In order to compete in a VA-DC FIRST LEGO League regional qualifying tournament,

• Teams must be registered with FIRST and VA-DC FIRST LEGO League
• Teams consist of 2 coaches and 2-10 team members (members must be between the ages of 9-14 as of January 1st, 2026). Participants younger than 9 can compete with permission from VA-DC FLL – reach out to us for next steps.
• Complete the online Youth Registration (including FIRST Consent & Release) for each team member and coach/mentor

Additionally, at VA-DC FIRST LEGO League regional qualifying tournament,

• All work presented at an official event is the work of the children on the team. Kids do the work!
• All team members attending an event are required to participate in the judging session, and be present as a team at the Robot Game matches
• Teams should be supervised by accompanying adults during all times of the event.
• Teams, Coaches, Mentors, and Volunteers should always display our Core Values and demonstrate Gracious Professionalism at events.

You can read more about the official global standards here: FLL Challenge Participation Guidelines. Individuals and/or teams who fail to abide by the Participation Rules may be ineligible for awards and advancement at a tournament.

At a VA-DC FIRST LEGO League event, teams can expect…

• One 30 minute judging session for teams to share their Robot Design, Innovation Project, and Core Values journey this season. Find more details below in the Judging section.
• At least four 2.5 minute robot game matches (1 Practice Round and 3 Official Matches). The best score out of the 3 Official Matches will be the one to count. Find more details in the Robot Game section below.
• An Awards Ceremony. Find more details below in the Awards and Advancement section. 
• FUN! We encourage teams to celebrate their team and show their Team Spirit. Some teams do this with matching shirts, fun songs/ chants, team swag to hand out!

Teams can expect four 2.5 minute robot game matches (1 Practice Round and 3 Official Matches). The best score out of the 3 Official Matches will be the one considered in the award deliberation process. Find more details in the Robot Game section below. At each match, teams and referees will be follow the official BIOGLOW Robot Game Rulebook, including the official Challenge Updates & Clarifications (which will supersede the Robot Game Rulebook).

In each match…

• When the team arrives at the table, the referee will signal them to set up for the equipment inspection (EI). The robot and all equipment needs to be on the robot game table. There will be no additional room to store items (tables, carts, etc)
• After the inspection, the team will divide themselves and all their equipment between the right and left launch areas. Please refer to the BIOGLOW Robot Game Rulebook (Pg 14-15) to read more about this.
• The team will have 2.5 minutes to complete as many missions as they can. At the end of the 2.5 minutes, the referee and the teams will go through the missions together for scoring. One member of the team will sign off on the scoresheet and the scoresheet is final at that point.

Gracious Professionalism: Referees will evaluate Gracious Professionalism (GP) for every team at each one of their matches. The Gracious Professionalism points will be added to the points scored on the Core Values rubric during the judging session and will make up a portion of the total Core Values score. Teams will not see the GP score at the robot game table, but will receive the scores back with their other judging rubrics at the end of the event.

Each team will have a 30 minute session with a set of event judges. Teams and Judges will follow the Judging Flow Chart. The judging session will allow the team to share their season journey. See the sections below to find out more about each portion of the Judging.

• Two adults and a historian are allowed to accompany the team in the judging room.
• Teams should not expect to have access to any presentation equipment or a power outlet.
• Teams should not leave anything behind in the judging room, other than their Team Information sheet (below).

Awards

• Find the complete awards list and allocation process here. This list will vary based on the size of the tournament awards are given out by division. Teams can expect 30-50% of teams to receive an award.
• All participants will receive a official tournament ribbon.
• Teams are only eligible for ONE judged award (this does not include the Robot Performance award which is based on the highest robot score).
• FIRST^® LEGO^® League Challenge teams are evaluated equally in four areas: Core Values, Innovation Project, Robot Design,and Robot Game.

Advancement

• Team advancement to the VA-DC FLL Challenge Regional Championship is based on the overall performance of a team. It is possible for a team to advance without winning an award and it is possible for a team to win an award but not advance.
• The number of teams advancing from an event is based on the event size. Each event has an allotted number of teams that can be advanced which as been decided in advance by VA-DC FLL.
• Advancing teams will be announced at the Closing Ceremony. Team coach/mentors will receive an email with additional information after their event (please allow time for tournament leadership to send the advancing team list to VA-DC FLL).