FLL Challenge Judging

7/29/2019 FLL Challenge Judging

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FLL CHALLENGE JUDGING

Hi Fellow Judges!

Thanks for volunteering to help at the FLL MD Regional Challenge. It takes a

LOT of people to make this work and we appreciate your help.

This years challenge is called a Senior Solution. It took me a bit ofreading to realize it is about seniors (we gray headed guys & gals) and notkids about to graduate from high school.

The awards are described inhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/SeniorSolutions/Awards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdf. Each team should prepare aFLL Team Information Sheet for you; a copy of this is at

http://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/TeamInfoSh

eet-fixed-12-2-11.pdf.

FLL is known around the globe not only for what we do (the Robot Game and Project),but also how we do it, with Core Values at the heart. The rubrics used for judging reflectthese three equally important aspects of FLL.

Official tournaments must follow the judging and awards structure determined by FLL.Although the audience mostly sees teams playing the Robot Game at tournaments,teams are also being judged on:

Core Values Project Robot Design

Here is as much info I can find about judging. There are three categories,listed in the documents. Performance of the robot and its scores aredetermined by the referees, not judges. Judges rate the teams humanperformance according to a set of criteria. By meeting early (8:00) well

have a chance to discuss our duties. Bob Ekman, our challenge chairman,has arranged coffee and goodies, etc. for us. They will be available startingat 8:00 and will probably have a short half-life.

Our tentative schedule is:

FLL Qualification TournamentUniversities at Shady Grove

Sunday, January 13, 2012
http://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/SeniorSolutions/Awards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/SeniorSolutions/Awards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/SeniorSolutions/Awards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/TeamInfoSheet-fixed-12-2-11.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/TeamInfoSheet-fixed-12-2-11.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/TeamInfoSheet-fixed-12-2-11.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/TeamInfoSheet-fixed-12-2-11.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/TeamInfoSheet-fixed-12-2-11.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/SeniorSolutions/Awards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/SeniorSolutions/Awards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdf


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8:00 - 8:30 Teams check-in / registration

8:00 - 9:00 Teams set up and working in pits

9:00 - 9:20 Opening / Welcome / Administrative Instructions (teams

and volunteers)

9:20 - 12:00 Judging (us) and practice rounds for robots oncompetition tables (referees)

12:00 - 12:30 Lunch, public entrance

12:30 - 12:55 Opening for public, keynote

12:55 - 3:30 Robot competition on competition tables (referees)

3:30 - 4:00 Judge/referee deliberation

4:00 - 4:30 Closing / Awards

So, heres some extracted material for you:

http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judgingfaqQ: How is the Champions Award determined? Are certain weights used?A:FLLs Champions Award recognizes a team that embodies the FLL experience, byfully embracing our Core Values while achieving excellence and innovation in both theRobot Game and Project.

At an official event judges will look for balanced, strong performance across all 3 areas;this means that all three judged sessions (Core Values, Robot Design, and Project) areweighted equally to determine the initial group of Champions candidates. Allcandidates must also meet the following requirements:

Robot: The team must score in the top 40% of all teams participating in theRobot Game at the event.

Project: The team must complete all parts of the Project, including theidentification of a real world problem related to the Challenge theme, creation ofan innovative solution and sharing their research and solution with others, as wellas any other season-specific requirements that may exist.

Core Values: The team must adhere to all Core Values throughout the event andthe season.

All candidate teams are then reviewed during a deliberative process that considersRobot Performance placement and other qualitative factors. Final determination of theaward winner(s) is based on a vote of the full judging panel.

Q: What happens if a team goes past 5 minutes when giving their Projectpresentation?A: Some judges may warn the team that they have gone over five minutes, while otherswill allow the team to finish. We have a very tight schedule, so judges may end thepresentation at five minutes. If the judges allow a team to go over five minutes, thataction may reduce the amount of time judges have to ask questions and could affecthow the judges assess a team. Teams should have practiced timing their presentation
http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judgingfaqhttp://firstlegoleague.org/event/judgingfaqhttp://firstlegoleague.org/event/judgingfaq


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before the tournament to reduce the chance they will go over five minutes allowed forthe presentation itself.

Q: Can the Coach help the team setup their Project presentation?A: As stated in the Project document, teams should plan a presentation that they areable to set up and break down with no adult help. The coach should refrain from helpingthe team setup any presentation materials or props. There may be instances when apresentation prop or other item is too bulky or heavy for team members to carry. In thisinstance, you may allow the coach to assist the team, or the tournament may providevolunteers to move the heavy/bulky item.

The optional students Core Values Poster and Robot Design Executive Summary areadditional tools that may be used to help facilitate discussion in the Core Values andRobot Design Judging sessions at official FLL events. If required (i.e., are not optional),the judges will be told this in our briefing.

http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judgingGeneral Adults (anyone over the age limit for FLL: 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 FLL rules.

Adults play an important role in coaching and supporting their team, but theteams robot and Project should be the work of team members.

Coach An FLL team must have a minimum of one (1) adult coach.

Robot Game Each teams robot must be built in accordance with all allowable parts, software

and other rules. For complete Robot rules, visit the current Challenge pageathttp://firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2012seniorsolutions.

Project Teams must demonstrate completion of all three steps of the FLL Project

(identify a problem, develop an innovative solution, and share with others) as partof their presentation, and fulfill any other requirements as defined in the annual

Project document. For complete Project rules, visit the current Challenge page.

Tournaments To be eligible for any FLL Core Award, teams must participate in the robot

performance rounds as well as all three judging sessions (Core Values, RobotDesign, and Project).

All team members present at an event are expected to participate in all threejudged sessions, in addition to showing up as a team for the Robot Game.

FLL teams and those associated with the team must uphold and displayFLL

Core Values at all times, not just during Core Values judging sessions.
http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judginghttp://firstlegoleague.org/currentchallengehttp://firstlegoleague.org/currentchallengehttp://firstlegoleague.org/currentchallengehttp://firstlegoleague.org/currentchallengehttp://firstlegoleague.org/event/judginghttp://firstlegoleague.org/event/judginghttp://firstlegoleague.org/mission/corevalueshttp://firstlegoleague.org/mission/corevalueshttp://firstlegoleague.org/mission/corevalueshttp://firstlegoleague.org/mission/corevalueshttp://firstlegoleague.org/mission/corevalueshttp://firstlegoleague.org/event/judginghttp://firstlegoleague.org/currentchallengehttp://firstlegoleague.org/currentchallengehttp://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging


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Only tournament officials (judges, referees, and other tournament workers) maydirect team members while judging sessions and robot matches are in progress.

Any other person instructing, prompting, heckling, or otherwise interfering with ateam or tournament worker during judging sessions or robot matches may beasked to leave by tournament officials. In severe cases, these activities may also

affect the teams eligibility for awards and/or participation in the tournament.

Judging and Awards A PDF with the scoring rubrics (rules for us non-techies) is at

http://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Challenge/Combined%20Rubrics.pdf. A PDF describing the awards is at

http://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/SeniorSolutions/Awards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdf. (The words Official, Event, and Info areseparated by single underline characters.)

About Judging:

Teams must participate in all elements of an FLL competition including the RobotGame and all three judged areas in order to be eligible for any FLL Core Award. Judges use the rubrics to help them determine which teams will receive awards. With the exception of the Robot Performance award, FLL awards are determined

by a deliberation process, which is formulated around discussions of teamperformance in each category.

If a team does not exhibit Core Values at a tournament, they will be disqualifiedfrom winning any awards including Robot Performance, no matter how wellthey scored.

Adults are strictly prohibited from directing team members or interfering with thejudging process or robot rounds in any way.

No team is allowed to win two awards, unless one of the awards is for RobotPerformance. Robot Performance is the only category based solely on score. While they may attend other events for fun, teams are only eligible to win awards

at the first official event of each qualifying level attended during the season. Parents and coaches may help the students carry materials into the judging

sessions, but setup is to be performed only by the students. Judges should annotate their scoring sheets at the conclusion of each session;

waiting until later will invariably result in errors. During the judging sessions, it is up to a team as to whether parents are allowed

in the room to watch. If they are allowed, judges should caution the parentsabout not speaking, not coaching, and about turning their cell phones off.

NOTE that a team member may speak from a script, or may prompt anotherteam member about speaking or an action, without any penalty, provided they doit in a reasonable and polite manner. Remember that these are kids underpressure.

After each judging session, fill out your scoring sheets and then enter the data into thecomputer. After your last judging session, deliver the scoring sheets to the chief judge(me) as backup for your data entry. We will be using software to perform overall scoring
http://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Challenge/Combined%20Rubrics.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/SeniorSolutions/Awards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/SeniorSolutions/Awards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/SeniorSolutions/Awards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/SeniorSolutions/Awards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdfhttp://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Challenge/Combined%20Rubrics.pdf


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and ranking; however, we may need your personal comments to help resolve close ties.Please remain in the judges room until we have finished the scoring.

Again, thanks for helping,

Larry Schwartz, Lead [email protected]

Here's some parking info. The easiest thing is to park in the yellow parking garage(below). When you exit the parking garage, turn left and go around the right side ofBuilding II and go in the first entrance. You can't miss us (8 million shouting teenagers).Watch your speed on campus!
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Heres a map of the building.

FLL Challenge Judging

Documents

Transcript of FLL Challenge Judging