FIRST ® LEGO® LEAGUE ROBOTICS

The virtual information meeting for the 2025- 2026 season will be March 27 at 7pm. Meeting to be held on Microsoft Teams.

Meeting ID: 240 580 733 324

Passcode: Cg9AX3pw

To participate in FIRST LEGO League in CUSD, students must attend a CUSD school and families must complete a digital application. Once the application has been submitted, coach/teacher recommendation forms will be sent out. Following, teams will be formed and families notified of their assigned team. Students new to the program must complete a Beginning LEGO Robotics camp, offered over the summer through CEF’s Summer Enrichment Camp. Families will register and provide donation once teams have been assigned in late summer.

We will be offering an Elementary and Middle School track for the 2025-26 FLL season. 

CUSD FLL Robotics program is managed and financially supported by the Carlsbad Educational Foundation. CEF invests nearly $150,000 annually in after school robotics for CUSD students.

We request that each team member provide a donation to the Foundation to help cover essential costs for teams like team registrations, equipment, and tournament fees.   This donation can be made at the time of registration.

Suggested Donations

Elementary Team Members: $250 for the 2025-26 season

Middle School Team Members: $300 for the 2025-26 season

The actual cost for each FLL team member to participate in the program is approximately $900 per year.   Participation donations from team members allow us to offer this program to over 150 CUSD students regardless of their ability to donate. 

There is much more to FLL Robotics than free playtime with Legos! Lego building is only a small part of the process. Most of the team meeting time is spent working with teammates to solve problems. We will also be researching and learning about our topic for the year, programming our robots to complete missions, and working with other teams and team members to help everyone be more successful!
During the school year, team members are asked to support the program through school related outreach, promotional, and/ or fundraising activities.

Middle school teams will meet once per week for 2 hours in late summer and twice weekly for 2 hours each from September through February. School year meeting times are not confirmed yet but will likely meet anytime between 4:00 to 8:00 pm. To make the practices most effective, homework will be assigned between practices.

Elementary teams will meet once weekly for 2 hours from September through February between 4:00 – 8:00pm. Homework will be assigned occasionally between practices.

If teams advance to a higher level competitions, extra or extended practices could be added.
Team members are expected to attend all practices for the entire session (unless with an excused absence). (Some leeway is allowed for practices during the summer.) 

Team members are also required to attend the following full-day tournaments.
1. Early Winter FLL Qualifier 

2. Mid Winter  FLL Regionals (must qualify) OR FLL Cup Tournament (tentative on local chapter)

4. Late Winter: FLL Championship (must qualify)

3. Late Winter: CEF Robotics Showcase

No. Carlsbad Educational Foundation funds FLL for the Carlsbad Unified School District only. Students must attend a CUSD school to participate in our program. 

LEGO Robotics is a family commitment. Parent/Guardian involvement is essential to the success of our FLL teams. Each team of students needs a minimum of 2 parent coaches who can consistently be at the meetings each week. Parents do not need any prior experience with programming or research. Training and support will be provided. If you are not able to coach, there are many other opportunities to get involved!

To learn more about what it means to be a coach, please join our virtual FLL Information Session. 

Who are FIRST mentors and coaches?

• People from all backgrounds and disciplines who share their knowledge, whether it is technical or non-technical
• Someone who contributes on a weekly basis facilitating team meetings, helping the team set realistic goals and coordinate their work OR someone who supports the team with subject matter expertise on an as needed basis including assisting the team with topics such as programming questions, building skills, scholarships, business management, marketing, or fundraising
• An adviser who helps foster Gracious Professionalism^® and FIRST Core Values in the students.
• To learn more about the coaching experience, visit https://www.firstinspires.org/ways-to-help/volunteer/mentors-and-coaches 

Why do you want to be on an FLL team?

 What previous experience do you have with a team (any team)?

 What is the most important personal skill or interest you believe you could offer a team?

 How would you handle a disagreement between two team members if asked to mediate?

Beginning Robotics will be offered through CEF’ Summer Enrichment Camp. Camps will be held at Valley Middle School for the summer of 2025. View our Summer Programs page for more information.

CEF does not provide transportation for any programming and it is the families’ responsibility to ensure students arrives to practice and events on time and are picked up promptly after.