Los Angeles Region FIRST® LEGO® League (LAR FLL)
FLL® Event Types

There are several types of FLL events. They all offer a fun and exciting way for teams to demonstrate the result of their efforts and to come together to celebrate their accomplishments. Most events have opening and closing ceremonies, wonderful trophies and medals, teams with personalized T-shirts, hats, banners, and even some costumes. Most of these events are held on Saturdays and Sundays and are open to the public and media.

Community Events (formerly called Local Events)

Community events are generally, but not always, smaller than other tournaments. They are run by teams, volunteers, or coordinators who have the freedom to choose the format, judging guidelines, and awards. Local events do not qualify a team to attend a Championship tournament. They are community-based events that are not affiliated with FLL and often are not affiliated with the FLL Partner.

Practice Tournaments

Practice Tournaments are community events that are scheduled during during the weeks preceding the Qualifying Tournaments to help teams prepare for Qualifying Tournaments.

Official Tournamentns

Official tournaments are orchestrated by Operational Partners, who are sanctioned by FIRST to run an FLL region, a commitment which includes recruiting a Planning Committee and providing year round support. Some regions are large enough to have both a Championship tournament and Qualifying tournaments; some regions only have a Championship, but will add Qualifiers as they grow.

FLL regions are not defined by state/province/country. Many states, provinces, and countries have more than one FLL region and some regions cross state/province/country lines, as with the Virginia/DC region in the US. Some Operational Partners allow teams from outside their defined region to participate in their tournament(s); some can only accept resident teams due to venue size. Each Operational Partner determines what makes the most sense for their region.

Qualifying Tournaments

Qualifying Tournaments (sometimes called Qualifiers or Regionals) are offcial tournaments that follow the same judging standards and a similar format to Championship tournaments, but have some flexibility in format and awards. For many FLL teams and regions, a qualifying tournament is the highest level of FLL tournament participation they will experience. Anywhere from one to twelve winning teams from these tournaments advance to that region’s Championship tournament.

Qualifying/Awards Eligibility Policy

For North American Teams: they can only qualify for the Championship at the first qualifying tournament they attend each season. Once a team participates in one region’s official tournaments, the team is not eligible for awards if they participate in another region’s official tournaments. Participating in all three judging sessions and the Robot Game are required for core awards and to advance.

Championship Tournaments

Championship Tournaments may include teams from a country, province, state, or region. They abide by FLL standards in format, judging, awards, and overall quality. The key volunteers responsible for a Championship tournament are the FLL Partners. Some Championship tournaments require that teams win at a qualifying or regional tournament in order to advance to the Championship. For many FLL teams and regions, a Championship tournament is the highest level of FLL tournament participation possible. Championships may include teams from a geographic region, province, state, country, or several countries. One team from the Championship tournament may be invited to attend an invitational event, like the FLL World Festival or an Open Championship.

Invitational Open Championship Tournaments

Open Championship Tournaments abide by the same standards as Championships, and are hosted by FLL Partners. These events are not held every year, and are invitational events that choose teams to attend from selected regions. They represent another great way for FLL teams to get together and showcase their achievements.

FLL World Festival

The FLL World Festival, held in conjunction with the FIRST Championship, is the global celebration of FLL teams from around the world. It is the only event hosted by the FLL program. The selection process for the World Festival will change from year to year, depending upon the number of spaces available and the number of teams participating in FLL. FLL Partners and volunteers help plan, coordinate, and run the event.