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Acadia Robotics supports teams and hosts two competitions* at Acadia University: FIRST LEGO League Challenge (FLL Challenge) and Robofest Game, with championships held in February-March each year.
*Please note: the competition programs to be offered in 2026-27 will be announced in Summer 2026.
Participation:
Youth form teams under the guidance of 1-2 coaches. Both competitions are youth-led, so coaches needn’t be knowledgeable in the technical side of robotics; rather, they focus on the logistical side of the team, and work to keep the youth on track and help them with the problem-solving process. We predominantly see school-based teams, coached by teachers and guardians, and funded by the school; however, some teams are parent-led, with members from their community or friends of their children.
Coaches/organizations are welcome to have multiple teams, so long as each team has their own robot.
Teams typically meet once or twice a week leading up to the competition to work on their strategy, programs, and materials for the event.
We are available throughout the season to offer information for the event-day, but also to provide clarity on the challenges, if needed. We also host free workshops to help teams prepare and connect with other groups.
FLL Challenge (Founders Edition):
FLL is open to youth in grades 4-8 (or ages 9-14) in teams of 2-10, with two adult coaches. Each season has a new theme; the 2026-27 theme is “BIOGLOW,” based on the intersections nature, technology, and innovation in our ecosystems.
The competition is broken into four parts: Innovative Project, Core Values, Robot Design, and Robot Game.
The Robot Game consists of three rounds, 2.5 minutes in length, wherein teams complete as many of the game missions as they can to earn maximum points.
The Project portion of the competition asks youth to design an innovative solution to a real-world problem. To prepare, teams will present their project to a professional in the field before presenting to a panel of judges at the competition(s).
Robot Design is judged by the team’s presentation of their design process, incl. both the physical design of the robot and how it was programmed.
Core Values reflect how the team works together and with other teams, and are evaluated throughout each component and interaction of the competition.
Registration for FLL Challenge opens in early August. More information about starting a team can be found here:https://robots.acadiau.ca/fll-infoqualifiers.html
And here: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/fll/start-a-team
Robofest (GAME):
Robofest teams are composed of 1-5 youth, competing in either the junior (gr.5-8) or senior (9-12) Game.
Please note that the competition we offer is called “Game.” Robofest has other challenge categories, so please be aware when navigating their website.
The Game asks teams to complete as much of a themed challenge as they can in 2 minutes. The challenge theme and rules will be released in late fall and will include a materials list, how points are scored, and the table set-up specifications. The instructions may indicate exact positions or possible ranges for objects' placement on the table, and note which details won’t be revealed until the day of the competition. Students will develop programs to anticipate these unknown tasks and factors (UTFs), and practice with multiple game scenarios. Teams will be given the UTFs at the beginning of a 30-minute, coach-free work period where they will adapt their programs to account for the new information. For senior teams, some information will remain unknown, so that they must make use of robot sensors to anticipate variations. After the work period, the robots will be impounded until it is their turn at the table, so that no team is advantaged with additional time to work on their robot or code.
Robofest registration instructions will be shared upon season release. You can find more information about starting a team here: https://robots.acadiau.ca/robofest.html
And here: https://www.robofest.net/index.php/current-competitions/game
Cost:
A breakdown of startup costs for each program is available online: https://robots.acadiau.ca/funding-and-expenses.html
While the numbers may be intimidating, please note that the biggest expense for both competitions is the robot; but, Acadia Robotics facilitates a free Robot Lending Library from which competing teams may borrow a robot for the season. These loans can be renewed each year, if the team continues to have financial need. This program is intended to support new teams by alleviating some of the start-up costs.
Getting Started:
The first step to move forward, after finding which program best suits your child’s interests, is to connect with others to propose forming a team, either independently or through your son’s school. If you are not personally keen to coach, connecting with STEM-focused teachers is a good place to start. We are always available to connect with administration to provide information on their involvement, but we often find that schools are quite receptive when they hear from someone within the school community that there is interest in getting involved.
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