Sarnia 12-year-old wins first place in international Fiero Code contest

A Sarnia Library Code Club participant has taken first place in his age category in a global coding competition, using a free learning platform offered through Lambton County Library.

Declan Fleman, 12, of Sarnia, has earned first place in his age category in the global Fiero Code contest, using an online learning platform provided by Lambton County Library.

The contest, which ran from June 1 to July 31, invited coders from around the world to build a digger-style video game complete with multiple levels of increasing difficulty, custom characters and sound effects.

"Lambton County Library supports learners like Declan with resources to build skills for their future educational and career paths," said Vanitia Campbell, public services coordinator, youth programs and outreach. "We are delighted to celebrate our second code contest winner and hope to see more people in our community explore, experiment, and achieve success with coding."

Declan said he learned about the challenge at Sarnia Library's Code Club and dedicated a few hours each week to completing it. He enjoyed the challenge, saying "every problem is just motivation to think differently."

Declan plans to compete in the next Fiero Code contest and wants to learn the programming language C++. His winning submission, a game called Ball Tube Fell, can be viewed and played online.

Fiero Code is an online platform for learning HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python and more. It is gamified, self-paced and suitable for all ages. Residents can register for a free account and log in with their Lambton County Library card.

Fiero Code is web browser-based and can be accessed on laptops, desktop computers, Chromebooks and tablets. All Lambton County Library locations offer public computer workstations and free Wi-Fi, with select locations providing Code Clubs.

The next Fiero Code contest runs from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, with entrants of all ages eligible to win prizes such as codeable robots, drones and other coding technology.

For more information about Fiero Code and Lambton County Library digital learning resources, visit LCLibrary.ca.