18 finalist teams compete in inaugural FIRST LEGO League Ontario Innovation Celebration

Two teams of students, aged 9-14 will advance to represent Ontario in the Global Innovation Award presented by XPRIZE

YORK REGION, ON, Feb. 23, 2016 /CNW/ - On February 27, 2016, FIRST Robotics Canada, in partnership with ventureLAB and IBM Canada, is hosting the inaugural FIRST LEGO League Ontario Innovation Celebration.

18 finalist teams, each consisting of students, ages 9-14, will pitch their innovative solutions to reducing trash to a panel of judges, based on the theme of this year's challenge, Trash Trek. Two teams will go on to represent Ontario at the FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award presented by XPRIZE in Washington, DC in June 2016, where they will compete with teams from around the world. The winning team will receive $20,000 to make their innovation a reality!

The 18 finalist teams come from three sources:

• 7 teams from the East Ontario FIRST LEGO League Championship
• 7 teams from the West Ontario FIRST LEGO League Championship
• 4 wild card teams from the FIRST LEGO League Qualifying system

Leading up to the Ontario event on February 27, teams will have the opportunity to receive professional coaching from industry experts in innovation, will be trained in how to make a professional sales pitch, and then will share their ideas with fellow teams at this event in addition to their official pitch to the judges.

About FIRST LEGO League
The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students (ages 9–14 in the USA and Canada, 9–16 elsewhere). In late August each year, a new challenge is announced that focuses on a different real-world topic related to the sciences. For more information on FIRST LEGO League, please contact us at [email protected] or visit us at www.firstroboticscanada.org.

About ventureLAB
ventureLAB is a non-profit Regional Innovation Centre that supports innovative entrepreneurs across York Region, Simcoe County, Muskoka District and the GTA as a member of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE). ventureLAB is located in York Region, an integral leader in Ontario's Digital Corridor which harnesses technology leadership of innovative, world-class and high-growth technology companies. Visit www.venturelab.ca for more information.

SOURCE ventureLAB

Rachel Azagury, Director of Marketing, ventureLAB, [email protected], 905-248-2710