FLL Tournament Coaches and Teams,



  I know all teams are excited about getting ready for the upcoming

qualifying tournaments, and I am looking forward to our opening

weekend.  At your tournament you have a "pit area" to serve as your

base of operations, and there will be tables available in or near the

pit for your team to test things and rehearse on--so you won't need to

bring your own mat, table, or mission models.  Most tournaments will

have a practice round (the score will not count in the tournament

total) and 3 or 4 competition rounds.  In addition to your matches at

the competition tables, you'll be scheduled to meet the judges for

Project, Robot Design and Core Values, so it will be a busy day!  Try

to get to your next activity several minutes (5-10) before it is

scheduled to begin--that should reduce stress for you and the judges

and the referees.



  Remember that your competition table will be back-to-back with

another table where a different team is competing.  Make sure to

follow directions about where to wait before going to the tables and

where to stand when you are at the table.  When your team is sent to

the table, go ahead and begin your before-match preparations--lay out

items in base, get your robot prepared and ready to run.  The ref will

ask your robot handlers if you are ready to begin, and there will be a

countdown or sound to let you know when to start your robot.



  After the match is over, don't touch anything without guidance from

the referee.  The referee will mark your scoresheet with the status of

the field.  One or two team members should check that the referee has

marked the scoresheet correctly, and sign or initial the sheet to show

agreement.  Then you should quickly remove all your items from the

field (but don't take the mission models!) and leave the area.  The

scorekeeper will tally the score from the scoresheet--referees aren't

going to be able to tell you your score at the table.  They'll be

getting the table ready for the next team who is about to come in.



  Your tournament director should let you know if tables or other

supports will be available to hold your storage box during

competition, and how many people can accompany the team at the

tables--don't worry, there should be plenty of room in the audience

area.



  All teams should plan to review the Robot Game Updates at

http://firstlegoleague.org/challenge/robotgameupdates (the official

version is available after Friday at 3pm) as well as the rules and

missions and field setup at

http://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Challenge/FoodFactor/FLL2011_Robot_Game.pdf

Now that you've been working with the Robot Game and your robot for a

while, you'll probably notice things by rereading the game documents

that you didn't see the first time or two.



  I'd like to point out several items that sometimes surprise teams:



Setup and Calibration

Rule 6 tells you that you'll get at least one minute to prepare your

robot and other equipment, and Rule 14-Calibration lets you calibrate

your light and color sensors outside Base during that time.  Once your

referee brings you to the table, you don't have to wait or ask

permission to do preparation or calibration, unless he or she is still

setting up the field.



Mission Models

Rule 10 tells us that Mission Models are already at the table when you

walk up to it.  You earn points by doing things with the Mission

Models (and your robot). Don't bring your own mission models--you have

to use the ones at the table.  If you accidentally take Mission Models

away from the table after you are done, your table referee will be

sad, and might have to send someone after you.  However, if you do

discover that a mission model has traveled with you back to the pit

area, please take it back to the scorekeeper's area as soon as

possible.  There are lots and lots of mission models this year, so we

will all have to be extra careful to keep them at the competition

tables and the tables in the pit.



Checking the Field and Rescuing your Robot

You are encouraged to look at the field when you get to the table to

ensure that all the Mission Models look properly set up.  If you have

any questions at all, please ask your table referee to check it.  If

the field looks dirty, ask your referee or the referee assistant to

clean it--they should have dusting supplies.  Remember that Rule 14

says that YOU may not move or adjust anything outside of base.

You may always intercept/rescue your robot or a damaged attachment

whenever you choose to, or you may ask the referee to do it for you.

Try not to bump anything when standing at the table or rescuing your

robot.  The referee won't move or reset anything changed by robot

action--but that's okay, because your team gets at least three tries

to do its best.



Downloading Programs

Rule 26 says that downloading programs to robots must take place in

the pits and not the competition area.  It tells you how to do it

safely, too.



Bluetooth

Rule 26 also says that Bluetooth must be turned off at all times.  If

you don't know how to turn Bluetooth on, then your team may never have

turned it off in the first place.  If your robot shows a Bluetooth B

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bluetooth.svg) in the upper left

corner of the display, then please turn it off before coming to the

competition.  There's a top-level menu item named "Bluetooth" with an

On/Off setting.



Computers

Rule 4 tells you what you are allowed to bring to the competition

area.  It doesn't list computers.  On the other hand, it doesn't

forbid them this year.  If your team has a computer and doesn't want

to leave it alone in the pit, or leave it with a guardian, please make

sure it is turned off and closed when you are in the competition area.



Parts

Please double-check Rule 4, because sometimes we forget to re-read it

because we think we know what it says.  Do not bring two controllers,

or more than three motors, or too many sensors to the competition

floor, even if they are not plugged in.  Note that you are only

supposed to write on your robot in "hidden areas".  If this wasn't

possible for your team, let the head ref know at the Coaches meeting

before the tournament--it reassures the referees that your team has

read and understood the rules!



Starting your Robot

As you know, Rules 16 and 17 emphasize that you aren't touching your

robot before you cause it to start, or adjusting it while it is

moving.  This is psychologically very hard--the competition area may

be a stressful place:  there are strangers watching, and loud music

playing, and there's a competition going on.  The robot is a familiar

object, and a team member may unconsciously want to "cuddle" it during

the countdown, especially if you haven't spent a lot of time

practicing clean starts.  Listen to the comments from the referees

during the practice round and later, and try to do your best in each

match.



Remember, after you touch the robot to make it inactive (or the

referee rescues it at your request), the robot must be brought back to

base and restarted.  You don't have to wait for a signal from the

referee to restart the robot, but you still need to have a clean

start, as described in Rules 16 and 17.



Referees

The referees are at the tournament to support the teams.  Team members

may always ask the ref to check the field before the start, to explain

why a ruling or a scoring decision has been made, and may express

whether they agree or disagree with that ruling or decision.  The Head

Referee may have to take the team away from the table to explain a

ruling, and to make room for the next team to compete.  Decisions made

by the Head Referee are final (Rule 28).



Finally, Gracious Professionalism is Rule One--we expect that FLL is

fun, and the tournament is exciting, and the teams are competing like

crazy against problems--and the referees volunteer so we can see all

the inventiveness and neat ideas that FLL teams come up with (even

when the robot does things you don't like) --we are there so teams can

show what they can do!





Steve Scherr

VA/DC FLL Referee Advisor



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