All teams are eligible for all awards. Teams must adhere to FIRST's participation requirements to be eligible.

The Competition room for robot game matches is in the cafeteria. The pit area and practice areas will be on the stage and in the cafeteria. Pit tables are assigned. The stage is accessible via three steps.

Robot games will be conducted on two field tables. Each team will have the opportunity to play 3 official robot game matches.

Each team will participate in two (2) 10-minute Judging session. One session will consist of the Innovation Project and Core Values and the other session will consist of the Robot Design and Core Values. No one can attend or participate in any other team's judging session than your own.

There will be a short break towards the end of the day while the referees and judges confer on final scores and deliberate on awards.

Contact Information

Tournament Coordinators are Amy Karabowicz & Ron Karabowicz.

Contact them at tournament@foxvalleyrobotics.com

Health Guidelines

We will be following state and school district guidelines. If you do not feel well, please do not attend.

Attendance

We currently have 20+ teams registered for the event. If your team is not going to attend, please let us know ASAP via email to tournament@foxvalleyrobotics.com

Consent Forms

Team members, coaches, mentors, and volunteers are required to complete Consent Forms for FIRST National. Please see the FIRST LEGO League Challenge Consent Forms webpage for detailed instructions. 

Coaches Meeting

TBD

Opening Ceremony

TBD

Competition Area

Official robot game competition tables will be sectioned off; only teams running their scheduled matches & volunteers are allowed in this competition zone. Spectators can watch the robot game matches from outside the designated competition zone.

Gracious Professionalism

We expect everyone attending - team members, coaches, parents, spectators, etc - to act with Gracious Professionalism, respect each other during the day, and apply the Core Values in a positive way.

Teams: Pre-ordered whole pizzas are available for teams at lunch

Pre-Order pizza forms are due at Concessions by 9am.

Cash, check, or credit card are accepted. 

Concessions will be open during the day.  

Refreshments include water, coffee, soda.

Snacks include chips, candy, and desserts.

Lunch includes pizza by-the-slice and hot dogs.

Outside food and drink are permitted the day of the Qualifier. 

Note: Purchases made through our Concessions area help to offset the cost of the qualifier event.

Inclement weather

The Tournament Coordinator will determine if there will be a delay in the start or a cancellation of the event. This will depend on:

• Road and weather conditions
• Conditions within the facility, including power, heat, water, fire and contagious disease conditions that are considered to be a threat to the safety or health of the participants
• Other conditions that might apply

If a qualifying tournament has to be cancelled, the following process will be in place:

1. No Awards will be given
2. A lottery of registered teams that would have attended that qualifier will determine which teams will advance to the championship tournaments. The lottery will be held within 48 hours from the day the qualifier was intended to be held with the participation of the head judge, head referee and qualifying tournament coordinator. Teams will be notified by email that same day.

Parking & Unloading

Parking is available in the north and east lots. Orange cones will delineate the most accessible doors in the north parking lot.

Buses are encouraged to park in the small east-side basketball court or around the south side of the school taking the west service road. 

Do not park in the emergency vehicle zones. Parking violations will be enforced.

If you have a lot of equipment, it can be unloaded near the building. Carry items directly into the building or supervise them in the unloading area. Cars may not park in this zone, even temporarily.

Check In

After unloading and parking, coaches will check in at the Registration table in the lobby.

Submit consent forms electronically unless accommodations have been previously arranged. Click HERE for information on consent forms.

Coaches will receive a schedule for the day. The pizza pre-order form is due at 9 am.

Site Rules

Please observe the following rules:

• Stay in the designated tournament areas
• Be on time for your judging sessions and table runs
• Children should be supervised at all times
• No smoking or alcohol is allowed in the facility

We recommend teams arrive 10 minutes early before their robot game runs and judging sessions.

Pit Area

The pit is the team's home base during the day. Pit tables are pre-assigned and labeled with team placards. Do not rearrange the tables or move placards. It is recommended to bring a box or tote to store coats/hats/etc under the pit table.

Charging stations for electronics will be available in the pit area.

Practice tables will be set up in the pit area. Please demonstrate gracious professionalism and show respect to those wishing to practice. Spend no more than 5 minutes at a table.

All model pieces should stay at their assigned tables. Every team is responsible for bringing their own loose (non-dual locked) mission models for practice.

Teams may not set-up alternate practice fields.

We encourage teams to monitor your belongings during the day due to the number of people attending. 

Transporting the Robot during the Event

It will happen… someone will drop their robot and watch the parts explode in a million directions. You might consider a plastic container for carrying your robot during the event. If it drops you have a better chance of collecting all of the parts and re-assembling it.

No Bluetooth

Bluetooth programming or communications is not allowed in the competition area. If able, robots should have bluetooth turned off/ disabled in the competition area.

No WiFi hotspots

Do NOT set up wifi hotspots. These hotspots will interfere with robots and event streaming. 

Streaming

We will be streaming the event to our YouTube channel. Within the facility, screen areas will be set up for viewing.

Fox Valley Robotics YouTube channel

Schedule

The tournament schedule will be made available before the event.

It is the team's responsibility to BE ON TIME for their judging sessions and robot runs.

•    Missed robot run: it will not be rescheduled and the team will receive a score of zero

•    Late to judging: the time allowed for the interview will be reduced accordingly

•    EXCEPTION: overarching tournament delays are not penalized

Matches

Teams will play 3 matches. We recommend that your team queues 10 minutes before your start time.

Up to two (2) team members can be present at the table at each launch zone. Members can be swapped out and in. 

Bluetooth should be turned off on the robot equipment. In the competition area, robots must be run autonomously.

Robot Game Field

Team members at the table will have a brief time to inspect the playing surface and prepare your robot for tournament play. Coaches and students should not touch any elements outside of the home/launch zone. If you think something is improperly setup, notify the referee immediately so that it may be corrected before the match begins.

Scoring

Scoring will be done at the END of the match based on the condition of the field at that time only. This means that points won’t be awarded for successful missions that the robot accidentally alters before the match ends.

Team members and a referee will review the score before the team leaves the table. Once a team member acknowledges the score, that score is final. Any questions should be asked during the scoring or before the match begins. There is no instant replay in FIRST LEGO League Challenge. Please do not bring any video evidence to referees for review.

Scores will be posted real-time as they are finalized per match.

FLLTournament.com will be used to record scoring for robot game matches and judging.

Schedule

The tournament schedule will be made available to teams before the event.

It is the team's responsibility to BE ON TIME for their judging sessions and robot runs.

•   Missed robot run: it will not be rescheduled and the team will receive a score of zero

•   Late to judging: the time allowed for the interview will be reduced accordingly

•   EXCEPTION: overarching tournament delays are not penalized

Judging Process

The judging hallway is a Quiet Zone: please talk softly.

Teams should arrive at their assigned judging space at least 10 minutes in advance of their scheduled time. Teams will wait quietly outside of their assigned space until ushered in.

At minimum the team members, two (2) coaches, and one (1) videographer are allowed at a team's judging session. Spectators affiliated with a team can also attend a team's 10 minute judging sessions. Recording and non-flash photography are allowed. Judging sessions will NOT be streamed.

Teams are NOT allowed to leave anything with JUDGES including swag/tokens/gifts. Do not leave paperwork or documentation.

Coaches & Spectators: Do not interfere or contribute to judging. This is the time for the students to shine. Interruptions from any spectators will take away from the students' time and any severe interruptions will result in spectators being removed.

Illinois Judging for 2025-2026 UNEARTHED season

Illinois is piloting two 10-minute judging sessions. One session will address the Innovation Project and how Core Values was used during the innovation project process. The other session will address Robot Design and how Core Values was used during the robot design process.

Each judging session in Illinois is 10 minutes. This includes time for the team to present information to the judges and time for a Q&A period.

Illinois Judging Session Flowchart

Awards

The following awards will be given at the tournament, but is subject to change based on the number of teams in attendance:

• Champion’s Award
• Robot Design Award
• Innovation Project Award
• Core Values Award
• Engineering Excellence Award
• Rising All-Star Award
• Breakthrough Award
• Motivate Award
• Robot Performance Award
• Coach/Mentor Award

FIRST LEGO League Challenge Awards Description

Winning an award other than the Champion's Award does not guarantee a team a qualifying spot at a Sectional Tournament.

This event will qualify teams to advance to a Sectional Tournament in Illinois. Teams advancing to a Sectional will be announced during the Closing Ceremonies.

Team Advancement Policy to Sectional Tournaments

Around 30-40% of teams will advance to a Sectional. Teams are eligible for advancement if they meet the following criteria as required by the FLL Global Standards and Challenge document.

Teams must:

• Have between 2 and 10 student members
• Complete all required sections of the Innovation Project
• Have no disqualifying Core Values behaviors
• Be competing at their first official FIRST LEGO League event of each qualifying level during the season
• Perform well in all four areas: Core Values, Innovation Project, Robot Design, and Robot Game 

After the closing ceremony

Please help us by -

• Cleaning up your area
• Wiping down your table
• Throwing away any garbage
• Double-check before you leave that you have everything!

Post-Event

Rubrics will be emailed to teams within 1 week after the event

Teams advancing to a Sectional Tournament will be notified within 1 week after the event