FLL Tournament

The 2nd annual FLL tournament took place at Cupertino High School on November 12, 2017. Being a mentor moving in and out of the pits and interacting with teams all day, I was able to feel the excitement that all the children had during the event. It was amazing to see the way FLL had influenced all the children in some way or another, but especially in the way they graciously and professionally interacted with each other.

The three teams mentored by Cupertino High School FRC and FTC students exceeded expectations with their performances. We were all able to see the hard work and effort put in throughout the season come to life. Although not everything went to plan for all the teams, all the children thoroughly enjoyed their experience during both the season and the competition. All the preparation put in for the presentations also showed, as all three teams were happy with their performances.

Throughout the season, the mentors worked with the teams on all aspects of FLL: core values, project, hardware, and software. We implemented a rotational system this year -- a big change from the previous year -- so that every student on every team had a chance to work on and learn about the different parts of the robot and the project. While effective in giving everyone an opportunity to learn and grow, it was time-consuming, and will be something to improve on for next year. Ultimately, this season could not have worked without the help of each and every mentor who worked closely with the kids to ensure that they were working and having fun.

Overall, all the teams at the competition performed incredibly well and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. While Team 32253 won the Judges Award, we are immensely proud of all three teams and their outstanding performance.

Written By: Shruthi Jaganathan (FLL Mentor)