FIRST® LEGO League Challenge is a competition catering for upper-primary and lower-secondary school students. Every year, teams of up to 10 students build, program and compete with a robot, while also learning about a modern problem in science and engineering and developing solutions for it. The entire competition for the year is based around one of these themes: Past themes include natural disasters, senior citizens, food health & safety, climate change, medical science, and nanotechnology. Tournaments are run with the feel of a sporting event, and teams compete like crazy while having the time of their lives. What FIRST® LEGO League Challenge teams accomplish is nothing short of amazing. It’s fun. It’s exciting. And the skills they learn will last a lifetime.
Requirements and Cost
FIRST® LEGO® League is an incredibly rewarding program for young students, and teams can come from schools, social groups, community groups, homes, church groups, etc.
If you want to start a team, there are a few things you’ll need:
- A dedicated adult coach
- A LEGO Education Mindstorms EV3 or SPIKE Prime Robot Kit
- A FIRST LEGO League Challenge Kit (new themed game kit each year with registration)
- A place to meet to work on building robots, practicing games and working on the project.
*Please note that the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 and/or SPIKE Prime Robotics Kit is not a part of the yearly FIRST LEGO League game kit and must be purchased separately from an authorized retailer. You will receive your game kit(s) from FIRST Australia.
Registering a team for the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge (in Australia) incurs the following fees per season:
- AUD$475 for one team with one game kit + GST+ shipping
- AUD$575 for two teams sharing one game kit + GST + shipping
This registration cost includes a competition Challenge set for the team to practice with, and the right to compete at a regional qualifying tournament. If the team performs well, they may be invited to compete at a national level - for no extra registration cost. Please note that no more than two teams may share a game kit during season.
The game is released in August, and regional qualifying tournaments are mostly in November/December (exact dates vary by region). Teams who perform well in their region qualify to compete at the Australian national tournament in December, at which they may qualify further to compete at an international event, representing Australia.
Team registration for each season begins in June. For updates and registration, please regularly check the FIRST LEGO League page: Click Here