Children, mums, dads, grandmas and granddads invited to put their thinking caps on

It’s a generation challenge for next month’s Rotary Lego contest

A block-buster of a generation game is coming to Timaru next month.

Grandmas, granddads, mums, dads, and children will have the opportunity on July 13, 14 and 15 to form teams and pit their creative talents against other families in a generation-spanning goodwill and brain-teasing building exercise – using Lego blocks.

The Lego Olympics, the Rotary Club of Timaru South’s runaway-success competition that has captured the imagination of hundreds of people across the Central South Island, will be held for the third year running at Bluestone School, Timaru, in what convenor Stuart Croft says will see a huge emphasis on family team fun, hilarity and serious brow-furrowing inter-family competition.

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Pioneered as a New Zealand-first in 2008 by the Rotary Club of Timaru South, the Lego Olympics have grown year on year, attracting sponsorship and support from Lego New Zealand, Toyworld and Mitre 10, which again this year will put up electric tools and a range of other prizes for the winning teams.

Mr Croft said the Lego Olympics were free to enter and were a way for the club to thank the community “for their support in the many other projects we run each year”.

This year, however, the event would feature a generation game with families invited to enter teams of three covering three generations.

“Little Johnny, his dad and his granddad could compete against other three-generation teams, which might also involve a granddaughter, mother and grandmother or any combination of the family structure,” Mr Croft said.

“We are expecting this to be hugely popular as families enjoy the chance to revert to their childhood for a couple of hours in a dynasty decider. There are some good prizes and medals waiting.”

Mr Croft said the club noticed the popularity of the adult sections of the Lego building competitions in previous years.

It was not just the kids having a whale of a time. Dads were asking “what about us?”

The generation-spanning teams’ event was a new twist designed to build on the popularity of the event among adults while preserving the original intent of catering for primary school-aged children, he said.

Entries could be made through all primary schools in South Canterbury but Mr Croft urged those interested to get their entries in soon – “we have a limit on the numbers who can compete”.

The rules were the same as last year, he said.

Schools could enter teams of three in each age group – junior, Year 3 and 4; middle, Year 5 and 6; and senior, Year 7 and 8. The maximum number of teams in each level would be 32. Schools could have more than one team in each level but total numbers were limited to 32.

Families could enter teams of three in the adult section.

“The goal will be for each team to build a model in a given time, probably about 10 minutes. A topic or theme would be drawn just before each heat and judged at the end of the allotted time.” Mr Croft said.

Examples of themes included bridges, rockets, tools and robots, but anything goes, he said.

“Four teams will compete in each heat with winning teams going through to the next round.”

Rotary District Governor Lionel Wilson, whose District 9980 covers the entire lower half of the South Island, paid tribute to the Rotary Club of Timaru South’s initiative in bringing an expanded Lego contest back to South Canterbury.

“Rotary is well known for its commitment to young people with the various exchanges we run nationally, the science school programme where we send selected secondary school students to Dunedin for science-based study, and workplace placement schemes.

“Rotary South has done an excellent job of nationally launching and running this mind-teasing and rewarding contest and I commend all of our young people and their families to use their imaginations and have a go.”

ENDS

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