Preparing for a Qualifying Tournament

This is general information about preparing for and attending a qualifying tournament.
In early to mid November your qualifying tournament director will post or email or snail mail a packet of information to each coach. It will contain detailed information about your specific event.

In the boxes on this chart is information that applies to every tournament and references when you should consult the letter from the Qualifying Tournament Director (QTD) for specific information. IT IS IMPORTANT TO READ THE LETTER FROM YOUR Qualifying Tournament Director when it arrives for the specifics.

INTRODUCTION

Overview of Tournament Day

consult letter from QTD for scheduled time for each event

THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. CHECK TOURNAMENT PROGRAM AND LISTEN FOR UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

Team Check in

consult letter from QTD for scheduled time

Teams arrive at event for check-in. Team check-in location is noted in the letter from your QTD. All teams are expected to check-in at this time. You will be asked to review the Team Profile and to turn in the FIRST Consent forms - . You must turn in a signed FIRST Consent from for each child and each adult coach or mentor with the team.
For teams of 6 or less there must be two adults accompanying the team. For teams of 7 – 10 there must be three adults accompanying your team for supervision.
Coach checks in and picks up team check-in folder. All team members put on Participant ID tags, with team # and team "engineer's" name. There can be no more than 10 students on one team.
You'll be given a maximum of 10 Team "Engineer" badges. Team proceeds to Pit room. The number of Coach/Mentor Nametags provided will be included in your letter from your QTD.

FIRST Consent Form in English

FIRST Consent Form in Spanish

Coaches' Meeting

consult letter from QTD for scheduled time

Opening Ceremonies

consult letter from QTD for scheduled time

Competition begins!

consult letter from QTD for scheduled time

Competition ends

consult letter from QTD for scheduled time

Pre-Awards Activities and Awards Ceremony

consult letter from QTD for scheduled time

After Competition is complete, teams go to a specified location for Pre-Awards Activities and the Awards Ceremony. Additional details will be announced on the day of the tournament.

Team goes back to Pit room to retrieve any remaining belongings and leave site.

Competition Activities

ROBOT PERFORMANCE COMPETITION

Location will be specified in the letter from the QTD

The Robot Game: Missions, Rules, Field Set-up
The Competition Tables:
The Performance Competition is the centerpiece of the tournament competitions. For our tournament, there will be one pair of Competition tables. The pair of tables has two 4- by 8-ft. single competition tables positioned next to each other so that the rat slides span the two walls according to the official set-up rules.

Lighting
In accordance with new FLL guidelines for Championship and Qualifying Tournaments, the lights over the competition tables have been eliminated. Be prepared for lighting conditions in the event area that may be different than your meeting space. Because of the auditorium lighting at Intel Jones Farm, lights will be used over the competition tables.

The Competition Area
Your team will then wait in the Bullpen for its turn at the table, along with the other team scheduled for that round. Pit Crew volunteers will assist you in getting into position. The team's robot will be inspected by the referee for allowable parts under the FLL rules. Bring a copy of your Team Introduction Page. Show it to the referee and emcee so your team can be announced. Make sure to retrieve it so you'll have it for the other rounds. Your team will have three scheduled opportunities to run its robot through the Challenge missions. Each time, your robot will have a total of 2 minutes and 30 seconds to complete as many missions as possible.

Tournament Play
Two teams play simultaneously at a table pair. Your team will have 5-minutes at the table each time they are up. Your 5-minute time slot will consist of 1 minute to prepare for the match, 2-1/2 minutes for your robot to attempt the Challenge missions, and 1-1/2 minutes to tally results, clean up and move out to make room for the next team.

Only two team members (robot operators) can stay at the Competition table while the robot is attempting missions. All other team members must stay "on the bench" or "behind the line" prepared to assist in case of an emergency. Team members may cycle through as operators during a match, as long as there are only two at the table at a time. In the performance area teams can only bring items as described in the 4-EQUIPMENT section of the Robot Game - Rules on the national FLL website.

Scoring the Match
The referee will work with a designated team member, to record the results after your 2 minutes and 30 seconds mission round is complete. It is important that the designed member is ready to record these results on the score sheets provided to the team. The results will be provided to the scorekeeper for the actual score determination, which will be posted at the location specific by the QTD.

The highest score from your rounds during the day will be counted toward the Robot Performance Award; lower scores will be ignored. Teams must be in the top 50% ranking to be considered for the Champions Award or advancement to the state championship.

The Qualifying Tournament head referee and referee team at an ORTOP tournament is responsible for ensuring that:

• The competition/matches at a challenge table is refereed according to the rules of the challenge. This includes auditing of the robot and strategic objects brought to the match, ensuring that the challenge rules and mission rules are adhered to, and capturing the result of the match on a score sheet.
• The competition environment, including the table, the surrounding area, as well as the spectators are managed in a way that is not intrusive or disruptive to the teams at the table.
• The competition match is executed only by the team members in a manner consistent with FLL and ORTOP objectives. The head referee and match referee will direct that actions/behaviors inconsistent with FLL objectives be stopped. •
• Note to coaches that "you" in the FLL Robot Game rules is defined as kids (the team members).
• The above guideline allows/requires the referee or head referee to stop behavior by spectators, coaches, mentors, and others that is judged to be inconsistent with FLL and ORTOP objectives. This would include match related direction to team members from coaches, mentors and non-team members and disruption from non-team members such as spectators or photographers.

PROJECT JUDGING

Location will be specified in the letter from the QTD

The Project Judging panel will be made up of 3 judges. This panel will hear the team's presentation on the Food Factor Project. Judges will also ask questions about the project. Teams will have no more than 5 minutes to make their presentation followed by up to 5 minutes of answering questions posed by the judging panel.

Your Food Factor Project presentation to the judges can be simple or elaborate, serious or designed to make people laugh while they learn—but to be eligible for project awards at tournaments, it must:

• Describe the problem, and your team's innovative solution and how your team shared their work on the project with others.
• To be eligible for Project or Champion's Awards, presentations must include the elements described under Present Your Solution at a Tournament section of the FLL Project Challenge document. • Show that your team did the research and tell about your information sources
• Be shared with someone outside of your team

Note: Presenting your project at the tournament is not considered sharing it with someone outside of your team.

Note: The total length of your project presentation at a tournament qualifier should be no more than five minutes, including any setup time. The kids must do their own set-up, operation and take down; adults are not allowed to help.

Teams should bring their project materials to this session but do not need to bring their robot. Tournament venues vary, teams cannot count on whiteboards, or blackboards being available. While we do not encourage the use of projection equipment, a power outlet will be available in the judging room. Teams that wish to plug something in should bring an extension cord that is at least 20 feet long. Please keep in mind that any time used by the team for setting up its presentation will count as part of their 5-minute presentation. Presentations that are solely "Press and Play" are not allowed this year under the rules. Presentations must include live presenters.

Teams will need to be ready to leave at the end of the session, as the next team will be coming in. Project judging rubrics

Bring one copy of your Team Introduction Page to leave with the judge panel.

ROBOT DESIGN JUDGING

Location will be specified in the letter from the QTD

The Robot Design Judging panel will be made up of 3 judges. This panel will ask the team questions for a maximum of 10 minutes.

They will ask the team to demonstrate its robot on a table, about the programming, and strategies taken for the design and programming of the robot.

For this panel please bring the following items:

• teams' robot
• printed copy of team's software programs (Both the Robolab® and Mindstorms® software packages allow you to print a copy of the programs.)
• one copy of your Team Introduction Page

A maximum of two adults (coaches or mentors) from the team can accompany the team into this judging panel as observers.

Robot Design judging rubrics

CORE VALUES JUDGING

Location will be specified in the letter from the QTD

The core values judging panel is comprised of 3 judges. During this session there will be a 5-minute team activity followed by 5-minute conversation with your team about their FLL experience.

The extra time and depth should allow better judge comprehension of the roles and responsibilities of each team member and how the team has incorporated FLL Core Values and gracious professionalism.

There is nothing your team should do to prepare or bring other than one copy of your Team Introduction Page to leave with the judge panel. One coach or mentor may accompany the team into the teamwork interview.

Parents will not be allowed to observe the Core Values judging. Core Values judging rubrics

Challenge practice tables will be set up at a location specified in the QTD letter.

Your Qualifying Tournament Director will state the established procedure for using the Practice tables. It varies from venue to venue. Most venues use a signup for a time slot system or on a first-come, first-served basis. Pit Table Volunteers monitor and control use of the tables. There is a specifiedtime limit per turn. If you are not present when it is your turn, you may forfeit your opportunity to use the table. The Pit administration table will be a resource for information about Competition scheduling.

Teams are prohibited from bringing their own Food Factor mats and mission models to the tournaments. Teams must use the practice tables.

Sack Lunches – You are encouraged to bring lunch from home in order to provide your team with the most flexibility in fitting its lunch time into its schedule with the various events.

Some venues have great concessions or cafeterias available. CONSULT the letter from your QTD for your venue's offerings.

Team members, coaches, and mentors will be issued ID tags when the team checks in at the tournament.

Most tournaments restrict access to the pit area and other areas of the venue. The robot competition area is always open to the public. (see Intel Jones Farm for specific restrictions)

Only those with name badges will be granted access to certain restricted areas during the tournament. The Letter from your QTD will specify what to expect with regards to restricted areas at our tournament.

If you have more than one team at this tournament, it's important that you bring an adequate number of adults with you to supervise your teams. The Coach cannot count himself/herself as a supervising adult for more than one team.

One coach can coach more than one team but each team must have the required number of dedicate supervising adults. We will try to place your teams' Pit tables in close proximity to one another but there are no guarantees. Remember too that your teams will be competing at different times in different places. You should designate someone as coach for each team and you should act as an overseer for all of your teams.

FIRST Consent and Release form signed by parent or guardian of child . One is also required for each adult coach/mentor/chaperone.

FIRST Consent and Release form in Spanish to be signed by parent or guardian of the child. One is required for each adult coach/mentor/chaperone.

The safety of the team members and our volunteers is the most important consideration. The FIRST LEGO League Operational Partners for Oregon use that consideration to guide all decisions when deciding to cancel or delay an event.

Oregon's FLL Operational Partners will cancel or delay an event using information from the US Weather Bureau to help us forecast if it would be safe for a majority of the teams/volunteers to travel to and from the event. If the site host closes their facility because of weather, health and emergency related reasons, the event will be canceled.

Coaches and parents must always assess their own travel route for safety and make their own decision to travel. Keep it in perspective. The safety of the kids is the most important consideration. Official information site for tournament cancellations or delays .

In addition, ORTOP and QT Directors will email to both the primary and emergency contact email addresses with notification or updates.

The third method of contact is by phone using the emergency phone number provided by the coach.

If any of this information has changed since October, please update your Qualifying Tournament Director.

Please note: If an event is canceled it is impossible to reschedule it. Site hosts have booked their facilities months in advance. There is no time to reschedule prior to the Championship. State Championship slots left open by an event cancelation will be assigned by lottery from teams affected by the cancelation. Revised 10/01/11