Ages: 9-16 years

Interested in a Google supported grant for new teams? Click here for more information.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - CLICK HERE!

2020 Season & Registration

  • Registration Portal - Click Here
    (Australian Teams Only)
  • Full Challenge Resource Library - Click
  • Challenge Launch:  1 August 2020
  • Registrations close 2 weeks prior to each event date.
  • If you are not already a member of the FIRST LEGO League Challenge Coaches & Mentors FIRST Australia email list, please click on the BIG ROBOT GRAPHIC below to submit your contact details.

CHALLENGE AUSTRALIA HELP DESK
Assistance provided by Team Project Bucephalus
CLICK HERE

JACK'S JUDGMENTS
A listing of official Challenge formal rulings made by the Australian Head Referee, Jack Aakhus that will apply to Australian teams.
CLICK HERE

 

2020 National Championships - Australia

  • National Championship – South in TBA on TBA 2020
    (SA, VIC & TAS Advancing Teams)
  • National Championship – West in Perth TBA 2020
    (WA Advancing Teams)
  • National Championship – East in Sydney on TBA 2020
    (NSW & NT Advancing Teams)
  • National Championship – North in TBA on TBA 2020
    (QLD Advancing Teams)

 

For Schools:  Challenge Australia Curriculum Guide (PDF)

For ALL FIRST Australia events, each participant including students and coaches must download, complete & submit on tournament day:

NSW ONLY - In addition to the FIRST Consent form, all NSW FIRST Events participants including students and coaches must download, complete & submit on tournament day:

**For teams located outside of NSW, please contact the regional tournament director to for any additional FORMS. **

In Australia, there are two LEGO® Education retailers for LEGO® Mindstorms EV3 Kits:

Fundraising!

For teams that anticipate advancing in the competition, please begin preparing in advance.  Part of participating in FIRST is innovation & entrepreneurship!  Begin brainstorming now and implement fundraising strategies prior to the season beginning and don't be caught off guard by travel costs.  If your team advances to the state level, it may require overnight accommodation - so be prepared!  If your team advances to the National Championship in Sydney, it will likely require travel (airfare) & accommodation for any team members, coaches or family travelling - so BE PREPARED!

Even if you think you're team doesn't have a chance of advancing - THINK AGAIN!  There have been MANY Australian teams who qualified to advance and were caught completely by surprise.  Have faith in your team and abilities - you never know, you might be headed to the national championship or better yet - the World Championship!  The better you financially prepare your team in advance - the less stress at the last minute to find funding.

Even if you find that the team doesn't advance this time around, any money raised can stay in your team's "savings bucket" until next year - and that's less money to raise the next go round.

There are lots of ways to fund raise - including securing sponsors from your region.  Reach out to local business and companies, let them know what amazing STEM projects you are doing and let them know how they can support.  Don't be afraid to ask!

Another fantastic resource are the veteran teams in Australia (and internationally) and you can reach out to other Aussie teams via the HelpDesk (link near top of side bar) and ask other teams to share their strategies for fundraising.  This sharing of ideas and inspiration is at the core of COOPERTITION at FIRST!

 

Challenge release for RePLAY coming in 1 August 2020.
Register Now!  Click Here

  • Each team may attend ONLY ONE qualifying regional tournament each season.  Teams who qualify at these events will be invited to advance to the next level(s) of competition nationally & internationally.
  • FIRST Steps - Also recommended for new coaches, these online modules will help you plan activities for your meetings:  Request access here.
  • There are no refunds for registration & game kits once the kit has shipped. This includes teams who are unable to attend a regional for which they've registered.  FIRST Australia will not be responsible for waiving/refunding registration fees to teams who miss their assigned regional for any reason.

Registering a team for FIRST® LEGO® League in Australia incurs the following fees (2020):

  •  AUD$475 for one team with one game kit + shipping + GST
  •  AUD$575 for two teams sharing one game kit + shipping + GST

In Australia, due to COVID-19, schools and organisations will be limited to maximum one Challenge kit and up to two teams maximum for the 2020 RePLAY Challenge season.

This registration cost includes a competition Challenge set for the team to practice with, and the right to compete at a regional qualifying tournament.  There are no further registration fees for teams to compete at the state and national level.  Teams will, however, incur further registration costs to compete outside of Australia for World Championships and other International Off-Season events.

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. Its fun. Its exciting. And the skills they learn will last a lifetime.

FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge is a multi-part competition judged on three important elements:

1. Robot

Teams design, build and program a LEGO® robot to complete a series of challenges. The robot has to operate on pre-programmed instructions, and complete as many tasks as possible in only 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The challenge changes every year, and is always based on the years central theme. The 2013 game, Natures Fury, was based on natural disasters and robots had to clear branches of power lines, raise flood warning signs, and more. Teams compete on adjacent tables to score as many points as possible, and a number of awards are given for robot performance, programming innovation and clever design.

2. Project

Every year, teams study the years theme and develop solutions to problems theyve identified in society. Through the project, teams learn more about the competition theme and present their ideas to a panel of judges. Working on the project teaches students to research, think critically, work as a team and speak publicly. The project shows students they have the power to change the world, as teams can share successful ideas with their community, their school, their families, even all of Australia and the world. The international FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge Global Innovation Award provides teams with a way to share their solution with the entire global FIRST community.

3. Core Values

Throughout the competition, teams are judged on their adherence to the FIRST® Core Values, including teamwork, Coopertition®, and Gracious Professionalism®. This aspect of FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge is designed to develop the students of today into the responsible citizens of tomorrow. Good examples of Core Values are observed and recognised with awards and trophies. Through this celebration of good qualities, FIRST® seeks to make students into better competitors, citizens, problem-solvers and engineers.

Team Requirements

FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge 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 Spike Prime Kit (or the older Mindstorms EV3 Kit)
  • A FIRST LEGO League Challenge Game 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 Spike Prime and EV3 Mindstorms robotics kits are not a part of the yearly FIRST LEGO League Challenge registration and must be purchased separately from an authorized retailer.  You will receive your game kit(s) from FIRST Australia.   

 

Levels/Progression of Competition

  • Each year the new game is released in August, worldwide.
  • Regional qualifying tournaments are held in early November.
  • Teams who perform well in their regional competitions will qualify to compete in the Australian National Championships (North, South, East, West) in early December, at which they may qualify further to compete at an international event, such as the World Festival in the USA or other Open Championships, representing Australia.

 

FLL Australian Competition Levels:

  • Regional Qualifying Tournaments: Late October - early November
  • National Championships:  Early December
  • World Championships:  held in the US every April following the Nov/Dec FLL Season, Australian teams qualify at the national level for invitations
  • Open Championships - International:  off-season events, Australian teams qualify at the national level for invitations

"Practice" Challenge Kits

FIRST LEGO League Challenge kits from previous seasons are available (may pick up in person from Macquarie University or pay for TNT shipping) introduce teams to the program during Terms 1 & 2 in Australia. (The new season releases each year on 1 August).  These kits are useful between seasons for new teams who would like to learn the game and develop robot strategies before the new season is released.   If you would like to purchase a previous season's Challenge kit, please complete this online form:

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

The following Challenge & Explore kits are currently available:

  • 2017 Hydro Dynamics Challenge Kit $150 + Shipping + GST
  • 2018 Into Orbit Challenge Kit $200 + Shipping + GST
  • 2019 Boomtown Build Explore Kit $50 + Shipping + GST *ages 6-10
  • 2019 City Shaper Challenge Kit $200 + Shipping + GST

Challenge kits contains the competition table mat and all of the LEGO individually bagged and numbered to build the mission models.  Explore kits (ages 6-10) contains LEGO parts only, used in the building of the models.  Competition mats are not used in Explore.

CLICK HERE for to access building instructions for FIRST LEGO League Challenge.  You will need to search for the challenge year via that link.  For FIRST LEGO League Explore, click here for past challenge documents.

 

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