FIRST LEGO League in Illinois is predominatenly run by volunteers. Volunteers are needed at all levels across the organization to aide in program planning, event coordination, and day-of execution.

Coming soon! To learn about volunteer opportunities, sign up for the Illinois FIRST LEGO League Volunteer Email List

Registration Instructions for Illinois Event Volunteers

 

From Tournament Coordinators to Judges, Referees, and photographers, nearly everyone at an event is a volunteer.

Volunteers are needed at:

  • Qualifier Tournaments
  • Sectional Tournaments
  • State Championship Tournament

Volunteering at an event is the best way to learn about FIRST LEGO League.

Coaching a team? Or on a team? Volunteer at an event that your team will not be attending! Be a judge, be a ref, help reset the fields.

Coaches make great... referees and judges! Get a peek behind the table or in the stripes. This is a great way to improve for future seasons and expand your understanding.

Older students on teams make great... field resetters! Watch all the robots at the event run. See unique and innovative solutions that other teams designed for the current year's missions.

To learn about volunteer opportunities, sign up for the Illinois FIRST LEGO League Volunteer Email List

A variety of roles are available at each event. Some require advanced training, while others may require day-of or no training. Most roles are full day commitments.

Responsibilities: 

  • AV: Supports Tournament Coordinator/Field Manager with AV tasks that may include scoring displays, live stream, cameras, music
  • Photographer: Records the day! Takes photographs of teams and volunteers to chronical the day 

Training and Support: None

Prerequisite: Prior experience with AV or photography 

Minimum Age Requirement: 18 unless otherwise approved by Tournament Coordinator

Responsibilities: 

  • Helps Tournament Coordiantor/Staff with food and beverage for the event
  • Typically day-of role only

Training and Support: None

Prerequisite: None

Minimum Age Requirement: 13

Responsibilities: 

  • Serves as the public voice of the event
  • Introduces both teams at the competition table, ensures both teams are ready, and starts the match by announcing, "Three, Two, One, LEGO!"
  • Provides anecdotal announcements about teams that helps to put them at ease while keeping the audience engaged
  • Helps the audience visualize the action and excitement through commentary during the robot rounds. Ensures the smooth flow of match play, maintains the event's pace, and can significantly impact the competition's quality

Training and Support: Day of training

Prerequisite: Knowledge of the game and rules (can be onsite, day-of training), Experience preferred but not required

Minimum Age Requirement: 18

Responsibilities: 

  • It is the job of the Field Manager to make sure that the Robot Game is delivered as scheduled and the audio and visual components are working as planned
  • Keeps teams flowing to each area throughout the day and on schedule
  • From the competition floor, the Field Manager keeps in contact with the Pit, Queuers, and Judging areas
  • Keep abreast of scheduling, audio and visual, scoring, and work with the Emcee
  • Oversees music, audio, visual, lighting, and computer and software needs from setup to teardown
  • Ensures technical systems are functional, safe, and meet event needs
  • Coordinates several sets of volunteers, which may include field attendants, scorekeepers, score runners, and Emcee

Training and Support: Day of training on the field

Prerequisite: None

Minimum Age Requirement: 18

Responsibilities: 

  • Repairs and resets the playing fields after each match
  • Resetter plays a critical role in ensuring smooth flow of match play and maintaining pace of the event
  • Supervise the teams collecting their robot and attachments to assure that Field Setup pieces are not taken inadvertently

Training and Support: FIRST data protection training required, Day of training on the field

Prerequisite: FIRST LEGO League experience preferred but not required

Minimum Age Requirement: 13

Responsibilities: 

  • Provide assistance in various areas as determined by the manager of event-day volunteers
  • Often helps with last-minute tasks as identified by event staff and key volunteers
  • Floaters often fill specific volunteer positions for ‘no show’ volunteers and serve to fill-in to allow volunteer breaks
  • Floaters can be useful as messengers, problem solvers, and guides. They staff the practice field to help manage the flow of teams. They also might staff food stands and help with overall clean-up.

Training and Support: Day of training

Prerequisite: None

Minimum Age Requirement: 13

Key Volunteer Role

Responsibilities: 

  • Helps recruit, train, and oversee tournament referees
  • Has comprehensive knowledge of the season field setup, missions, rules, and challenge updates
  • Responsible for tracking and timing robot performance rounds and coordinating referees with the Emcee, Scorekeeper, and the Field Manager
  • Performs quality assurance on tournament Challenge Sets and all competition and practice fields before the event
  • Ensures Judge Advisor has final Robot Game scores to be used in final Awards Allocation

Training and Support: FIRST data protection training required, Illinois Referee training required

Prerequisite: prior FIRST LEGO League referee experience required

Minimum Age Requirement: 21

Key Volunteer Role

Responsibilities: 

  • Oversees judging process and judging quality for the event
  • Ensures FIRST LEGO League Standards for judging and awards are followed and that rubrics are used
  • Oversees judges for hte event, including pre-event communication and verifying training is complete
  • Ensures paperwork is provided for each pod of judges (or access to online scoring program)
  • Runs Award Allocation process
  • Assists with closing ceremony in recognition of and award presentations to the teams

Training and Support: FIRST data protection training required, Illinois Judge/Judge Advisor training required, Awards Allocation process training required

Prerequisite: FIRST LEGO League experience required. Detailed knowledge of Illinois event scoring and Juding process as well as awards allocation requirements for the event

Minimum Age Requirement: 21

Responsibilities: 

  • Aid Judge Advisor or Judge pods
  • Role options, based on event
    • Assist Judge Advisor with keeping Judging on schedule, ensuring completion of rubrics, and managing teams inside or outside of the judging rooms
    • Assist Judging Pods with rubric completing, timing, or team management

Training and Support: FIRST data protection training required, Illinois Judge training may be required

Prerequisite: FIRST LEGO League experience preferred but not required

Minimum Age Requirement: 15, 18 preferred

Responsibilities: 

  • Interview and observe teams together with other judges in the same judging group, also known as the judging pod, using the FIRST LEGO League Challenge event rubrics
  • Serve as a mentor and role model for the team members, motivating them with useful feedback
  • Participates in Award Allocation process
  • Assists with closing ceremony in recognition of and award presentations to the teams

Training and Support: FIRST data protection training required, Illinois Judge training required

Prerequisite: FIRST LEGO League experience preferred but not required

Minimum Age Requirement: 15, 18 preferred

Responsibilities: 

  • Judge Queuer
    • Manages team traffic to and from the judging areas
    • Queuers play a critical role in ensuring smooth flow of traffic and maintenance of overall event pace
    • May need to restrict access to judging rooms from unauthorized individuals
    • Helps keep teams in order and ready to be seen by judges
    • This person should be very aware of the schedule and needs to be able to keep track of more than one thing at a time
  • Robot Game Queuer
    • Manages team traffic to and from the playing field
    • Plays a critical role in ensuring smooth flow of traffic and maintenance of overall event pace
    • May need to restrict access to competition area from unauthorized individuals
    • Communicates with Pit Runners and makes sure that the runners in the Pit are rounding up teams that are not in the queue, helps keep teams in order and ready to compete
    • This person should be very aware of the schedule and needs to be able to keep track of more than one thing at a time

Training and Support: Day of training

Prerequisite: None

Minimum Age Requirement: 13

Responsibilities: 

  • Observes team robot game matches, identifies rule violations, assesses field for scoring of matches, and participates in deliberations regarding contested calls and official scores
  • Position works under the direction of the Head Referee
  • Requires advanced training and intimate knowledge of current Robot Challenge Game rules
  • Plays a critical role in ensuring smooth flow of match play and maintaining the pace of the event
  • Embodies FIRST Core Values while monitoring match play

Training and Support: Illinois Referee training required

Prerequisite: FIRST LEGO League experience preferred but not required

Minimum Age Requirement: 15, 18 preferred

Responsibilities: 

  • Assists with FIRST LEGO League Team Registration
  • Position provides direction, assistance, and information to FIRST LEGO League coaches and other adults accompanying teams and distributes materials
  • Assist with area set-up and breakdown.

Training and Support: Day of training

Prerequisite: None

Minimum Age Requirement: 18

Key Volunteer Role

Responsibilities: Oversees all aspects of the tournament and reports to the region’s FIRST LEGO League PDP.

Training and Support: Monthly meetings and training for required tools (volunteer management, scoring and event management software)

Prerequisite: FIRST LEGO League event experience required.

Minimum Age Requirement: 21

Key Volunteer Role

Responsibilities: 

  • Responsible for the onsite management of event-day volunteers, including setting up registration for volunteers, managing any walk-on volunteers, and problem-solving
  • Works closely with the Tournament Director and venue on all volunteer logistics, including preevent planning and communication
  • Please note, this is a key position that involves a large amount of work in advance of the event; individuals should only sign up for this role if directed to or recruited by a FIRST LEGO League Operational Partner or FIRST LEGO League Tournament Director

Training and Support: FIRST Data Protection training required

Prerequisite: Basic knowledge of Tournament structure and event requirements

Minimum Age Requirement: 21

The FIRST LEGO League Illinois Planning Committee is a volunteer group who meet monthly throughout the year. The Planning Committee is run by the Program Delivery Partners and is responsible for:

  • Future program planning and growth initiatives
  • Securing sponsorship and donations
  • Securing grant opportunities
  • Maintaining programming and marketing materials
  • Maintaining the website
  • State Championship Tournament planning and execution including volunteer recruiting, event scheduling, volunteer food coordinator, team concessions recruitment
  • Qualifier and Sectional Tournament oversight
  • Administration and oversight of the program throughout the state
  • Volunteer recruitment initiatives

If you have a particular talent in one of the above areas and you would like to part of the Planning Committee, please send an email to us at [email protected]

Become a State Mentor!

Teams accross the state could benefit from experienced alumni, coaches, and experts with skills in

  • Robot strategy and planning
  • Robot design and building
  • Programming
  • Troubleshooting
  • Innovation project guidance
  • Innovation project subject matter experts
  • Season start or planning
  • Project management and task planning

State Mentors may be good in all areas, or specialized in a specific area. Historically, mentors remotely contact the teams or coaches over the phone or via a web meeting. In some cases, where location and the meeting spaces allow, mentors can go on-site with the team.

Here are examples of previous State Mentor guidances provided to teams:

  • Helping the coach understand strategy and task planning for robot game execution
  • Teaching troubleshooting with real examples from the team
  • Programming troubleshooting
  • Innovation project task planning
  • Subject Matter Experts for the team's innovation project
  • Judging presentation critiques

Interested in joining our State Mentor team? Send us an email.