Need help getting started?  There are a number of opportunities to attend a FIRST Lego League Challenge “Jump-Start” Training this year!  It is a great way for rookie teams to get up to speed, but veteran teams are also welcome. Each Jump-Start is being individually hosted, so the particular agenda may vary, but they typically include breakout sessions where team members and coaches can learn about the robot, the challenge theme (for project prep) and core values. Attendance is free, but please register by the Wednesday prior to the Saturday event.  If the registration number exceeds the capacity of a facility, registration for that event will be closed. At least one adult (team’s coach, mentor, interested parent, etc.) will need to attend with each team (group of 10 students) and be with the students in any of the breakout sessions. No students may be dropped off unaccompanied.  

To make the most of this opportunity, it is recommended that you:

• Build your robot ahead of time. Instructions for a basic robot come with the Spike Prime set (or EV3 set, which is still allowed).
• Bring your team laptop with the software already loaded. Note that the software for Spike Prime is Scratch based and also works with the EV3. For the old EV3 edition, go to the “EV3 Lab Software”. You can download the free LEGO EDUCATION SPIKE Prime software HERE or the EV3 Lab Software (original EV3 edition) HERE.

2023 Locations and Dates

HAMMOND: Saturday, September 2nd, 8:45am – 1:30pm, (please register by Wednesday, August 30^th) Hammond High Magnet, 45168 River Road, Hammond, LA 70401. YOU MUST REGISTER DIRECTLY WITH FIRST ROBOTICS TEAM Torbotics #2080. INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION LINK. This event will cater to both rookie and veteran teams (coaches and team members) with breakout sessions on programming, robot design and team development geared to the needs of each group.  They are also putting together a panel of professionals in the areas of art to help spark potential project research ideas.

LAFAYETTE: Saturday, September 2nd, 9am-noon, (please register by Wednesday, August 30^th): Location: Acadiana Renaissance Charter Academy, 600 Savoy Rd, Youngsville, LA 70592. Topics: Building and Programming Strategies to maximize Points and assistance with creating Innovation Solution to a problem correlating to the 2023 Theme, all guided by the FIRST Core Values. Bring your robot!  REGISTER BELOW . Hosted by FIRST Robotics Competition Team Phenomena #3616.

NEW ORLEANS: Saturday, September 9^th, 8am-noon – doors open at 7:45am for check-in/registration (please register by Wednesday, September 6^th): Location: Ben Franklin High School,  2001 Leon C Simon Dr, New Orleans, LA 70122 (on UNO campus). There will be breakout sessions where teams can learn about basic programming and robot game strategy, and participate in hands-on energy and team building activities. Also included will be a special 2 ½ hr session for coaches with Mr. Louis Jackson, FIRST Senior Mentor for Louisiana and prior FIRST LEGO League Challenge coach of a Championship team. It will include an introduction to coaching FIRST LEGO League Challenge, basics of robot programming, explanation of MASTERPIECE season project theme, resources available, and season timeline. If you are bringing team members and plan to attend the coaching session, please make sure there is another adult that can be present with the students in the team sessions. Snacks and lunch will be available for sale. A schedule and detailed information will be emailed closer to the event date. Hosted by FIRST Robotics Competition Team #4087 – Ben Franklin High School. Attendance is free, but you must REGISTER BELOW. Registration will be closed if event fills to capacity.

BATON ROUGE:  Save the date – Saturday, September 16. Focus will be on the robot game, programming, and judging. Hosted by the Society of Peer Mentors and the LSU College of Engineering. YOU MUST REGISTER DIRECTLY WITH THE LSU SOCIETY OF PEER MENTORS. Registration link will be coming soon!

Questions regarding the Jump Starts may be addressed to Louisiana FIRST LEGO League Program Delivery Partners:
Dr. Annette Oertling  and  Dr. Michelle Sanchez
aoertling@firstpartners.org           msanchez@firstpartners.org

We hope you had a great 2023/24 season with your FIRST LEGO League Explore and Challenge, FIRST Tech Challenge, and FIRST Robotics teams (or class packs)! BPX has expressed interest in continuing their funding for FIRST teams in your parish, but we need to provide them with a follow up report for last year’s funding and a statement of intent for next year. Please complete the brief form found below to provide the information we need to request funding for the 2024/25 season.

For currently funded teams to be eligible for funding next year,
you need to submit this form by Friday, March 29th, 2024!

Thank you!

Annette Oertling, Ph.D.
FIRST LEGO League Challenge Program Delivery Partner
President, FIRST Louisiana Mississippi, Inc.
aoertling@firstpartners.org

Thank you for your interest in starting a
FIRST LEGO League Explore (Grades 2-4),
FIRST LEGO League Challenge (Grades 4-8), or
FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team (grades 7-12)!

Please see the Grant Requirements and the Timeline below. If you have any questions or need further information, please contact Annette Oertling ,
FIRST Program Delivery co-Partner for Louisiana FIRST LEGO League.

BPX Grant Requirements:

• Team must be hosted by a public school in Bossier Parish.
• There must be 2 adult coaches (mentors) for each team to comply with FIRST Youth Protection Protocols.
• 1 coach per team is expected to attend the online live FIRST Professional Development workshop(s) (14hr total) in September/October time frame.
• Finances will be managed by FIRST Louisiana-Mississippi, Inc. (FIRST LA-MS), the non-profit organization managing FIRST programs in Louisiana. Purchase of equipment and team registration must be handled by FIRST LA-MS. Receipts are needed for reimbursement of other expenses paid directly by teams.
• A follow up report will be requested, which will include team progress and team demographics.

FIRST LEGO League Explore Teams are invited to participate in a “Festival” (spring time frame) and FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams are invited to participate in a tournament (December), both hosted by SciPort, though it is not a grant requirement in the first year. FIRST Tech Challenge teams have multiple opportunities to participate in Qualifying Tournaments, with potential advancement to the State Championship.

2023-24 Timeline

• August/September – team registration and equipment/material ordering (robot, engineering notebooks, team meeting guide, etc.). Once school starts, team members should be identified as soon as possible.
• September/October – online live FIRST Professional Development workshop(s) (14hr total)
• December/January – FIRST LEGO League Challenge Qualifying Tournament and State Championship (to which 60 teams advance)
• December through March – FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifying Tournaments and State Championship
• March/April – tentative date for Explore Festival at SciPort
• April – brief follow up report requested.

Welcome to the 2022 Bayou Regional Student Ambassador Program. We would be honored to have a student from your team represented at our 2022 Regional Competition. Students will be escorts to all V.I.P.’s during our event on Friday, April 1 and on Saturday, April 2, 2022.

The deadline to sign up is FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022. You will need to share the link to a 30-second video sharing why you want to be an ambassador. Please make sure your link is set so that anyone with the link can view the video.

The 2023-24 LA State Championship is open to 60 teams who are awarded advancement from a sanctioned LA FIRST LEGO League Challenge Qualifying Tournament.

DATE: Saturday, January 27, 2024, 8am-5:30pm

LOCATION: Jesuit High School, 4133 Banks St, New Orleans, LA

REGISTRATION: is now open until Friday, December 30th. Please complete the form below to register your team. Teams awarded ALTERNATE STATUS at their qualifier MUST ALSO REGISTER, if they wish to be on the waitlist. The deadline to register is Friday, Dec. 30th. After that date, open spots will be given to alternates on the waitlist.

This survey is for nationally registered FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams in Louisiana who are not able to participate in Qualifying Tournaments in December 2021 due to delays in starting back to school following Hurricane Ida.  There are several opportunities being proposed, and we would like your feedback on them. This survey will help us gauge interest before moving forward with planning.

LA FIRST LEGO League Challenge State Championship, January 22nd – A limited number of open spots may be available by invitation only to teams that were not able to participate in December qualifiers. (All teams participating in December qualifiers will be invited to advance to the Championship.)

LA FIRST LEGO League Challenge Off-Season Competition – There is potential for an off-season, in-person competition in May or early June.

PLEASE COMPLETE THE SURVEY BELOW BY NOVEMBER 30TH, 2021, TO INDICATE YOUR TEAM’S INTEREST IN PARTICIPATING IN THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP OR AN OFF-SEASON COMPETITION IN MAY OR JUNE.

This survey is only an indication of interest, not a reservation or commitment.

If you believe there has been an error in the scoring of your Robot Game Video, please complete the form below and a referee will get in touch with you.

UPDATED POLICY (1/21/22):  Because of FIRST Youth Protection protocols regarding youth privacy and one-on-one digital communication, we ask that only adults use this form to communicate with the referees. We realize that at in-person events, students communicate directly with referees at the end of the match, but for remote events, please have an adult coach submit the communication. And please identify only one point of contact for your team, as multiple people sending in comments from one team creates confusion. We appreciate your understanding.

Teams are required to provide 3 Robot Game Videos by
5pm on Thursday, January 20^th.

Please refer to the instructions below provided by FIRST for producing your videos.

1. Robot Game Video Recording Tutorial – on YouTube
2. robot-game-video-recording-doc_UpdateFeb2021

To share your videos, please upload them to the platform of your choice and provide links to your videos by completing the online form below.

Any platform where you can post your videos and make them accessible to the referees is good. A shared school Google folder works, but an easy alternative is to upload your videos to YouTube using a designation of RESTRICTED (instructions provided here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtF2AgFSLAw&feature=emb_logo). Making it restricted means that the only way someone can find your video is if they have the link. It is not searchable, so it is not public.

Questions may be addressed to Annette Oertling, co-FLL Partner.