Maryland FIRST LEGO League Championship Info 2010-2011: FAQs

UPDATED 11/8/2010

Is registration limited to submitting your three site choices?
Yes, just fill out the form on the website before 5pm on Monday, November 15, 2010.

Where do I send payments?
Payments of $65 to register for a Maryland FLL Qualifier should be made out to "The University of Maryland Foundation" and sent to:

UMBC
Mechanical Engineering Department E210
Attn: Karen Roulette
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21250

Please write your team number in the memo field like this "FLL Team #".

When will we know which qualifier we are assigned to?
We aim to notify all teams by Monday, November 22.

Will qualifiers fill on a first-come, first-served basis?
No. We will assign teams to Qualifiers based on your preferences listed on the registration form, geographic proximity, special needs, and balancing of verteran and rookie teams. 

Can our team enter more than one Qualifier?
Don't expect to.  We anticipate filling each Qualifier.  If space opens and some teams compete twice, only the first Qualifier counts for advancement to the Maryland FLL Championship.

Will the Championship be no additional charge?
Correct, there will be no charge for the Maryland FLL Championship. The team will pay a one time fee of $65 when participating at the Qualifying tournament.

Will we get medals at the state tournament? How about trophies?
We will be providing the Local Tournament Participation Medals to each Qualifier.
We will not be providing trophies. That will be up to each Qualifier host to provide (not required).

If the Qualifier site gives out certificates, will UMBC provide the certificate templates?
Yes, we can provide the certificate templates. Certificates may be the way to go, a lot less expensive.

Can Qualifier sites borrow the Body Forward Challenge set without borrowing the tables?
Yes, you can borrow the challenge sets without borrowing tables.

Will it come pre-assembled or will I need to budget time for my volunteers to put it together?
We cannot guarantee the Challenge Sets will come assembled at this point. They most likely will be since we will be lending them out to all sites.

How many qualifiers are there?
Currently, we have 10 sites in Maryland.

Will each student get a medal at the qualifier rounds?
Yes. They will receive medals.

Do they get certificates?
That would be up to the qualifier site.

How do you plan to transport the tables to our site?
It is responsibility of the school hosting the event to make arrangements for pick up tables from UMBC. These must be returned at least a week before the State Tournament.

What is the minimum number of teams at a Qualifier?
The minimum number of teams you at a Maryland FLL Qualifier is 12.

How many Qualifying events will happen simultaneously?
Since we are providing tables and setups for the robot competition, we cannot have more than 3 qualifiers on each date.

Can my child be matched with an existing team?
Teams are structured in a variety of different ways; some are clubs or after-school programs that meet year-round, while others are formed by parents, community organizations, or youth groups. For this and other reasons, we do not match individual children with pre-existing teams. Also, for privacy reasons, we are not able to share lists of team contact information.
We encourage parents and teachers to start teams in their areas and then invite other interested students to join, and we provide lots of information to help you with this process. You may want to contact your local schools or civic groups to see if they are interesting in starting one.

Who can be a judge and how are they selected for qualifiers and the state tournament?

We will do our best to provide you trained, veteran judges for your event. If you have judge candidates (We are defining a judge candidate as someone qualified and available to judge at the Championship at UMBC in February.) We would be very happy to include them in our judging teams at your qualifier for site and prep for the Championship in February. If they want to volunteer and can’t make the Championship in February, they would be a big help as a timer or recorder in one of the judging rooms.  Please use the contact form to submit your interest in being a judge.

Judge qualifications have some flexibility, but here is what we strive for:

• Tech Judges -- usually degreed individuals in the engineering field
• Research Judges -- scientists, engineers, librarians, or others in the research community
• Teamwork Judges – military, police, sports coaches, teachers, etc.
• Student Alum Judges -- To augment the judges we have had exceptional success with kids that are FLL grads, i.e., aged out of the competition. These young adults have a wealth of experience and knowledge. It both strokes their self confidence and enhances the quality of the judging teams if you can recruit them.

To whom do I submit the research abstract?
The research abstract is due at the state tournament, therefore you are only required to submit it if you qualify for state competition. You do need to work on the research part.