What can you expect at your first event? (Note that there can be some variation between regions and events. This is just an example.)

1. The tournaments generally run from 8:00am to 5:00pm. You will check-in with your team in the morning (bring a printed copy of the team’s roster; it’s located on your FIRST Inspires Dashboard). During check-in, you will receive your team’s schedule for the day (this includes when the team’s judging session will be as well as when it will run the robot matches). You will also be assigned a table in the Team Pit area. This is your “home base” for the tournament where the team can display any posters it’s made and where the queuers will meet the team to take it to the judging session/robot matches. It’s important to have someone associated with the team at the team’s table at all times.

2. The judging session for the Innovation Project, Robot Design, and Core Values will be in the morning. Remember, there is just one 30-minute judging session (this is different from prior years). You can find the flow chart for the judging session on the FIRST Inspires website. The team will meet in a room with the judges (2-3 judges) by themselves. No other teams will be in the room during its 30-minute session. Typically, an adult is allowed in in the judging room with the team (and may even be required). Think hard about who you want to go into the judging room with the team. In my experience, the teams without the coach and/or involved parent in the room tend to do better. They are more relaxed, confident, and not worried about what the adult is thinking of their performance. But no matter what, the adult must not interact with the team or the judges while in the room.

3. It is helpful to bring demonstratives to the judging session to use during the presentations. This may include trifold posters, a mock-up of the prototype, skit props, the robot & attachments, a printout of the code, etc. The team is required to give a presentation on its Innovation Project. The presentation cannot last longer than five minutes and any set up required for the presentation will come out of that five minutes (although the judges may grant a minute or two for set up). Do not plan for the team to have access to power or Wifi in the judging room. While a presentation is not required for the robot design, I highly recommend that the team prepare one. And I cannot emphasize this enough: REVIEW THE RUBRICS. The team should prepare its presentations based on the rubrics.

4. Bring something to drink and eat. If you think you’ve packed enough water/juice/snacks, you haven’t. Bring more.

5. Other things to bring: an extension cord, electrical or painter’s tape to hold down the cord, your robot and attachments, any demonstratives for the judging session, the charging cable for the robot or extra batteries, extra building pieces for the robot/attachments, the downloading cable for the robot (you are not allowed to use Bluetooth at the tournament), the printed team roster, pens, scotch tape, did I mention snacks and drinks?

6. GRACIOUS PROFESSIONALISM: Remember, the tournaments are staffed almost entirely by volunteers who have put in hours upon hours of work to make the tournament happen. Things will be hectic, and things won’t always run smoothly, but remember to always show your Gracious Professionalism. The kids will be watching so this is a great time to teach by doing.

7. I’ve said this several times before, but it bears repeating: the kids do the work. Always. This includes all designing, building, and programming of the robot and attachments. This also includes researching and iterating on their innovative solution, as well as creating the presentations. This also extends to the tournaments. The kids should be the ones who interact with the judges, not the coach or parents. Likewise, if the team has a question, the kids are the ones who approach the refs. A coach/parent should never, ever, ever program the robot or build an attachment. Simply put, an adult should never touch the robot or the laptop.

8. Something will go wrong at the tournament. 100% guaranteed. I’ve taken teams to over 30 tournaments and I’m yet to attend a tournament without something unexpected happening. I’ve learned to relish these moments because they’re a great time for kids to learn from mistakes in a low-stakes environment. It may seem like a high-stakes environment, but it’s not really. No lives depend on whether the robot or a prototype works. But if the kids can rise above that mistake, they will carry that success into the rest of their lives.

9. Everyone at the tournament wants the kids to succeed. It’s understandable for the kids to be nervous but remind them that the judges are rooting for them. The judges want to hear all about everything the kids have learned over the season, including their mistakes. This is the kids’ time to shine, and they should enjoy it!

10. Awards: Depending on the number of teams at the tournament, there will be a set number of awards, including at least one each for Robot Design, Innovative Project, Core Values, Robot Performance, in addition to the Champions Award. A team can only win one award, except for the Robot Performance Award, which can be awarded to a team in addition to another award. A set number of teams will also be invited to compete in the next tournament (again, the number of teams that advance depends on the number of teams at the tournament). A team must do well in all four categories (Innovation Project, Robot Design, Core Values, and the Robot Game) to be considered for advancement to the next tournament.

Last thoughts: It is important to emphasize to the kids the successes that they’ve had throughout the season. They’ve programed a robot to autonomously complete tasks, something that 99% of adults can’t do. They’ve researched problems and come up with solutions that are considerably above their grade-levels. They’ve created presentations and given them to complete strangers. They’ve run into obstacles and kept going through sheer determination. Yes it’s nice to win an award, but receiving an award is not the true value of participating in FIRST LEGO League. The real benefit is the skills they’ve learned, the friends they’ve made, and the fun they’ve had. I’ve been fortunate to have coached teams that won many Champions Awards, but that’s not what the kids talk about when they get together for reunions. Instead, they remanence about the fun times they had and laugh about the mistakes they made (interestingly, the mistakes they made seem to be some of their fondest memories). They also recognize that the skills they learned while participating in FIRST carried through to high school and college. It’s your job as the coach to help your kids keep this in perspective.

Thank you for coaching!

Heather

Resources:

FLL Challenge: Share and Learn FB page
FIRST Inspires Resource Library
Cryptic Cookies Bits ‘n Bots Website
Judging session flowchart
Rubrics

This article is by the coach of an award-winning team called Cryptic Cookies Bits & Bots.