The cooperation and support from parents and guardians of your team members are invaluable. You can volunteer as coaches or mentors to share the workload will make the team more efficient, reduce stress, and increase team spirit .

Parents and guardians may be able to assist your team by:

• Serving as a Mentor if they have relevant skills or experience.
• Planning and holding fundraisers.
• Leading team building activities.
• Planning field trips.
• Providing a place for your team to meet.
• Making travel arrangements.
• Or one of the most important tasks – planning snacks so your team never runs out of fuel!

Parents and guardians, please consider how you can support the team as a mentor. Many roles - technical / non-technical / administrative.

How are teams formed?

Students are grouped first by school and then by grade.  If not enough to form a team for each grade, we will combine two grades together. Very rarely will we combine schools to form a team.

Where do teams meet?

Teams can meet in school, at coach's home or rotate among the different student' home.  The coach will try to find the best soluntion for everyone and will make the final decision. Must have at least 2 mentors at each meeting.

How often do teams meet?

This varies from team to team. Teams that are more serious and want to be more competitive will meet more often. There is no minimum or maximum hours per week. Work with your coach to see what is best for everyone and for the team. We suggest to have 2 meetings per week for 2-3 hours each plus research work, 10 to 12 weeks.

When is the FLL Challenge Season?

Registration: Teams register for the season with FIRST in July.
Kick Off: The seasonal challenge is announced in the beginning of August.
Build Season: Teams can start their build season before school starts. (August to October)
Competition Season: It starts in the first weekend of November to the first weekend of December.
FIRST Championships: Held in the beginning of May

What does it Cost?

The cost for a student to register to BHS FLL Challenge team is $175 per season. Typical team cost per season is $1,000. The team may be able to apply for grants which are varies from year to year. Teams are encouraged to seek sponsorship too.

Registration

Register your kid online at http://www.bloomfield.org/about-us/recreation
Application deadline:
Application received after _________ will be waitlisted.
Team will be formed as soon as possible. Be attentive to emails.

Reminder:

• Please make sure your information on the Rec Web Site is correct –especially email. All communication is by this email. 
• ​Priority is to set up teams by grade/school
• Can request to be with a friend, but not guaranteed
• Typically practices and events are held on weekends as well. Please realistically evaluate your students schedule before committing. We order kits July 15 and plan on your student, if they quit in the fall it impacts the other students on the team 
• ​Once placed on a team, coach will contact students and decide practice days/times
  • Meeting place might be a home or a school.
  • Meetings could be after school or early evening depends on mentor schedules / availability and student availability. 
  • Consider volunteering to host meetings. Note FLL needs a consistent place to meet. 
• The deadline to withdraw and have the registration fee refunded is midnight on July 15th. This deadline is firm since parts and equipment for teams are ordered by that date, so all registration funds are spent and it is not possible to refund any registration fees. If timely, you must submit request for refund by email to bloomfieldhillsrobotics@gmail.com. It is still possible to withdraw from the program after midnight, July 15th, but a refund of your registration fee is not possible.