FIRST LEGO League is designed to get children engaged, active, and having fun in STEM activities.

  There have been many changes in the Challenge materials this year, designed to make them more accessible to the children and new coach/mentors.  In particular, the Robot Game rules were revised to put them in common language, understandable to the children who will be using them.

  The rules contain definitions of what is important on the field:  Rule 07 - Home, Rule 06 - Launch Area, Rule 02 - Equipment

  They also tell about the game mechanics:  Rule 21 - Launch Sequence, Rules 27/28 - what happens when you touch the robot, Rule 19 - inspections, Rule 35 - when mission points are determined.

  To succeed, each of your teams should have 1-10 children who are your experts on the rules--they should read them and be able to show teammates and coaches why something is or isn't allowed.  Don't worry--if there is a misunderstanding, the referees will communicate it to the team on tournament day. [Believe it or not, this is a really good experience for teams, second only to talking with other teams.]

  If your team's families don't understand basic concepts about the game, please have them check with your team rules experts.  It's a good experience for the children to be able to explain things to adults.

Steve Scherr

Virginia-DC FLL Referee Advisor