Central Texas FIRST® LEGO® League Volunteer Orientation

Invitational TournamentConnally High Schol

March 8, 2014

Get Involved with FIRST® LEGO® League

Mercadi CrawfordRobotics Coordinator

Skillpoint Alliancemcrawford@skillpointalliance.org

(512) 814-3261

Esther JohnsonFIRST® Volunteer Coordinator

Skillpoint Alliancecentraltxfirst@gmail.com

(512) 814-3275

What is the STEM Council at Skillpoint Alliance?

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

STEM 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®

• 1,500 students research real-world problems, work with industry mentors, and present their findings and designs

Region Served by Central Texas

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

Team Growth in Central Texas

Demonstrated Growth• 1,330% growth over 8 years• 26% average annual growth

2011-12 Season Snapshot• 102 schools & organizations • 1,649 students • 254 teachers• 492 adult volunteers

2004 2006 2008 2010 20120

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

12

31

94

159 163

Central Texas FLL Team Growth

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

FLL Program Elements

Annual Challenge- NATURE’S FURY™ 1. Robot – Score in Matches + Design & Programming2. 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- Robot

Design and Programming, Research Project, and Core Values™.• Referees objectively gather teams’ robot game scores.

Tournament Season

National Registration with FIRST® | SeptemberLocal Qualifier Registration | NovemberSeason Qualifiers | DecemberInvitational Tournament| March 8, 2014

• Connally HS• Jr.FLL, Business Expo, FTC Demo

The Tournaments

Overview:• Each team is invited to ONE (1) qualifier• These events are a celebration of what your team has 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 – 60 teams up to 450 kids, coached by 120 adults– 300-1,000 spectators including parents, teachers,

event sponsors and VIPs• Robotic matches (open to the public)• Judged rounds (closed to the public)• Goals of all volunteers:– Keep the day running smoothly and on time– Have fun!

Schedule

7:00 AM Volunteer Check-In7:30 AM Team Check-In8:00 AM Coaches’ Meeting on Tournament Floor8:00 AM Teams Assemble in the Gym8:30 AM Opening Ceremonies on Tournament Floor9:30 AM Matches and Judging begin10:00 AM Business Expo Begins11:00 AM Junior FLL Team Check-in | Set-up12:00 PM Junior FLL Opening Ceremonies12:00 PM Lunch (Callback Deliberations Begin)

Schedule

12:30 PM Junior FLL Project Reviewing Begins1:10 PM Junior FLL Closing Ceremonies1:45 PM Matches Resume on Tournament Floor2:00 PM Callbacks Begin4:00 PM Callbacks End and Judge Deliberations Begin4:00 PM Business Expo Ends5:00 PM Robot Matches End5:30 PM Closing Ceremonies on Tournament Floor

Connally HS School Map

Team Check-in Duties

• Point of contact: • Greet incoming teams• Collect paperwork – Consent Forms (2)

• Distribute maps, schedules, name badges• Remind teams-only two adults enter the pit

Pit Roles/Duties

• Point of contact: • Pit is where teams spend most of the dayPit Assistant• Escort teams from pit to queue areas

(Competition Floor and Judging Rooms) for rounds

• Assist with crowd control– Two adults per team– Monitor practice tables

Tournament Floor Roles/Duties

Point of contact: Juan Ortiz, Head RefereeEmcee- Ben Holquist• Announce the robot game and engage the crowdScorekeepers• Stationed on Tournament Floor• Receive scores from referees and enter them in

computerized spreadsheet for display• 9:30AM-12:15PM & 1:30PM-4:30PM

Tournament Floor Roles/Duties, cont.

Field ResettersPoint of Contact –Assist referees by resetting tournament fields between robot matches• 9:30AM-12:15PM & 1:30PM-4:30PMTraffic Control Point of Contact –Crowd control for stands

– NO flash photography– No crowding competition tables

• Oversee entrance and exit of teams from the floor• 9:30AM-12:15PM & 1:30PM-4:30PM

Judging Rooms Roles/Duties

Team Queuers/ Timekeepers• Escort teams to and from one of seven (7) judging rooms in each

category• Keep time

– 10-minute presentation: 1- and 2-minute warnings– 7-minute deliberation

• 9:30AM-12:30PMLEAD Team Queuer- Work with Pit Assistants and Team Queuers to direct traffic; keep teams in marked waiting areas• 9:30AM-12:30PM or 4:30PM

Information Roles / Duties

Point of Contact – Information Booth Volunteer• Provide information to spectators; pass out

event program, day schedules• Direct wayward teams and volunteers• Sell t-shirts and pass out drawing tickets• 7:00AM-12:00PM & 12:00PM-4:30PM

Other Roles / Duties• Judge– Additional training follows

• Traffic Control• Floater– General errand-running help

• Set-Up– 4:00 PM arrival time FRIDAY, March 7th

• Breakdown– 4:00 PM arrival time Saturday– May move supplies to storage in NW Austin

Things to remember

• For most volunteers, arrive 7:00 AM sharp on Tournament Day

• Have fun!–Crazy hats encouraged

THANK YOU for volunteering with

Central Texas FLL!