SECTIONAL DETAILS

Event Overview

All teams are eligible for all awards if they meet the FIRST^(R) participation requirements and attend the three sections of the tournament - robot game matches, Innovation Project Judging, and Robot Design Judging. 

Robot game matches will be held in the main gym.

Pit tables, practice tables, and concessions will be in the school cafeteria. Pit tables are pre-assigned.

Robot games will be conducted on two competition field tables. Each team will have 3 official robot game matches.

Each team will participate in two 10-minute Judging sessions. No one can attend or participate in any other team's judging session than your own team's session.

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

Information for Teams

Health & Safety

Health Guidelines

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

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 FIRST Core Values in a positive way.

Concessions

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

Pre-Order pizza forms with payment are due at Concessions by 9:00 am. 

Concessions will be open during the day. Cash, check, or credit card are accepted. 

Refreshments include water, coffee, soda.

Snacks include donuts, chips, candy, and desserts.

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

Outside food and drink are permitted. 

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

Important Details for the Day

Site Rules

Please observe the following facility rules:

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

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

Spectators: If you are a spectator affiliated with a team and plan to attend their judging sessions, please arrive 5 minutes before the team's judging time. Once the door closes, late spectators will not be allowed entrance and must wait in the hallway for the team to finish their judging session.

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. 

Practice tables for the robot game will be set up in the pit area. Teams may not bring or set-up additional robot game 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. Teams 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. 

Awards & Advancement

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
  
• 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 the Illinois Championship Tournament.

This event will qualify teams to advance to the Championship Tournament in Illinois. Advancing teams will be announced during the Closing Ceremonies.

Team Advancement Policy from Sectional Tournaments

Around 30% of teams will advance to the Illinois State Championship Tournament. 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 

End of Day

After the closing ceremony

Please help us by -

• Cleaning up your area
• Wiping down your team 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 the Illinois State Championship Tournament will be notified via email within a few days of the event

Volunteers

This event is completely volunteer run.  If you would like to volunteer, signup instructions for FIRST LEGO League Challenge events in Illinois are available at https://www.firstillinoisrobotics.org/fll-challenge/volunteer/. There are many volunteer roles available at the Batavia Sectional tournament.  

FIRST & FIRST Illinois Robotics 

Participation Rules: FIRST LEGO League Challenge Participation Rules

Challenge: FIRST LEGO League Challenge UNEARTHED Overview

Robot Game RuleBook: FIRST LEGO League Challenge UNEARTHED Robot Game Rulebook

Judging Rubrics: FIRST LEGO League Challenge Rubrics - Innovation Project & Robot Design

Updates: UNEARTHED Season Updates

⚠️**IMPORTANT** Understanding Judging in Illinois & Illinois Judging Format & Prop Restrictions⚠️