Tournament Tips

About the Tournament
The RPI and GE's FIRST LEGO League Tournament is a very exciting event. Last year the event hosted 24 teams. During the day, each team will have three rounds on a competition table with the team's best score counting toward award consideration. The matches are projected onto large screens around the building, complete with live commentary by our popular MCs.

The competition also includes a presentation by teams about their research, along with an interview about their robot designs and how members worked as a team.

Awards
We give lots of awards at our tournament - ranging from "team spirit" to "robust design" to the prestigious "Champion's Award" which is given to the best overall team, not just the highest scoring robot. The team's presentation, interviews, robot performance and gracious professionalism when deciding who wins are considered for the Director's Award. See Awards for more information.

Presentation and Interviews
Here are a few little tips for your presentation and interviews. Keep them interesting and exciting. Leave a lasting impression on the judges - do a dance, sing a song, make up a skit, etc. Use visual aids, Power Point, posters, pictures, anything to make sure the judges understand what you know. And most important, always make sure you make eye contact with your audience and SMILE.

Competition
Don't stress about the competition - especially the time limit. Lots of teams think "I only have 2.5 minutes!" so they rush, causing mistakes. Take your time and double check everything before you send your robot out on that mission. Also, make sure that plenty of your team members get to participate at the table. Only two team members are allowed by the table at a time, so take turns setting up the robot.

Team Spirit
Most teams design their own t-shirts to wear in competition. This helps your team stand out among the other teams. Some teams even have their own hats, cheer, song or victory dance.




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