Central Texas FIRST® LEGO® League

Qualifier Host OrientationDecember 1, 2012December 8, 2012

Introductions

Jessica GalfasCentral Texas FLL Operational PartnerSTEM Programs Coordinatorjgalfas@skillpointalliance.org 512-323-6773 x115

Lonny SternDirector, STEM Council lstern@skillpointalliance.org 512-323-6773 x103

Esther JohnsonVolunteer Coordinatorcentraltxfirst@gmail.com

Without your hosting support, CTFLL wouldn’t be able to serve over 1,600 from more than 15

school districts students each season.

THANK YOU!!!

Agenda

• What is Skillpoint Alliance and the STEM Council?• What is US FIRST® & FIRST® LEGO® League?

• Program Elements• Region Served – Central Texas

• How to Host an FLL Qualifier 2012• Space• Culture• Schedules• Volunteers

• Questions

What is Skillpoint Alliance?

• Workforce development non-profit founded in 1994• Build partnerships with industry, education, and the community• We focus on college and career success, delivering programs in:

– Construction– Green Tech– Computer Training– Digital Media– Science, Technology, Engineering & Math– Allied Health

Mission:Build partnerships that lead to college and career success for Central Texans

while meeting employers' workforce needs

What is the STEM Council?

We focus on: • Project-based STEM Education in Central Texas (K-16)• Connecting classroom learning to industry applications• Sharing best practices from industry & education

A consortium of high tech industry executives and education leaders engaged in addressing workforce and education issues.

Career Exposure Engineering Visits Robotics

Applied Internships Solar Design Game Design

Programs

FIRST® and FLL

What is FIRST®?

• Vision: “to create a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.” -- Dean Kamen

• Mission: To inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills that inspire innovation and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership

• For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology

FIRST® Programs

Grade Level

FIRST ® Robotics Competition

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

FIRST ® LEGO® League FIRST ® Tech ChallengeJunior FIRST ® LEGO® League

FIRST® LEGO® League

• Global program empowering 9 – 14 year olds to design, build, and program robots using LEGO® MINDSTORMS®

• 1,600 students in Central Texas research real-world problems, work with industry mentors, and present their findings and designs

FLL Program Elements

Annual Challenge- SENIOR SOLUTIONS™ 1.Robot2.Research Project & Presentation3.Core Values™•Each of these three elements is 33% of a team’s “score” at a tournament. •Judges subjectively evaluate three coinciding categories- technical, research, and Core Values™.•Referees objectively gather teams’ robot game scores.

The Tournaments

Overview:• Each team is invited to ONE (1) qualifier• The top 60 most well-rounded teams will advance to

the Invitational Tournament • These events are a celebration of

what the teams have accomplished!

Tournament Activities include: 1. Three Head-to-Head Robot Matches2. Judging Sessions

– Research Project– Robot Design and Programming– Core Values

What to Expect

• A lot of people – 12-30 teams up to 300 kids, coached by 60 adults– 50-300 spectators Where will they sit?

• Robotic matches (You WANT a crowd!)• Judged rounds (closed to the public & parents)• Goal of Site Host:– Keep the day running smoothly and on time– Have fun!

Region Served by Central Texas

Metro Areas Served• Austin• Bryan-College Station• Fredericksburg• Killeen• San Angelo• Waco

How to Host a Qualifier

• Space• Culture• Schedules• Volunteers• Don’t Forget

SPACE

Space Requirements

• Make sure you have reserved– Tournament Floor – Pit– Hospitality Room– 9 Judging Rooms

• It’s best if you have access to all of these areas on Friday night

Tournament Floor• Keep spectators on the

floor to cheer for teams• Emcee should be

announcing game play• The emcee needs to be

familiar with the SENIOR SOLUTIONS robot game to be successful in this role

• Music should be playing (not quietly!)

The Pit

• The Pit should hold community FLL tables on saw horses for teams to practice on

• Teams will be told to bring their own challenge kits to setup on the tables

• Parents ARE NOT ALLOWED in The Pit, unless you choose to have your Pit area in the same place as the Tournament Floor– This encourages parents to stay on the tournament

floor where the excitement is and gives all teams more of a cheering audience

Lunch• Where will teams eat lunch?• Where will your concessions be?• Do you have a lunch pre-order

form?• If your Pit area is separate from

your tournament floor and therefore doesn’t allow parents, consider allowing parents to enter during lunch, and recruiting adult volunteers to usher them back onto the tournament floor after the break

Hospitality Room

• Have coffee ready BY 7:00 AM

• Caffeinated volunteers are happy volunteers!

• Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are recommended

Judging Rooms

• Can be scary for students• Minimize distractions• May be their first ever

presentation!

CULTURE

FLL Tournament Culture

• MUSIC!• Have your emcee encourage cheering from

the audience• Crazy hats, silly swag, spirit wear, cheers and

fun traditions are essential.• Every event participant should exhibit FLL

Core Values™, including team members, coaches, audience members, event hosts, and volunteers.

• FLL Core Values™– What we discover is more important than

what we win.

FLL Philosophy

• Everyone is a winner• FLL designed to be a celebration

of achievement• Judges learn from participants• Students leave wanting more• It's not about building robots; it's

about robots building people • What you discover is more

important than what you win

Ceremonies

• CTFLL will provide Opening and Closing Ceremony scripts. Judges will use these scripts to fill in winners for each award.

• Opening Ceremony– Should feel like a pep rally with cheering and excitement!

• Closing/Award Ceremony– Celebratory and congratulatory for every team– Plaques and Advancement Invitations will be provided

AwardsEach Qualifier will be given 12 plaques and a varying number of advancement invitations.

1. Champion’s Awards (2 teams)2. Robot Performance (1 team)3. Research Project (1 team for each category award)

1. Research2. Innovative Solution3. Presentation

4. Robot Design and Programming1. Mechanical Design2. Programming3. Strategy & Innovation

5. Core Values1. Teamwork2. Gracious Professionalism™3. Inspiration

SCHEDULES

Two Schedules• General Schedule for spectators and

volunteers. • Robot Match/Judging Schedule for teams at

check-in– CTFLL will provide your robot match schedule one

week in advance.

• YOU PRINT BOTH for tournament day– Give teams the Robot Match Schedule at check-in– Have the General Schedule at your info booth

General ScheduleIndividual Tournament Experience may vary

7:00 a.m. Volunteer Check-In7:30 a.m. Team Check-In7:45 a.m. Judges Meeting8:15 a.m. Coaches’ Meeting9:15 a.m. Opening Ceremonies on Tournament Floor10:00 a.m. Matches and Judging begin12:00 p.m. Lunch1:00 p.m. Matches Resume on Tournament Floor3:00 p.m. Matches End3:30 p.m. Closing Ceremony on Tournament Floor

VOLUNTEERS

Volunteer Recruitmentwww.centraltxfirst.org/volunteer

• CTFLL will provide your Head Judge and Head Ref

• CTFLL will support volunteer recruitment for every role at your event IF:– You maintain an updated

collaborative volunteer schedule

– You provide email addresses for your volunteers, especially judges and referees

• Volunteer Training is REQUIRED– (11/17) Referees must attend in-person training– (11/28) ALL volunteers must attend online

webinar –Volunteer role descriptions and training

information can be found online

Volunteer Trainingwww.centraltxfirst.org/volunteer

1 Shift Position First Last Phone Email Organization0 6:30 AM - 9:00 AM LEAD Check- In0 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM Team Check-In0 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM Team Check-In0 6:30 AM - 8:30 AM Volunteer Check- In0 6:30 AM - 8:30 AM Volunteer Check-In0 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Information0 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM Information1 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM HEAD Judge Ben Black ben.black@ni.com National Instruments0 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Project Judge - Room 10 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Project Judge - Room 10 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Project Judge - Room 2 0 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Project Judge - Room 20 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Project Judge - Room 30 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Project Judge - Room 30 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Core Values Judge - Room 10 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Core Values Judge - Room 10 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Core Values Judge - Room 20 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Core Values Judge - Room 20 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Core Values Judge - Room 3 0 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Core Values Judge - Room 3 0 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Technical Judge - Room 10 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Technical Judge - Room 10 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Technical Judge - Room 20 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Technical Judge - Room 20 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Technical Judge - Room 30 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Technical Judge - Room 30 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM Judge - Alternate

0 7:00 - 10:30 AM Time Keeper - Project Room 10 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Time Keeper - Project Room 20 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM Time Keeper - Project Room 30 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM Time Keeper - Technical Room 10 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM Time Keeper - Technical Room 20 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM Time Keeper - Technical Room 3

Volunteer Spreadsheet

DON’T FORGET

Directional Signage

• Print and hang way finding signs on Friday during setup (perfect student role!)

• Judging Rooms• Concessions• Tournament Floor• The Pit• Bathrooms• First Aid

• Volunteer Hospitality• Team Check-In• Volunteer Check-In• Charging Station• Arrows• Team Queuing

Check -In

• Volunteer Check-In– Volunteers need to

submit a Consent & Release Form for US FIRST®

– Use your shared Volunteer Schedule for check in

– Direct volunteers to Hospitality so your Head Volunteers can meet their helpers

• Team Check-in– Each student and coach

must submit a Consent & Release Form for US FIRST®

– Direct teams to The Pit, where they should stay for Queuers to find them

Things to remember• Volunteer Map – Due Friday– Where do volunteers park and

enter the school?

• Lunch options – Due Friday– Concessions, nearby

restaurants, or pre-order?

• Have fun!–Crazy hats encouraged

THANK YOU for supporting

Central Texas FLL!

Questions?