January 15-16,2010.  (If in the event of severe weather the venue owner closes the facility, information will be posted on this website and emailed to the FLL Illinois Yahoo group.  There are no plans to re-schedule the event.)

INSciTE Illinois
Motorola Foundation
Sonoscan
Caterpillar
Five Star Audiovisual

Maddock Douglas, Inc.

The Pentair Foundation
Brickworld

There are a several hotels located close to Forest View Educational Center.  The Doubletree Hotel is our preferred hotel and is offering a special rate of $79 for a room with two double beds. Their pool is open and they are making a meeting room available so that teams can meet each other on an informal basis. To make reservations with the Doubletree, you can use this link or contact Bobbie at 847-427-4263.  Be sure to mention that you are with the FIRST LEGO League to receive the special rate.  Other hotels located in the same vicinity include Red Roof Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Jameson Suites.

Parking is located on the west side of the Fieldhouse. 

A full offering of breakfast, lunch and snacks will be available at the WildStang Café’. The Café is open 7:30 – 3:00 PM. WildStang is a FIRST Robotics Team and proceeds from the WildStang Café are used to help fund their competition season. Pre-orders for pizza accepted until 9:00 a.m. Click here for the order form (PDF, 67.9K).

The FLL State Tournament is free and open to the public. Please remember to advise your family and friends of your team number, name and pit color. This is the easiest way for them to locate you.

Our referees and judges have been trained by INSciTE Illinois and are professional in their attitudes and behaviors. They are, however, human and are participating in this tournament as volunteers. The ruling of a judge or referee in this tournament can be reviewed by the head referee or judge on the day of the event but their rulings are final and will not be debated. There is no instant replay. Please discuss this with your team and with parents. This tournament is about the achievements of the students, teamwork and sportsmanship. Gracious Professionalism is expected from all.

Make sure that your robot is turned off whenever you are not actively using it.

You should use black electrical tape over the RCX infrared window to prevent accidental erasure of your programs. Teams are required to use a cardboard box or a coat to cover their robot and infrared tower before downloading to the robot. Without this covering the signal from the infrared tower can reprogram other robots. All infrared towers should be set to short range.   NXT robots using USB connections to download should not cause any problems to anyone else's robot.
Bluetooth control of the robot is NOT permitted at this tournament.

Technical Judging will take place at 6 of the competition tables in the Fieldhouse on Friday evening and Saturday morning. Each team is provided a 15 minute time slot for judging. The judges will have 10 minutes to interview and then 5 minutes to score the team. If a team has prepared a presentation for the technical judges, the team may present for up to 5 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of questions from the judges and then the judges will have 5 minutes to score before the next group arrives.

Challenge Project/Research Presentations will be judged in the classrooms on the 2nd floor and 3rd floors. The assistants at the Judging Table will direct you to your classrooms. Each team is provided a 15 minute time slot for judging. The teams will have a maximum of 5 minutes to present, 5 minutes for questions and 5 minutes for the judges to score. If set up is required, you may begin your set up while the judges are scoring the previous team. However, we ask that you do so quietly. Teams must bring any equipment required for their presentation with them. The classrooms will not have extension cords, overhead projectors, screens, etc.

Observation awards – The observation awards include teamwork, team spirit and the judges’ choice award. Observation awards are judged in the 2nd and 3rd floor classrooms on Friday evening and Saturday morning.  Teams will be asked to perform a pre-determined task for 4 minutes followed by 5 minutes for questions and the judges will then have 5 minutes to score the team before the next group arrives.

All Table Performance Matches will be held on Saturday. Each team will
participate in four matches. Match schedules will be posted on the insciteillinois.org website under
"State Tournament Information" 3 days before the tournament.

18" diameter tables will be provided next to the competition tables for teams to place their extra attachments etc.  Personal tables, rolling carts etc. will not be allowed in the competition area.  This has been a safety hazard and will not be allowed.  You may bring a box to transport your items and place it on the table provided.

Arrive at the Match Check-In area 10 minutes before your scheduled match. You will then be directed to the Final Queue Station just before your match. Remember only 2 students can be at the table at one time. You are allowed to have students rotate to the table during a match provided that no more than 2 students are at the table at any one time. A coach is allowed to accompany the team to the table for moral support but under no circumstances is the coach allowed to handle the robot at the table.

In the event of a tie in table performance 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, the tie breaker will be the 2nd highest match score, the next tie breaker is the 3rd highest match score, and finally the 4th highest match score. If at the end of four matches the score is still tied, we will run one match with the highest score in that match selected to win.

We expect that everything will go safely. Forest View Educational Center is a large facility. Please be sure that you know where your students are and that they are behaving appropriately.

This event is advertised to the public. We encourage others to come and see what your students have done. FLL is growing because of your efforts and those of others. Use common sense. Don’t leave valuables unattended. If something is expensive and a likely target of theft, leave it at home. Encourage your students to do the same. We are not responsible for lost or stolen items.

If an emergency arises, Northwest Community Hospital is located within 10 minutes.

Results will be sent via email to the FLL IL Announcement list and posted on the www.insciteillinois.org website about one week after the tournament.

Contact contactfllillinois@gmail.com.