NorCal FLL Community

Q: can I order an extra Field setup kit?    A: No,  each registered team may order exactly 1

Q: do parents need a waiver to enter the pit area?  A:   At a tournament, the pits will either be closed or open.  Open means open to everyone, including the public.   Closed, means closed to everyone except for the team members plus at least (and usually also this means, at most) 2 adult coaches.   There is no "middle ground" so to speak.

Q: Any help available for Coach to develop TECHNICAL skills?   A:   The educational version of Mindstorms has an extended set of tutorials available built right into the software.  In addition,   Carnegie Mellon has announced a free web-based programming course and finally,  there are some additional programming help listed on the FLL -> Team Resources link as well as on the norcalfll.org -> weblinks page.

Q: How do you qualify to the regional tournament passing the qualifying rounds?  Is it mainly how many points you score on the Robot Game?     A:  No, advancement is not based on how many points the robot scores in the game.  The robot game performance is a factor but not the biggest factor.        Advancement is defined by FIRST as those well rounded teams that meet the Champion's Award criteria -  I have updated the local Advancement Policy to reflect FIRST's updated Champion's Award criteria as identified in the 2011 Judging FAQ.    Finally, NorCal will not have "regionals" this season, only qualifiers (1st level) and a championship (final level).

Q: if a mission knocksoff or moves pieces during the mission of another& mission is there a chance to reset that?   A:   It depends.  The longer answer is that you need to carefully read the game mission description and game rules.  In particular,  rules 5 and 14.

Q: What are the recommended meeting times for each week?     A:   Most of our teams meet for about 4 hours a week.  The recommended meeting times are when all of the team members and at least 1 coach/mentor is available.

Q: Can you clarify the payments? The $75 qualifier tournament, how much to register each team?   A:   To register a new team with FIRST is $225 plus shipping.    To register for a qualifier is $75 per team.

Q: what's the difference when you mention project and game?  A:   There are 2 primary aspects to FLL's annual challenge:  An open-ended fun project and a fun, LEGO-only robot game.    These are 2 distinct and separate activities that are both required elements along with FIRST Core Values.

Q: is there a limit to the #ofattachments?  A:   The limitations on the robot are not described this way.  The robot has to fit into "BASE" completely and there are 2.5minutes total for the robot to go out of base, do 1 or more missions and then possibly return to base.   The more time that the robot spends in base getting "reconfigured" with attachments, the less time there is for the robot to be solving the game challenge.

Q: Will I be able to request a weekend for the tournament when I register, as our team is unable to make one of the weekends.  A:  When you register for tournaments, you will select your top 3 choices in your district.  You will receive immediate feedback which of your choices your team was "placed" into.    See this article to explain in more detail.

Q: How do I get in touch with near by teams/coaches so I can coordinate a small scrimmage?  A:  The only way that we have is for coaches to join the elgg Community site  (here).  This is an opt-in community forum.  We do not send out individual emails to coaches looking to connect each other up.

Q: Do I need to bring the competition board and mat to the competition?    A: It depends. Most tournaments ask their teams to bring something to help the tournament out - either provide a general tournament volunteer or a challenge table for judging or pit practice area

Q: where do I find the info of the missions?   A:   On the firstlegoleague.org site under "2011 Food Factor Challenge".  There are 3 primary aspects :  Core Values,  Project and Robot.

Q: Are there restrictions about where on the field an aiming jig may be used. A:  Yes.   The team may only add/change items in the Base area and everything that comes to the game area must be made of LEGO elements.  The team is  not allowed to touch or change or add or remove, etc etc any other part of the game field.

Q: is there a link that confirms  water as not a food item for contamination? A:  The Project FAQ clearly disallows water as a food choice for this season's Project.

Q: Where do I find the size, parts can be or can not be used, and  other restrictions for a robot?  A:   In the robot game section of the challenge, in the Rules area,   a robot is defined as any LEGO element with restrictions on the electrical aspects (and no wind-up LEGO motors) plus restirctions on size (must fit in BASE).

Q: What about rubber band's comes with the kit can they be used?    A:  If the challenge does not limit their use  (which they don't) and they are LEGO rubber bands (which if they are, if they came in the Mindstorms kit) , then yes, items like rubber bands, tank treads, are allowed.     

Q: What's the best way to find teams who are looking for members or members looking for teams?   A:   TeamUp! is the only mechanism currently available on a general basis.  We find generally sending out an email on a relevant local mailing list or posting a flyer at your school/library or similar to be better ways of reaching those in your local community.