West Tennessee
FIRST LEGO League Challenge

Steps for Successful Season

1. Register with FIRST

Register your Team with FIRST

Have your Team and 2 Coaches ready to go! Register your Team and 2 Coaches with FIRST by going to firstinspires.org and clicking login. Either login with your account or create a new one. Follow the steps to register your Coaches and Teams. Releases have to be electronically signed for the Coaches. Coaches have to do a YPP background check every 3 years. If you plan on applying for the TVA grant do not pay for the FIRST registration fees! Make sure to have your tax exempt paperwork in your account.

2. TVA Grant

TVA Grant Process

Once team is registered, both Coaches electronically signed the releases and passed the YPP background checks, and tax exempt paperwork is in the system you will receive an email with a link to apply for TVA grant funds. You will need to click on this link and fill out the information required. It will take 10-20 days for FIRST and TVA to determine what funds your team receives after submission.

Click here

3. Regional Activity Fee

Pay Regional Activity Fee ($125)

Pay the Regional Activity fee of $125. An invoice will be sent via email to the main coach’s email address for each team. Pay the fee by check, credit card, or ACH. Include copy of invoice in envelope if mailing a check. One check may be submitted for multiple teams. Include a copy of the invoice for each team.  Do not send your payment without a copy of the printed invoice!

4. Qualifier Registration

Register for a Qualifier
(No Qualifiers for 2023-2024 season)

You will only be able to register for a qualifier after your Regional Activity Fee and FIRST Registration Fees have been received and processed! Regional Activity Fees will be processed on Wednesdays. When we have processed your activity fee, an email will be sent to the Coach’s registered email address with instructions for qualifier registration.

You must pay your Regional Activity Fee and register for a qualifier by XXX to select a qualifier.  Activity Fees postmarked after XXX WILL BE ASSIGNED A QUALIFIER (no choice)!

4. TBD

Deadlines

Cut-off for Regional Activity Fee & Registration is January 8th.

Team Names must be corrected in your FIRST Inspires portal!
Team Names will last be updated on January 8th.

6. Qualifier

Attend your Qualifier
(No Qualifiers for 2023-2024 season)

Attend the qualifier you have selected or were assigned. Come prepared to do all of the parts: Core Values, Innovation Project, Robot Design, and Robot Matches!

During the closing ceremony the teams that get to continue to the Regional Championship will be announced.

5. Championship

Championship

Teams that have made it through the qualifiers will attend the West TN Regional Championship at Collierville Highschool on January 28th 2024.

Championship

All Teams (for 2024-2025 season) will attend the West TN Regional Championship at St. Louis School on February 8th 2025.

Championship

All Teams (for 2024-2025 season) will attend the West TN Regional Championship at TBD.  But expect end of January.

6. FUN

Remember to have FUN and DON’T GIVE UP!

Remember to have fun! Make sure you do the guided Mission 2! FIRST has given you everything you need to complete this awesome mission!

If you aren’t sure if your team should compete this year, the answer is ALWAYS YES! THEY SHOULD ALWAYS ATTEND AND PARTICIPATE REGARDLESS!

Changes to the information below will be RED in color.
Any information that has been replaced or removed will have a strike through it.

General Information about events this Season!

Lots of Information…

  • Please periodically check back here for updates!  We will also send out emails for big changes!
  • We plan to keep this page up-to-date for all requirements.
  • Also, do not forget to always check the Challenge Updates released by FIRST.
  • If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us! fll@nobox.org

General Information

  • There will not be Qualifiers this season. Only Championship event.
  • All events will be in-person.
  • You still have to register with FIRST before you can register for one of our West TN events.
  • Coaches, please mark your teams as “Intent to return” in your FIRST Inspires dashboard.

Requirements From FIRST

  • The FIRST Consent and Release Forms must be signed using the FIRST Registration Systems (firstinspires.org Dashboard) and is required for ALL coaches, mentors, volunteers, and YOUTH TEAM MEMBERS!
  • All youth must register via the FIRST on-line Youth Registration System to be eligible to participate in all FIRST programs.
  • Links FIRST has provided to assist:
  • Coaches will have to select events via the West TN FLL event portal.
  • Coaches will have to register their teams with FIRST.
    • Each team must have 2 coaches assigned to each team that have completed the YPP background checks and have signed the T&C release forms online.
  • Coaches can only select events when the requirements from FIRST have been met as defined above.
  • Don’t worry if you are new, multiple emails will be sent to you on how to access this portal.

Schedule & Deadlines

Qualifier (TBD)

  • TBD

Championship (TBD)

  • Registration via West TN FLL system is open when you have paid your RAF.
  • Registration via West TN FLL system closes TBD
  • Coach Meeting: TBD
  • Championship is TBD

Championship

  • Registration via West TN FLL system is open when you have paid your RAF.
  • Registration via West TN FLL system closes 1/8/25
  • Coach Meeting: TBD
  • Championship is 2/8/25

Robot Rounds

General info about Robot Rounds

  • Teams will have a scheduled Practice Round in addition to their 3 scored runs.
  • Your team will be scored based on the most recent official Challenge Updates & Clarifications.  These can be found here: FLL Challenge Updates & Clarifications.
  • No Totes, Boxes, Bags, etc. will be allowed.  All parts are to remain in the Home/Inspection Area as we normally require.
  • Robots will be inspected at the inspection station before every run.

Robot Game Score Challenging

  • If your team disagrees with a score given to them, they must notify the referee.
  • If the team and referee are not able to resolve the situation, the referee will include the Head Referee .
  • The Referees and/or Head Referee will discuss the challenge with a youth team member, not a coach, mentor, or other adult.
  • The Head Referee will have final say in the matter and make adjustments to the score as necessary.

Judging

Judging Format

  • Teams will be judged for all 3 areas by the same Judging Pod during a 30-minute session.
  • Please review the new rubrics and other information available on the FIRST Inspires website under Challenge Resources.
  • Only one of the registered coaches will be allowed to go into the judging room with the kids. Parents or Guardians are not permitted.
 

Judging items no longer required by FIRST

  • Core Values Poster is no longer required and will not be reviewed during judging, but it is still a good process for your team to learn the core values!
  • Robot executive design summary and/or engineering notebook are not required and will not be reviewed during judging, but again these are good processes/tasks that will help your team succeed!
 

Team Welcome/Introductions

  • Make sure that you review this season’s Judging Session Flowchart.
  • Make sure that your teams introduce themselves!
    • Judges like it when the team members introduce themselves in a ice-breaker-like format, for example: “My name is Patrick McGinnis I am in the 6th Grade, I was the lead programmer, and my favorite part was out Innovation project”
    • Please use the above as an example and formulate your own introductions 😊
 

Innovation Project

  • If the team has a poster, back-board, or other material they would like to share with the judges, it must be included in the 5-minute period.
  • Teams may present using a projector, but the projector must be provided by the team and setup during the 5-minute period.
 

Robot Design Presentation

  • PLEASE NOTE THAT A FIELD WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE IN THE JUDING ROOM!
  • These are not required! But would probably help you.
  • We highly encourage the team to show code examples!
  • Show the sensors and describe how you used them.
  • Show the attachments and how they function to complete various missions.
  • Show the attachments in action, doing something. Does not have to complete a mission.
  • Show an excerpt of code, do not need to show your whole program.
  • Show the robot attempting a mission, perhaps with a slow motion breakdown.(no field provided in judging room)
  • Suggested Breakdown. This is not required! This is just some suggestions from the Judges to help teams!
    • 1:00 Show the robot, sensors, and attachments
    • 1:00 Design Process
    • 3:00 Pick your favorite mission (or missions)
      • Show the robot, attachments, sensors, etc. for completing that mission.
      • Show and describe how the attachments and sensors work together.
      • Show the attachments in action if possible.
      • Show the robot attempt this favorite mission.(no field provided in judging room)
      • Give a play-by-play of what is happening and discuss challenges you had with your design process and how you came to this solution.(no field provided in judging room)
 

Core Values

  • Core Values does not require any physical preparation for judging.
  • Core Values will be judged through the whole judging session, while at the event, and at the robot tables.
  • Core Values is now scored using all rubrics.  Core Values no longer has it’s own dedicated Rubric because Core Values should be in everything we do!
 

Feedback

  • The Judges will provide the team with some verbal feedback before the team leaves the judging session.
  • The judges will also record their comments as previously done on the rubrics which will be sent to the coaches after the event has ended.

Sponsors

TSPE

IEEE

nobox

TVA

TVR