FLL FAQ

A: FLL = First Lego League. It is part of the www.firstinspires.org world wide program.

A: It dpeends on the team you're on. Typically teams meet from mid-August through the first week in December. Teams meet once/week (sometimes twice) for 1-2 hours. On top of that, you may need to spend up to an hour of prep time per week.

A: The competition scores teams in three areas: the robot, a research program, and core values such as teamwork and cooperation, so the robot is not the only aspect of the competition. There are 24 teams competing at Melrose Middle School from all over the area.

A: There is a Lego robotics set called Spike Prime that uses block-based programming language on a computer or website-based and can download to the Lego robot ‘brick’ via a cable or bluetooth.

A: The programming is easy to use since it’s block-based, but we also plan to have training sessions for coaches and have a high-school student to help as needed.

A: Teams can register as early as early August, and the competition date at Melrose Middle School is the first weekend in December. The earlier you register, the sooner you get your kits and can get started on the fun!

A: Teams can meet as frequently as you want, but one meeting per week of 1.5 to 2 hours is typically adequate, until the competition nears and then teams typically ramp up to twice per week.

A: This is up to each individual team. We suggest that you meet at a  team member's house.

A: We need at least one parent to help run each team (two recommended). 

• Robot coach – is responsible to help the students identify a mission strategy, define robot strategy for chassis and attachments, help the students organize to build, define code needs and test strategy.

• Project coach – is responsible to help the students to brainstorm on a major challenge to be solved, identify solutions, down-select to a solution, refine the idea, do research, and design a presentation format for judging.

• Backup coach (back fills is one parent isn’t available … it happens!!!) or help with team logistics 

A: Students need to be 9-14 years old and the team has to have between 2-10 students per team. We recommend teams between 4-6 students so that everyone can contribute at each meeting.

A: To register a team for the competition, it costs around $350 + T-Shirts, which includes all of the Lego field elements that your team gets to keep. A new robot kit costs around $350, but the high school team lends these kits to Melrose teams.  The Red Hawk Robotics program will fund:

• EV3 Robot Kits

• Playing Tables

• Registration to the Red Hawk Rumble District Qualifier

Teams will need to cover:

• T-Shirts

• Registration fees and field elements. This costs can be distributed based on team size