FAQ

The purpose of the FIRST® Youth Protection Program (FIRST® YPP) is to provide Coaches, Mentors, Volunteers, employees, others working in FIRST® programs, team members, parents, and guardians of team members with information, guidelines, and procedures to create safe environments for everyone participating in FIRST® programs.

The FIRST® YPP sets minimum standards recommended for all FIRST® activities. Adults working in FIRST® programs must be knowledgeable of the standards set by the FIRST® YPP, as well as those set by the school or organization hosting their team.

FIRST® expects all teams in the United States and Canada to adhere to all provisions of the FIRST® YPP.

The 2022-2023 FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge game is SUPER CHARGED!

Check out the season teaser!

https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/fll/game-and-season

The best thing about all FIRST® programs is that all skill levels are welcome – technical and nontechnical. Teams need all kinds of skills and creativity to succeed. What are you good at? Chances are we have a job for you. You’ll probably learn a few new ones while you’re with us!

The most successful coaches are people with at least an interest in science and technology, and in helping, kids discover and learn. We can’t emphasize enough, though, that no special technical skills are required. Anyone who wants to be a coach will receive all the training and help they need.

FIRST® Washington welcomes every student and mentor, with or without special skills. Youth team members are encouraged to bring any skills or interests they already have, but most importantly a desire to learn and solve problems as a team.

As our coaches often say, “This is the only sport where if you show up, you can play.”

Washington State has between 550 and 600 FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge teams each year. Teams are formed in schools, community organizations, and neighborhoods. They can be formed by any interested adult willing to facilitate team logistics for about four months.

Both nationwide and within Washington, about 77% (~460) of the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge teams are formed through schools, so the first place to look for opportunities to join a team is with your child’s school. Generally, the school-based teams are open only to students attending that institution because interest often exceeds capacity. If your child’s school does not currently have a team, you may want to work with a teacher or administrator there to help form a team within the school.

About 10% of the Washington teams are formed through community organizations such as 4-H, YMCA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, or Boys & Girls Clubs. Generally, this is only one of many activities that the organization facilitates for its members, but if your child is interested in one of these organizations overall, this might be an avenue to pursue in your local area.

The remaining teams in Washington are formed through homeschool groups, religious organizations, or neighborhood groups of friends. While these groups are not specifically closed to other students, they do not usually engage in recruiting members.

Since finding an opportunity with an existing team may be difficult, many experienced coaches and parents advise families new to the program to start their own team. The benefits to your child and for those who have an opportunity to participate are well worth the effort. If you need additional resources or encouragement, contact us at FIRST® Washington.

Search for Teams Near You

The Champion’s Award recognizes a team that “embodies the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge experience, by fully embracing our Core Values while achieving excellence and innovation in both the Robot Game and Project.”

At an official event, judges will look for balanced, strong performance across all three areas; this means that all three judged sessions (Core Values, Robot Design, and Project) are weighted equally to determine the initial group of Champion Award candidates.

All candidates must also meet the following requirements:

• Robot: the team must score in the top 40% of all teams participating in the Robot Game at the event.
• Project: the team must complete all parts of the Project, including the identification of a real-world problem related to the Challenge theme, creation of an innovative solution, and sharing their research and solution with others, as well as any other season-specific requirements that may exist.
• Core Values: the team must adhere to all Core Values throughout the event and the season.

All candidate teams are then reviewed during a deliberative process that considers Robot Performance placement and other qualitative factors. The final determination of the award winner(s) is based on a vote of the full judging panel.

Absolutely, the easiest way to join a FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge program is to start your own team. Ask your principal if your school has a team; if not, encourage your principal to identify a teacher who would be willing to start a team with your help as a team volunteer. Please let your principal know that FIRST® is a collaborative partnership with private industry professionals and educators to inspire young people towards STEM.

If a school-based team is not a possibility, you may find another youth-focused organization that can help. Scouts, 4-H, and other clubs may also support FIRST® teams.

Teams are also formed by neighborhood groups, or groups of friends with children of a similar age. There are no restrictions on who can start a team!

Invoices for the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge season are emailed to the team lead coach or team administrator in October. You may pay by check, purchase order, or credit card. If you pay by credit card, please use the payment link on your emailed invoice.

The FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge season runs from September to January, followed by the state championships.

In general, as a coach, volunteer, or team member you should meet with your team two to three times per week during the build and competition season from September through January; April if you qualify for the World Championship. Two hours per meeting is an adequate time commitment. Additional meeting times are often added before the tournament to finish projects and practice. Like any sport or club, the time you invest in helping your team will add to your team’s success.

FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge teams have 2-10 youth members and two adult coaches. If you have more people wanting to join, the best thing to do is start another team.

Team members are responsible for creating and managing the team. Roles include building, programming, research, and project management.

We express the FIRST^® philosophies of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition through our Core Values:
FLL Challenge, Core Values We express the FIRST^® philosophies of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition through our Core Values:

• Discovery: We explore new skills and ideas.
• Innovation: We use creativity and persistence to solve problems.
• Impact: We apply what we learn to improve our world.
• Inclusion: We respect each other and embrace our differences.
• Teamwork: We are stronger when we work together.
• Fun: We enjoy and celebrate what we do!

Each year, FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge releases a Challenge, which is based on a real-world scientific topic.

Each Challenge has three parts: the Robot Game, Innovation Project, and the Core Values. Teams of up to ten youth, with at least two adult coaches, participate in the Challenge by programming an autonomous robot to score points on a themed playing field (Robot Game), developing a solution to a problem they have identified (Innovation Project), all guided by the FIRST^® Core Values. Teams may then attend an official tournament, hosted by our FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge Partners.

Past Challenges have been based on topics such as nanotechnology, climate, quality of life for the handicapped population, and transportation. By designing our Challenges around such topics, participants are exposed to potential career paths within a chosen Challenge topic, in addition to solidifying the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) principles that naturally come from participating in the program. Team members also learn valuable life and employment skills, which will benefit them no matter the career path they choose.

Learn more >>

FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge is known around the globe not only for what we do (the Robot Game and Project), but also how we do it, with Core Values at the heart. The rubrics used for judging reflect these three equally important aspects of FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge.

Official tournaments must follow the judging and awards structure determined by FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge. Although the audience mostly sees teams playing the Robot Game at tournaments, teams are also being judged on:

• Core Values
• Project
• Robot Design

The Core Values Poster and the Robot Design Executive Summary are additional tools that may be used to help facilitate discussion in the Core Values and Robot Design Judging sessions at official events. FIRST^® Washington will distribute instructions to teams outlining the information to be included if we require the Core Values Poster and/or the Robot Design Executive Summary at our events.

The Core Values Poster and the Robot Design Executive Summary may be used as part of the judging at the World Festival.

About Judging

• Teams must participate in all elements of a FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge competition including the Robot Game and all three judged areas in order to be eligible for any Core Award.
• Judges use the rubrics to help them determine which teams will receive awards.
• With the exception of the Robot Performance Award, awards are determined by a deliberation process, which is formulated around discussions of team performance in each category.
• If a team does not exhibit Core Values at a tournament, they may be disqualified from winning any awards – including Robot Performance – no matter how well they scored.
• Adults are strictly prohibited from directing team members or interfering with the judging process or robot rounds in any way.
• No team is allowed to win two awards, unless one of the awards is for Robot Performance. Robot Performance is the only category based solely on score.
• While they may attend other events for fun, teams are only eligible to win awards at the first official event of each qualifying level attended during the season.

Like other team activities, FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge has basic ground rules. Failure to abide by these rules could result in ineligibility for awards at a tournament or other consequences deemed necessary by judges, referees, tournament organizers, FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge partners, Headquarters, or their designated representatives.

General Rules
Teams, coaches and other supporters must demonstrate the Core Values in their actions and
activities.

Throughout the season, teams need access to the following materials:

• LEGO^® MINDSTORMS^® Robot Set (or other LEGO robot set)
• Computer or tablet with software to program the robot. (Laptop is recommended.)

Throughout the season, teams need access to the following season-specific materials:

• Challenge Set
• Documents from www.firstlegoleague.org/challenge all released in August of the Challenge season year:
  • Mission Model Build Instructions
  • Field Setup Guide
  • Challenge and Challenge Guide

Competition Rules
A competitive team is one playing in a FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge official event. These additional rules apply:

• A competitive team consists of a minimum of two and a maximum of 10 youth. Proper adult supervision is required as described in the FIRST^® Youth Protection Policy.
• A team must be registered and fully paid in the national registration system to sign up for official events. Additional event fees may apply.
• Team members are between the minimum and maximum age allowed in their region.
• All work presented at an official event is the work of the youth on the team.
• All team members attending an event are required to participate in the judging session and be present as a team at the Robot Game matches.

Consequences
FIRST^® Washington gives authority to volunteers staffing FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge official events to interpret and implement the participation rules, guided by global FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge training materials.

• Teams, coaches, and supporters at official events are expected to demonstrate FIRST^® Core Values.
• Individuals interfering with, excessively instructing, prompting, or heckling a team or volunteer may be asked to leave.
• Severe infractions of these rules may result in a team’s dismissal from the event. FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge official event volunteers are provided training to identify and respond to these situations [See FIRST Youth Protection Policy (YPP)].
• Individuals and/or teams who fail to abide by the participation rules may be ineligible for awards at a tournament.

Anyone with an interest in changing lives through STEM can start a team – educators, parents, anyone with the time and motivation. Most teams in Washington are school-based. Others are formed through community organizations such as 4-H, YMCA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs, homeschool groups, religious organizations, and even neighborhood groups of friends. If you want to start a school-based team, contact a teacher or administrator to get started. Also, see the minimum requirements.

The cost to participate ranges from $1,400 for new teams to $850 for returning teams. Your costs may be lower if you are able to get some items donated.

One of the major purchases is a LEGO^® MINDSTORMS^® EV3 Robotics Kit. This kit provides a small programmable LEGO EV3 computer, and enough motors and parts to make a machine. If your team already has access to a kit, you can use that kit and not purchase a new one. Returning teams are able to reuse the kit each year.

Sample Budgets

• Classroom Team Budget 
• After School Team Budget

http://firstlegoleague.org/

Teachers, parents, and technology professionals all make excellent coaches. The coach must be 18 years or older and should have the desire to explore side-by-side with students and have good communication, prioritizing, and multitasking skills. The coach’s role is to facilitate instruction and optimize the learning experience of the team members by allowing independent thought. Direct adult involvement or intervention during the problem-solving process is strongly discouraged.

Coaches handle all the operational details: where and when to meet, organizing help for snacks, team costumes, etc. Coaches do not need technical expertise, but expertise but must be willing to acquire some basic knowledge of the programming environment and LEGO^® robot building. As the leader of a FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge registered team, the coach will have access to robot kits, team Challenge kits, software and building instructional manuals from FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge.

Mentors can be anyone! Individuals from all backgrounds and disciplines who work with students to share their knowledge and guide them through the season. Many Mentors contribute on a weekly basis during the program season or support the team with subject matter expertise on an as-needed basis.

High school students or adults who provide technical assistance and guidance to a team can be mentors. Often a single person fills both the coach and mentor roles. Sometimes a single person coaches several teams while each team has their own mentor. Sometimes it is reversed. Mentors give FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge participants the opportunity to explore scientific principles and practices while working with a positive role model.

Teams need enough space to build and test the robot on the FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge playing field (contained in the Challenge Kit). The playing field is a 8′ x 4′ mat upon which LEGO^® pieces and various elements are arranged to create the Challenge missions.

Additional materials (such as two-by-fours) must be purchased separately to build a border around the playing field. Setup can be as simple as clearing an area on the floor, or your team may opt to build an official FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge table (see the Challenge rules for details). Some teams have found it advantageous to share a playing field with other teams in their area.

Teams must have access to either a Mac or a PC with an internet connection. Internet access and a valid email address are mandatory to maintain contact with FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge throughout the Challenge season. The computer is used to develop programs for the team’s robot. Programs are easily downloaded to the programmable LEGO^® MINDSTORMS^® EV3 robot controller via a USB cable.

If your team attends a local event or state tournament, you will need an on-site computer for the day of the competition. A laptop is best. Robot programs are often modified to accommodate the specific conditions of the tournament setting and to improve robot performance.

FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge Kickoff Materials from the Microsoft Kickoff Event:

• ABC and Fundraising Presentation – Kickoff 2018.pptx
• Coaches Presentation – Kickoff 2018.pdf
• Judging Presentation – FLL Kickoff 2018.pdf
• Programming Workshop – Kickoff 2018.pdf
• Referee Presentation – Kickoff 2018.pdf

You begin the two-level registration process with national FIRST^® registration. When you complete the short process (around 20 minutes) and pay your registration fee, you will receive:

• An official team number
• Coaches’ Handbook

Once your team is registered with FIRST^® nationally, the coach or team representative must register with FIRST^® Washington. Registering with FIRST^® Washington will allow you to participate in the event registration process in October and the opportunity to compete in local competitions, qualifiers, and regional championships.

Please go to the Get Started page on this site to begin the registration process.

In accordance with the Participation Rules, teams are eligible for awards and advancement only at the first official event of each qualifying level attended during season. In most cases, event capacity within a region limits team participation to only one qualifying event each season.

The qualifier advancement policy is based on Champion’s Award criteria. As described above, Champion’s Award criteria require that the team, performs well in all three judged areas (Core Values, Innovation Project, and Robot Design). Teams are required to be ranked in the in the top 40% of official Robot Game scores to be considered for Champion’s Award and they must be ranked in the top 75% of official Robot Game scores to be eligible to advance.

Contact your local Partner or Tournament Director to find out how many teams will be advancing from the event you are attending. (See the official Advancement Policy).

It is possible for a team to receive a 1st Place Core Values, Project, or Robot Design Award but not advance to Championship if their Robot Performance score is ranked below the top 75% of teams at the event. A team may win 1st Place in Robot Performance but not advance to Championship due to not having performed well in one or more of the three judged areas.

The FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge program is designed for young people ages 9-14 years old in grades 4-8.

Each FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge team needs:

• Two or more adult coaches willing and motivated to guide the team through the discovery and competition season (and beyond) – no special technical experience is required
• Up to 10 students ages 9 to 14 willing to put in time and do any job the team needs to succeed (There are lots of important jobs available for all skill levels and interests.)
• A suitable meeting place, either public or private, that can accommodate a 4 x 8-foot playing field table, and has internet access
• A standard Challenge Set and a common set of rules issued by FIRST^® and LEGO^®
• A paid team registration, official team number, and a LEGO^® MINDSTORMS^® robot set
• The desire to learn, explore, strategize, build comradery, share ideas and talents, make new friends, be accepted, and HAVE FUN!

Teams typically meet September through November with their first tournament in early December. Many teams then advance to semi-finals in January followed by the state championship late January/early February. FIRST®  Washington has the opportunity to award a team or teams who have made it to the state championship to advance to the world championship in Houston, Texas in April.