West Tennessee FLL

TVA Grant

The TVA Grant will be available to teams in their service area (see map) for the Into Orbit Season.

TVA Service Area

In the past TVA paid the registration fee for teams that received the grant but it did not include the Challenge Set. This year since it is being included with registration, the Challenge Set will be included in the grant.

The application process for the TVA Grant should be announced shortly (expected around July 1) so watch this website for updates and instructions. Note: teams should register quickly since there is a limit on the number of teams TVA will award the grant to, so do not wait to apply once it becomes available.

Hardship Grants

The TVA Grant, discussed above, only covers the registration (including Challenge Set) for the teams. It does not cover the cost of the Robot or the $75 regional activity fee (used to support our regional qualifiers). If you team needs further assistance to obtain a robot, please fill out THIS FORM to apply for additional assistance. We have grants available and also have robots, donated by TVA, to lend out to teams for the season.

News from the FIRST Global Conference

Just some notes from the conference that 3 members of our team (Tom B. – Partner, Dan K. – Partner and Randall P. FIRST Senior Mentor) attended:

• Don’t forget that the Challenge Set (aka the Field Setup Kit) is now part of your registration fee. Every team will get a set. Please be aware that you will NOT be able to opt out of buying a Field Set this year (since it is now bundled).
• A new, shorter Coaches Handbook is now available to help you get started. It can be downloaded HERE. You will note that it is 19 pages (vers 96 pages) and they did this by only keeping only the information you need to get your team ready to compete. There will be a second manual containing info on what to expect at a competition (that should be posted shortly).
• There will be an “Engineering Journal” template available for teams to use to track their robot design, programming and testing. It is NOT REQUIRED but it will help you team in the design process for the robot. We will post the link when it becomes available.
• We are always asked “Do I have to use the Lego Software?” For this season the answer is STILL YES, but FIRST is re-evaluating this rule (as they do periodically), but for now you still have to use the Lego supplied programming language.
• Judging rubrics have changed a bit to reflect the new unified CORE VALUES along with a few other minor changes. They also changed the color of the rubrics – no one could explain why 😉

Regional Activity Fee

We are working on a new way of paying the regional activity fee. Check back for info on how this will be paid, but in the meantime we wanted to let you know the fee will remain $75 (and all funds will be used to support our Qualifier events….there is still no fee for our Championship).

FIRST HQ has announced that West TN is getting a FIRST SENIOR Mentor (FSM). FSM’s are a group of highly skilled and talented technical and non-technical individuals, who focus on recruiting, supporting and expanding FIRST programs. (For more info on the FSM Program see THIS WEBSITE)

Congratulations to Mr. Randall C. Phillips who also coach’s a FIRST LEGO League Robotics Team and a Business Mentor for a FIRST Robotics Competition Team. He was nominated & accepted to be Memphis and West TN region’s FIRST Senior Mentor, the 1st to have this role in West TN!

You can contact him at rphillips@firstinspires.org.

He heads off for FSM training shortly…

Registration for FLL Teams for the Into Orbit Season is NOW OPENED

Coaches can register their teams via their dashboard.

To learn about the upcoming season CLICK HERE

Please make sure you read A FEW NOTES for info on the TVA Grant and other important info.

Again, it is suggested you register, but do not pay, while TVA works out the details of the grant for this season.

If you wish to register an existing team, but do not have access to the account, please contact us at memphisfirstteams@gmail.com and we will assist you.

Additional Info from FIRST:

FIRST Launch 2019 Mission Updates
FIRST LEGO League Jr. and FIRST LEGO League

Global Challenge Release for FIRST LEGO League Jr. and FIRST LEGO League programs this year is set for August 1, 2018

Find product and pricing information here (FIRST LEGO League Jr.) and here (FIRST LEGO League) [please note – the $75 Regional Activity Fee is still in effect for the West TN FLL Region].

FIRST LEGO League Jr. and FIRST LEGO League materials

Inspire Sets and Challenge Sets are anticipated to arrive in the United States by mid-July and will ship to customers immediately upon arrival.

NEW THIS SEASON – FIRST LEGO League

FIRST LEGO League team registration will include their Challenge Set. FIRST LEGO League Season Pass registrations will not include a competitive team option. Coaches interested in advancing a team or team to an official event should register for the desired number of individual teams.

With FLL Team Registration opening shortly here are a few things to note:

1) Unlike previous years, the Challenge Set (AKA Field Setup Kit) and registration will be bundled together. This means you will not have to purchase your Challenge Set separately. What we are still waiting for word on, is “Can you opt out?” (if you have more than one team, but you only need one field for practice for example).

2) We are still awaiting the word on the the TVA Grant. We know that it is still on for this year, but there are a questions since the Challenge Set is bundled with the registration. Last year if you recall, TVA paid the registration, but did not cover the Challenge Set.

Stay tuned for an announcement on this….but in the meantime, when registration openeds, register your team, but DO NOT PAY! In the past, teams could not take advantage of the TVA grant if they had already paid the registration fee.

For those new to FLL in West TN or are reading about the TVA Grant for the first time, please read last year’s eligibility requirements HERE (keeping in mind that this might change a bit this year).