona FIRST Lego® League Tournament on Dec. 4th in Phoenix!!!
Our well designed and programmed robot achieved the best score in the competition field among
34 other teams from all over the Arizona. We got 225 points compare to the second placed team
got 178pt and the third placed team got 175pt.
           Our congratulations go out to all of the winners!!!
Sponsor: Howard Ward of Terra Systems Southwest, Inc.
Officers: David Kha - Project Director, Misha Chernobelskiy - Associate Director
Coaches: Chris Minamyer and Roman Chernobelskiy
Team Members (our team consists of 8 to 11 years old kids):
Simon Nudelman, Yoel Goeta Kreisler, Nico LaPere, Yulian Chulovskiy, and Vlad Kovalsky
        We are going to celebrate our success and would like to invite everyone to our next meeting at Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium (1601 E. University Blvd) on December 19th  from 2 pm to 5 pm. We will be giving recognition certificates to our Coaches and Team members; they will introduce visitors how their robot works and answer all your questions. Please join us in this exciting event
 
click to enlargeclick to enlargeclick to enlarge

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             Posted: October 26, 2004

First LEGO League Competition!!!
Calling all LEGO enthusiasts between the age of 9 and 14.  
We need your participation and creativity to form a LEGO Robotic team to represent 
Tucson in the First LEGO League (FLL) Competition held on December 4th, 2004 in Phoenix.
 
In preparation for this event, we will be meeting EVERY Sunday starting on October 31st.  
The meetings will be held at Ward 3 Council Office Meeting Room (1510 E. Grant Road)
October 31st, November 14th, November 21st, November 28th  from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm and
November 7th – from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. 
Additional meetings on Saturdays may be necessary as we move closer to the event date.

Also, there is a difference for the members of our Robotic team this year. 
Thanks to Howard Ward, President of Terra System Southwest, all necessary LEGO 
sets and registration for the competition have all been paid.  
All you will have to bring is your enthusiasm and creativity to build robots to do 
exactly as you command them ... to win the competition.

For more information please call our team’s coach Chris at 795-0440
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     Posted: October 20, 2004

On Sunday 10/17/2004, the Tucson LEGO Club had its first meeting at its new home - the
Flandrau Science Center on the campus of the University of Arizona.

Click here to view pictures

There were about a dozen kids and parents in attendance.  This is probably the smallest
crowd we have seen for a while; most likely due to the interruption of activities since the
summer.  However, die-hard kids were there and went right to building their favorite
creations.  At the end, the kids displayed their creations and gave a short presentation of
their ideas to everyone present.  This is a small change from what we had been doing in
the past.  Based on the wonderful presentations that the kids gave about their creations
during the 3rd anniversary celebration, we decided to ask them to do the same for all
LEGO Club meetings.  The concept is simple:  build a LEGO creation and describe the idea behind your creation to the Club. 
When everyone was done with their presentation, we asked the kids to vote for the two (2)
most interesting creations (but not their own).  And we also asked the parents in attendance to vote for the two (2) best presentations (but not their own child's).  The votes were then counted to decide the most interesting creation and the best presentation of the day.  The winners this time were Thomas for his LEGO ocean and Nicholas for the best presentation about an (LEGO) ancient Kingdom.  Both boys received a small LEGO prize. 

If you have a girl in the elementary age group, please have your child join us next time and show the boys the art of verbal communication

         Posted: October 9, 2004

Tucson LEGO Club 3rd Anniversary Celebration is now on TV
(Channel 12/City News/ Oct. 5th - Oct. 18th)

     Where to find Channel 12:
     • Please click here (Real Player Required)
     • www.tucson12.tv
     • Cox Communications, Channel 12, 24 hours a day
     • Comcast, Channel 59 (96 cable ready), Midnight Sunday to 6 a.m. Wednesday
     • Comcast, Channel 75, 24 hours a day (in select areas)
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Posted: September 23, 2004
                          Tucson LEGO Club's 3rd Birthday Party!!!
With renewed support from the community, on September 19th, 2004, Tucson LEGO Club
celebrated its third anniversary. We gathered at Flandrau Science Center on the campus
of the University of Arizona to reflect upon yet another year of playing and learning. The
meeting room in the mezzanine was filled to capacity with Tucson LEGO Club members,
parents, volunteers and special guests.  

A big thank you to all 55 visitors for coming and making the Tucson LEGO Club's
3rd birthday a special occasion. And special thanks to our speakers for the event:

Neil McSweeney – Flandrau Science Center Manager
Caryl Jones - Ventana Vista Elem. School Librarian and LEGO Project Coach
Sandra Fatovich - Richmont Independent Consultant/ Club’s supporter
Dr. Jack Levy - Philanthropist/Club's Mentor
Howard Ward - V.P. of Midtown Neighborhood Association
David Kha – Tucson LEGO Club Director
Chris Minamyer - LEGO Mindstorm/Club’s Robotics Coach

Prizes were given to three members who had the top attendance:
1. Thomas Mathine – 24 meetings/year
2. Sergey Mamayev – 18 meetings/year
3. Nicholas Chu   - 17 meetings/year

The Club also took the opportunity to acknowledge its appreciation for the continuous
and behind the scene support of the
Chris Minamyer, Tuyen Chu, Diego O’Bolger, and Diana Stirling.

As usual, birthday celebration and kids (young and old) mean two big cakes, cookies, snacks of all kinds and soda, which were enjoyed by all in attendance. The celebration ended with each member describing their LEGO creations, for which they received a prize.  Once again, everyone was treated to some of the best impromptu speeches and candor of the day.

Finally, for those of you wishing to relive the experience, Tucson 12 (the City's TV station) will be featuring the Club's birthday celebration as part of their City News segment.

Posted: July 30, 2004
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 We lost our funding from the City of Tucson this year and are
using Richmont direct site to make up the lost revenue.
The Tucson LEGO Club will receive 20-30% commission on all sales over this site.
Your purchases are 100% guaranteed.

Posted: June 28, 2004
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Build Your LEGO icon and Play Mini-Mizer (by Christopher Doyle)

Posted: June 10, 2004
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 Lego Club's funding dries up
Expanding group loses grant money from Tucson
By Sarah Mauet
Arizona Daily Star (Published: 06.10.2004)

....The Tucson Lego Club, which began as a Midtown Neighborhood Association
club and has expanded to 200 members citywide, is scrambling for funding after
being denied a city human services grant this year....