FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge Overview

The FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge competition will only be held at national convention. Teams will build and program robots to compete in this year’s RePLAYSM themed challenge.
Each year FIRST® LEGO® League releases a challenge, which is based on a real-world scientific topic. Each challenge has three parts: the Robot Game, the Project and the Core Values. Teams of up to 10 students, with at least one adult coach, participate in the challenge by programming an autonomous robot to score points on a themed playing field (Robot Game), developing a solution to a problem they have identified (Project), all guided by the FIRST® LEGO® League Core Values. The culmination of the hard work for our teams is the participation in the competition at NSBE’s Annual Convention.

FIRST® LEGO® League Competition Components

General

  • Team members must make all decisions and do all the work on the Robot Game and Project. This includes deciding on strategy, building, programming, researching, choosing a problem and innovative solution and presenting at a tournament.
  • Anyone who works with the team (coaches, mentors, topic experts, parents, etc.) may teach team members new skills, handle logistics for the team, ask questions to get team members thinking and remind them of the FIRST® LEGO® League rules. Adults play an important role in coaching and supporting their team, but the team’s robot and project should be the work of team members.

Team Members

  • A team must have a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of six (6) students. A team with more than six (6) children will not be eligible for awards at an official tournament.
  • Students may be members of only one (1) FIRST® LEGO® League team per season. 
  • Allowed ages in U.S., Canada and Mexico: 9 – 14 years.
  • No team member may be outside the maximum allowed age in your region prior to January 1 of the year the challenge is released.
    • For example, in the United States a student who turns 15 in May of 2020 would be eligible to compete in the challenge released in August of 2020, whereas a child who turned 15 in December 2020 would not.

Robot Game

Each team’s robot must be built in accordance with all allowable parts, software and other rules.

Project

Teams must demonstrate completion of all three (3) steps of the project (identify a problem, develop an innovative solution and share with others) as part of their presentation and fulfill any other requirements as defined in the annual project document.

Core Values

FIRST® LEGO® League expresses its philosophies of Gracious Professionalism and Cooperation through its Core Values. We ask that everyone associated with every team understands and honors these Core Values.

  • Discovery: We explore new skills and ideas.
  • Innovation: We use creativity and persistence to solve our problems.
  • Impact: We apply what we learn to improve our world.
  • Inclusion: We respect each other and embrace our differences.
  • Teamwork: We are stronger when we work together.
  • Fun: We enjoy and celebrate what we do!

Judging and Awards

Official tournaments, including the event at NSBE’s Annual Convention, must follow the judging and awards structure determined by FIRST® LEGO® League. Although the audience mostly sees teams playing the Robot Game at tournaments, teams are also being judged on:

  • Core Values
  • Project
  • Robot Design

Tournament rubrics and award descriptions can be found on the FIRST website.

Application Procedure

NSBE FIRST® LEGO® League registration is completed via an online application through Jotform. The application can be found here. To fully complete registration, each team must also complete registration on the FIRST website. Each team interested in participating for the 2022-2023 program year must submit an application for the program and meet all the team requirements. Completing all the information in the application is vital.

NSBE FIRST® LEGO® League Registration Information

Team Requirements

Every NSBE FIRST® LEGO® League team must:

  • Consist of a minimum of 2and up to a maximum of 6participants
  • Consist of a combination of students in grades 6 – 8
  • Attend the 49th Annual Convention in Kansas City, MO
  • Consist of active NSBE Jr. members
  • Complete the application request before the deadline
  • Assign a chapter advisor and team coach to complete the FIRST Youth Protection Program (Each team needs two registered coaches through FIRST)

IMPORTANT NOTE: A NSBE FIRST® LEGO® League coach can prepare more than one NSBE FIRST® LEGO® League team for the Annual Convention showcase.

Critical 2022 - 2023 Dates

For quick reference, the following target dates are listed to ensure your participation in NSBE FIRST®LEGO® League. For further information on the upcoming NSBE conferences, please visit nsbe.org.

TEAM RESPONSIBILITY AND EVENTS
TARGET TIME FRAME (NO LATER THAN)
NSBE FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge Team Application
Final submission deadline is Sunday, November 21, 2022. Participation confirmation will be sent out by Friday, December 10, 2022.
NSBE FIRST® LEGO® League 2022 - 2023 Challenge
All teams need to register through the FIRST® website by November 21, 2022. NSBE FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge details can be found on the FIRST® LEGO® League website.
National Competition
Held at NSBE’s Annual Convention March 22 - March 26, 2023, in Kansas City, MO.


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