Hi Ann and others interested in having their child participate in FLL,

Below is what we typically send to folks that contact us directly.. We
did have a few teams in/around Cupertino last year - asking for coaches
to contact you via a post on the yahoogroup is the right forum.


===


In general, the vast majority of FLL teams get started because a parent
wants this program available for their child. We have information
about starting a FIRST LEGO League team on the Northern California
website at www.ncafll.org There is alot of information available
online including links to good resources off of the Resources page on
our site and information about the program at www.usfirst.org and
www.firstlegoleague.org

Because of how most teams form, it leads to little sustainability year
to year, even within one community. It would be great if you could help
center FLL within a school or club or a neighborhood community group so
that the effort can be divided among many interested people in your
local area. If you do want to setup a local meeting of interested
folks to help bring FLL to your school / community, Playing At Learning
could be available to help answer questions.


*How to get started*:

* Teams form in as many ways as you can imagine. Teams do not have
to be affiliated with an organization or school but can be and
many do meet at their school. Similarly, an organization or
school can sponsor more than one team
* You need to register the team with FIRST. For the 2009 FLL
season, registration opens on May 4th
* You will not be asked who is on the team when you register with FIRST
* Order a LEGO Mindstorms robotics kit (as early as possible) to
start learning about programming and building a few basic 'bot designs
* Participate in Kickoff Event in September to learn about the game
* Rookie coach workshops are typically held in Aug/Sep



*Organizing A Team*

Anyone can form a team. It can be a school classroom, after-school
program, extracurricular group, home school, a group of friends,
neighborhood kids, a club, or civic organization. A team consists of
three to 10 kids between the ages of 9 and 14, and at least one adult coach.

* A child can only be a team member on only one team. A child is not
allowed to be a member on multiple teams.
* To be part of FLL, a child must be 14 or younger on January 1st to
compete for that season. This means that for the 2009 season, a
child's birthday has to be after January 1, 1994.
*
A coach can be the coach for multiple teams. For example, a
teacher could be the coach for multiple teams in their classroom.
*
For a number of reasons, it is difficult for us to match an
individual with a team. Typically, we encourage interested
individuals to form their own team or start a local club to help
with matching interested individuals onto teams.
* Typically, teams have 4 to 6 members but up to 10 members per team
is allowed
* Every team must have at least one adult coach - additional
coaches and mentors are fine



*How FLL Works*:

* The yearly challenge has 2 parts related to an annual theme:
Project and Game
* Teams use the LEGO Mindstorms robotics kit to design/build an
autonomous robot to compete in a /FIRST/-designed game
* The project puts the annual theme (Smart Transportation for 2009
season) into a real-world context and typically has 3 components.
Look at a problem; Propose a solution ; Share results
* The yearly challenge (game and project) details are published at
Kickoff which is September 3rd for the 2009 season
* FLL is about the kids efforts and kids work in a team. It is good
for rookie teams to start before challenge kickoff to start
learning and understanding how to work together as a team and also
to learn about the equipment.
* Tournaments are like sporting events with judges and awards and
are typically all day, high energy events and start in November





Regards, Jill



Playing At Learning, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Northern California partner for FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge
educational enrichment through play (510) 656-8664

---




> ..
> I'd like to inquire about FLL for my 9-year old son. He
> loves playing with legos and anything mechanical. Could
> someone tell me how I can get in touch with a local FLL? We
> live in Cupertino, CA.
>



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