Ohio Tournament & Registration FAQ

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  • Q. Who can register for a qualifying tournament in Ohio?

    A. Only FIRST® LEGO® League Explore teams that have registered with FIRST for the current season may participate in the Ohio tournament system.

  • A. Short Answer: while a team may end up competing in three Ohio tournaments, they may only compete in Short Answer: while a team may end up competing in three Ohio tournaments, they may only compete in one regional qualifier.

    Regional Qualifiers (1st level qualifiers): These are the events that you will actively register to attend. They range in size from as small as 12 teams to as large as 30 teams. The regional qualifying tournament season in Ohio runs from as early as November 16 through December 21. Teams may only compete in one regional qualifier. Approximately 30% of the teams that attend these tournaments will advance to the district level tournament (2nd level qualifier). FIRST LEGO League’s Advancement Policy (Explained in Judging FAQs) will be used to advance the remaining teams to the next level.

    District Qualifiers (2nd level qualifiers): Teams may only compete at a district qualifier. Teams do not need to register for District Qualifiers – they will be registered automatically upon advancing from a Regional. District qualifiers range in size from 20 to 40 teams, depending on the percentage of Ohio teams who compete within that district. District qualifiers are typically held in January (the Akron event is held in December). Approximately 30% of teams will advance from the district to the FIRST LEGO League Ohio Championi9ship. FIRST LEGO League’s Advancement Policy will be used to advance the remaining teams to the next level.

    FIRST LEGO League Ohio Championship: The FIRST LEGO League Ohio Championship is the final official tournament in Ohio. Teams do not need to register for the Championship – they will be registered automatically upon advancing from a District. Our Champion will advance to FIRST LEGO League World Festival in Detroit, Michigan in April 2018. Additional teams may have an opportunity to advance to World Festival, Open Championships, and Invitationals. Teams will be selected based on FIRST LEGO League’s Advancement Policy.

    Sixty teams will compete at the Ohio Championship.

  • A. You will receive an email from the Ohio FIRST LEGO League Director that includes a link to the registration website. This email will be sent on or before September 27. This link is the ONLY way to register for an event in Ohio. You will not be able to register for an event using your coach dashboard on the FIRST website. The link will also be posted on the competitions page at WPAFBSTEM.com.

    When registering, you will select a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice for tournament. You must also pay your $80 per team registration fee. This one-time fee will cover your team if you advance through the tournament structure in the state. You will be prompted to pay this fee when you register. You can either pay by check, purchase order, or credit card.

    Purchase Order: You will be required to upload a PDF of your Purchase Order as proof of impending payment.

    Credit Card: You will be directed to pay your fee via PayPal. A small processing fee will be added to your bill.

    Check: You can mail your check, made payable to The Ohio Educational Outreach Foundation, at:

    The Ohio Educational Outreach Foundation
    ATTN: Linda Lange
    1270 North Fairfield Road
    Dayton, Ohio 45432-2600

    Make sure you include your FIRST LEGO League team number on all communications, especially on your check, if you choose to pay by this option. If you choose to mail your payment, your team will not be officially placed into a tournament until your payment is received in this office. If you would like to avoid any delay, you can send a check in early.

    Regional tournament registration will run in early October. All payments (checks) must be received within 3 days of registration closing.

  • A. No. Your team may only attend one regional qualifying tournament. Your team may have additional opportunities to compete by advancing to the district tournament and then to the FIRST LEGO League Ohio Championship.

  • A. No. If you choose to register as an official FIRST LEGO League tournament in another state, you are not eligible to compete in the Ohio tournament system.

    (Exceptions: Open Championships or World Festival, which occur after the Ohio tournaments have ended).

  • A. Cost for competing in the Ohio tournament system for the entire season is $80. Thisone-time fee is due at the time of tournament registration. You can pay this fee by credit card, purchase order, or check:

    Credit Card: You can pay online when you register. A small processing fee will be added to your charges.

    Purchase Order: You must upload a PDF of your purchase order at the time of tournament registration. If your purchase order covers more than one team, upload the PDF each time you register a team listed on the document.

    Check: You can mail your check, made payable to The Ohio Educational Outreach Foundation to (If you select this option, you will be placed into a tournament and a spot in a tournament will be held for your team until 3 days after registration closing. If the check is not received by then, the spot may be given to another team).

    The Ohio Educational Outreach Foundation
    ATTN: Linda Lange
    1270 North Fairfield Road
    Dayton, Ohio 45432-2600

    The $80 Tournament Fee for the entire Ohio tournament season is due at the time of team registration and no later than October 15, 2018.

    Make sure you include your FIRST LEGO League number on all communications, especially on your check, if you choose to pay by this option.

  • A. When you register your team for a regional tournament, you will indicate a 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice for tournament. Tournament placement will be made based upon the following criteria:

    1. Timeliness of registration
    2. Timeliness of registration payment
    3. Balanced tournament numbers

    No tournament placements can be finalized until tournament payment is received. If you register and pay on or near the day registration opens, you are more likely to receive your first choice of tournament. The longer you wait, the more likely you are to be placed into your second choice, third choice or other tournament, depending on space availability and minimum tournament number requirements.

    Please note to which district tournament your team would advance, if you qualify, from each regional tournament you select. There are six district tournaments throughout the state, and each regional tournament will advance teams to a specific district tournament, regardless of a team’s physical location within the state.

  • A. No. Team registration fees are non-refundable, as these fees go to pay for tournament competition Challenge Sets, awards, event insurance, and other supplies.

  • A. As soon as your tournament requests and payment are confirmed and your placement has been finalized, you will receive an e-mail notification of your placement. All placements should be finalized by 3 days after registration closing.

  • A. No. Your team may register for any of the regional tournaments in Ohio.

  • A. Yes. Your team can be placed into a tournament as long as you uploaded a PDF of the Purchase Order at the time you register your team for competition.

  • A. Your organization can request a W-9 and/or an invoice for payment by calling 937-656-2273 or emailing

  • A. All of the official tournament information, including event sizes, location, awards, team and parent information packets, forms, schedules, etc., will be housed on the Competitions page of the Ohio FLL website. By late September, you will be able to click on the name of each event to get to information about that event. As the season progresses, more information related to each tournament will be posted for the convenience of teams and spectators. Check back to your event site frequently to find updates.

  • A. The district and FIRST LEGO League Ohio Championship tournaments are invitation-only events. A team must qualify at a regional tournament to advance to the district. A team must qualify at a district tournament to advance to the FIRST LEGO League Ohio Championship. No additional fees are required from teams that advance to the next level in the Ohio tournament structure.

    Approximately 30% of teams will advance from a regional tournament to the district tournament. Approximately 30% of teams will advance from the district tournament to the Ohio Championship using FIRST LEGO League’s Advancement Policy.

  • A. Contact the Ohio FIRST LEGO League Director and .