What is FLL?: 

The MBCA FLL Competitive Robotics teams (BotForce | STEM GEMS | EagleBots) participate in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge competition. Teams compete against other schools and organizations at a local and state level.  Teams will engage in research, problem-solving, coding and engineering.  They have three major deliverables to complete in order to qualify to attend a regional competition: 

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1. Robot Game: building and programming a LEGO robot that navigates the missions of a robot game.

2. Innovation Project: researching, designing & building a prototype to identify and solve a relevant real-world problem.

3. Judging Presentations:  presenting before judges to discuss Robot Design, Team Core Values, and Innovation Project.

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Grades:

FLL Competitive robotics is open to 5th - 8th grade. 5th grade participation is subject to space availability. 8th grader​s are expected to play the role of team co-captains.

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Season:

The FIRST LEGO League Challenge season officially kicks-off on August 1st.  MBCA season runs from August through end of January. The first practice is scheduled for Tuesday, August 15th.

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Practice Days:

Teams meet twice a week. Students are required to attend at least one practice weekly (preferably both practices). Due to all the requirements and deliverables required by FIRST, practicing twice a week will allow our teams to qualify for Regional participation.

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Practice Times:

Practice times are after-school (3:15 - 5:00 PM).  In addition to after-school practices, there will be some practice sessions during Enrichment Block (for middle school team members).

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First Practice Day:

The first practice will be on Tuesday, August 15th and Wednesday, August 16th.

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Location: 

All practices will take place in the MB Robotics & eSports Lab (F-005) and the Innovation Lab (F-002) in the basement of DeVore Hall on the LS/MS Campus.

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Local Competitions: 

Students will need to attend the Saturday competitions.  There is a Regional competition in early December (usually first or second week of December). Teams could advance to Super Regionals in early January (usually second week of January).  Both Regional and Super Regional competitions will be local and will be on a Saturday from 8AM to 4PM. Based on history, MBCA usually qualifies for both Regionals and Super Regionals. 

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Travel Competitions:

There is a chance a team could advance to the State Championships at Georgia Tech or University of Georgia in late January.  If a team does well at State, they could advance to the FIRST Worlds Championships in Houston in April. For planning purposes, MBCA FLL teams have only attended one Georgia State Championship and have never advanced to the FLL Worlds Championship. 

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Fees:

There is a $250 fee to be on the FLL Competitive Robotics team. The fee will appear on your FACTS bill. The fee includes a team t-shirt as well as all competition supplies, FIRST National and State registrations, competition dues, and coaching stipends. If finances are an issue, please contact Chip Barber.

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Policies:

Student participation follows the policies outlined in the MBCA Student Handbook in section "Grade and Discipline Requirements for Extracurricular Activities." In addition, students are required to follow the rules & etiquette outlined by the FIRST organization.  Failure to comply with these rules could result in removal from the club with the understanding any fees will be forfeited.

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Questions: 

Can be directed to the Head Coach Carli Troutman (carli.troutman@mtbethelchristian.org) or Matt Culbreth (matthew.culbreth@mtbethelchristian.org)