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 of reading to realize it is about seniors (we gray headed guys & gals) and not kids about to graduate from high school. The awards are described in http://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Official_Event_Info/SeniorSoluti ons/Awards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdf. Each team should prepare a FLL 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 reflect these 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 are determined by the referees, not judges. Judges rate the teams human performance 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 starting at 8:00 and will probably have a short half-life. Our tentative schedule is: FLL Qualification Tournament Universities at Shady Grove Sunday, January 13, 2012

8:00 - 8:30 8:00 - 9:00 9:00 - 9:20 9:20 - 12:00 12:00 - 12:30 12:30 - 12:55 12:55 - 3:30 3:30 - 4:00 4:00 - 4:30

Teams check-in / registration Teams set up and working in pits Opening / Welcome / Administrative Instructions (teams and volunteers) Judging (us) and practice rounds for robots on competition tables (referees) Lunch, public entrance Opening for public, keynote Robot competition on competition tables (referees) Judge/referee deliberation Closing / Awards

So, heres some extracted material for you: http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judgingfaq Q: How is the Champions Award determined? Are certain weights used? A: FLLs Champions Award recognizes a team that embodies the FLL experience, by fully embracing our Core Values while achieving excellence and innovation in both the Robot 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) are weighted equally to determine the initial group of Champions candidates. All candidates must also meet the following requirements:

Robot: The team must score in the top 40% of all teams participating in the Robot Game at the event. Project: The team must complete all parts of the Project, including the identification of a real world problem related to the Challenge theme, creation of an innovative solution and sharing their research and solution with others, as well as any other season-specific requirements that may exist. Core Values: The team must adhere to all Core Values throughout the event and the season.

All candidate teams are then reviewed during a deliberative process that considers Robot Performance placement and other qualitative factors. Final determination of the award 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 Project presentation? A: Some judges may warn the team that they have gone over five minutes, while others will allow the team to finish. We have a very tight schedule, so judges may end the presentation at five minutes. If the judges allow a team to go over five minutes, that action may reduce the amount of time judges have to ask questions and could affect how the judges assess a team. Teams should have practiced timing their presentation

before the tournament to reduce the chance they will go over five minutes allowed for the 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 are able to set up and break down with no adult help. The coach should refrain from helping the team setup any presentation materials or props. There may be instances when a presentation prop or other item is too bulky or heavy for team members to carry. In this instance, you may allow the coach to assist the team, or the tournament may provide volunteers to move the heavy/bulky item. The optional students Core Values Poster and Robot Design Executive Summary are additional tools that may be used to help facilitate discussion in the Core Values and Robot 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/judging General 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 the teams 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 page at http://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 part of 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, Robot Design, and Project). All team members present at an event are expected to participate in all three judged sessions, in addition to showing up as a team for the Robot Game. FLL teams and those associated with the team must uphold and display FLL Core Values at all times, not just during Core Values judging sessions.

Only tournament officials (judges, referees, and other tournament workers) may direct team members while judging sessions and robot matches are in progress. Any other person instructing, prompting, heckling, or otherwise interfering with a team or tournament worker during judging sessions or robot matches may be asked 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/A wards%20Descriptions-%20FINAL.pdf. (The words Official, Event, and Info are separated by single underline characters.) About Judging: Teams must participate in all elements of an FLL competition including the Robot Game 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 team performance in each category. If a team does not exhibit Core Values at a tournament, they will be disqualified from winning any awards including Robot Performance, no matter how well they scored. Adults are strictly prohibited from directing team members or interfering with the judging process or robot rounds in any way. No team is allowed to win two awards, unless one of the awards is for Robot Performance. 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 parents about not speaking, not coaching, and about turning their cell phones off. NOTE that a team member may speak from a script, or may prompt another team member about speaking or an action, without any penalty, provided they do it in a reasonable and polite manner. Remember that these are kids under pressure. After each judging session, fill out your scoring sheets and then enter the data into the computer. 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

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 Judge [email protected] 301-471-2358 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 of Building II and go in the first entrance. You can't miss us (8 million shouting teenagers). Watch your speed on campus!

Heres a map of the building.