Hello Teams,

We would like to take this opportunity to make you aware of the policies and procedures rubric for the 2016 ANIMAL ALLIES season. We’ll be using a different Project from the ones you will find on FIRST LEGO League websites. The updated rubric has an increased focus on the process of developing the Project and includes the following changes:

1. Project Pilot - New this season! - Illinois is participating in a pilot of an updated Project to their topic to be at the Accomplished or Exemplary levels.

a. The Sources of Information criteria now more clearly reflects the need for quality sources and a wide variety of sources. Teams must consult professionals in fields relating that will be adopted in Illinois for the Animal Allies season.

b. The Review Existing Solutions criteria has been combined with Problem Analysis and Innovation. Teams are still expected to review and analyze existing solutions.

c. When teams are describing their Team Solution, they are now expected to describe how it solves the problem.

d. The new Solution Development criteria encompasses the previous Implementation criteria. Teams should explain how they developed the solution, considered and narrowed alternative solutions, evaluated and improved the solution they chose, and assessed feasibility and implementation factors.

While the update will shift what teams should share with Judges, we do not expect it to have much impact on the work teams are doing for the FIRST LEGO League Project. Teams who are working toward the Accomplished and Exemplary levels for Solution Development may choose to spend more time designing their process than they did before, in order to ensure it is systematic and includes some type of evaluation or verification of their solution.

The final rubric will be posted on our website under ‘News’ on the weekend of September 24th at this link: www.ilfirst.org

2. Animals at tournaments – Teams are not allowed to bring live animals to the qualifying and championship tournaments in Illinois. Teams can bring photographs of the animal(s) they worked with but teams cannot bring the animal to the tournament. 

3. Table Specifications– The Illinois qualifying and championship tournaments will use competition tables with four inch walls. Illinois teams that attend post-season events may need to consider the possibility of three inch walls so their designs are robust if they venture outside of the Illinois competition arenas.

4. Illinois Qualifiers – We have made the following changes to the list of qualifiers available for the Animal Allies season. We will continue to add qualifiers to the list of tournaments available so please check our website frequently. Changes to your team’s tournament selections can be made until October 15th but tournament assignments will be made on a first come, first serve basis.

• The Southern Illinois tournament on December 3rd previously held at Edwardsville will be held in Troy, Illinois.
• We have added a qualifier in Evanston, Illinois on December 10th.
• The Peoria tournament previously held at Peoria Christian School will be held at Woodruff Career and Technical Center on December 17th.

5. Team Advancement Policy- Approximately 25% of the teams at a qualifier in Illinois will advance to a championship tournament. Teams are eligible for advancement if they meet the following criteria as required by the FLL Global Standards and Challenge document. Teams must: 

• Have between 2 and 10 members 
• Complete all required sections of the Project
• Have no disqualifying Core Values behaviors 
• Be competing at their first official FLL event of each qualifying level during the season
• Perform well in all three judged areas (Core Values, Project, and Robot Design)
• Meet the minimum Robot Performance hurdle percentage. The hurdle is based upon the advancement rate at the qualifier. At a 16 team qualifier, which is the size of most Illinois qualifiers, teams must have a table score in the top 48% of the table scores at the event to advance.

6. Robot Design Executive Summary (RDES) - Illinois tournaments will NOT use the RDES in Robot Design judging for the Animal Allies season.

• The Robot Design judging session will consist of an ‘interactive robot run’ which is a complete table run during which the team will talk about their robot and what it does, and the judges will ask questions. The balance of the 10 minute session will be Q&A. The judges will not time or score the table run.
• Teams may bring a RDES with them to the interview if they believe it will help them answer questions but teams will not be given an opportunity to present the RDES in the judging session.

7. Core Values Poster - A Core Values Poster will NOT be required in Illinois.

• We believe that the Core Values poster is a good way for teams to organize their thoughts in preparation for the Core Values judging session and is a good way for teams to celebrate the Animal Allies season as they interact with other teams in the pit area. However, due to the limited time available to judges, the Core Values poster is not required in Illinois. 
• Teams may bring a poster to the judging session but judges will not review the poster as part of the judging session. Teams may refer to an item on the poster if it helps them answer a question presented by the judges.

We wish all of you the best of luck this season!

FIRST Illinois Robotics
FIRST LEGO League Planning Committee