Ages 9-16 (4th-8th Grade)

Competitive Robotics

Join a team and compete! Design, build, and program robots to solve real-world challenges in the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge. Work with a team of 4-10 students to prepare for regional and state tournaments while building teamwork, problem-solving, and presentation skills.

Students who've completed our Foundations of Robotics program have a head start and get first priority in forming teams!

Program Overview

Full Season

September - December

Team-Based

Collaborative learning

Tournaments

Regional & state competitions

What Your Child Will Learn

Robot design and building with LEGO® Spike Prime
Block/Python programming for bot
Innovation project research and presentation
Competition strategy and teamwork
Core values and gracious professionalism
Problem-solving under pressure

About FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge

FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge is a global robotics competition that guides students through STEM learning and exploration at a level appropriate for their skills and interests. Teams work on four key components throughout the season, culminating in tournament judging and competition where they showcase their hard work, problem-solving skills, and teamwork.

Four Key Components

1. Robot Game

Design, build, and program an autonomous robot to complete missions on the challenge field in 2.5 minutes. Teams strategize which missions to attempt and optimize their robot's performance.

  • • 15+ mission challenges per season
  • • Strategic planning and optimization
  • • Multiple competition rounds

2. Innovation Project

Research a real-world problem related to the season's theme, develop an innovative solution, and present findings to judges. Teams learn research methods, critical thinking, and presentation skills.

  • • Problem identification and research
  • • Creative solution development
  • • Professional presentation to judges

3. Robot Design

Document the engineering design process, explain mechanical and programming choices, and demonstrate iterative improvement. Teams show judges their systematic approach to building and coding.

  • • Engineering notebook documentation
  • • Design iteration and improvement
  • • Technical presentation skills

4. Core Values

Demonstrate teamwork, collaboration, and gracious professionalism throughout the season. Teams learn to work together, help others, and compete with integrity and respect.

  • • Discovery, teamwork, and inclusion
  • • Innovation and impact
  • • Fun and gracious professionalism

LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group. FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a global non-profit. FIRST and LEGO are not overseeing, involved, associated, or responsible for the activities, product, curriculum, or service.

Competition Pathway

Teams progress through practice sessions to qualifiers and potentially to championship events.

1 September - November

Practice & Preparation

Teams meet twice weekly for 90-minute sessions, working on robot design, programming, innovation project research, and team building. Coaches guide teams through the engineering design process and help develop competition strategies.

  • • Build and iterate on robot design
  • • Develop autonomous mission programs
  • • Research and create innovation project
  • • Practice presentations and teamwork

Twice Weekly

90-minute practice sessions with expert coaching and mentorship

Regional Event

Compete against other teams in robot games and judging sessions

2 November - Early December

Qualifier Tournament

Teams compete at a regional qualifier tournament featuring multiple robot game rounds and judging sessions. Teams present their innovation project, robot design, and demonstrate core values while competing for awards and advancement.

  • • 3 robot game rounds (2:30 minutes each)
  • • Innovation project judging session
  • • Robot design presentation
  • • Awards ceremony and recognition
3 December - January

Championship Events

Qualifying teams advance to regional or state championship tournaments, competing at a higher level with teams from across the region. Championship events offer more challenging competition and additional advancement opportunities.

  • • Advancement based on awards or performance
  • • Compete with top teams from region
  • • Potential path to international events
  • • Advanced judging and competition

Elite Competition

Championship-level tournament with the region's best teams

Program Details

Schedule & Format

  • Duration: September - December (full season)
  • Schedule: Twice weekly, 90 minutes per session
  • Age Range: 4th-8th grade (ages 9-16)
  • Team Size: 4-10 students per team

What's Included

  • Complete LEGO® Spike Prime robotics kit
  • All competition entry fees
  • Expert coaching and mentorship
  • Team t-shirt and materials
  • Students bring: Laptop with WiFi capability

More Details Coming Soon!

We're preparing information about competitive robotics teams for the 2025-26 season. Check back soon for team formation details, practice schedules, and registration information, or contact us to learn more.