FAQ

FIRST Washington ▸ What are the rules for participating in a FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge tournament?

What are the rules for participating in a FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge tournament?

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.