Quote:
Originally Posted by Allison K
# of Tournaments - FLL teams can only compete at one qualifying event, whereas VEX IQ teams face no particular limit. It's easy enough to run IQ events that tournaments can be scheduled to meet demand and allow kids to compete multiple times over the course of a season. (This may not be the case everywhere though? It's true of every area that I've checked, but you'll have to research your area specifically). Edited to add: Also, an IQ team will have 6+ matches plus robot and programming skills opportunities at each competition, whereas an FLL Team will only have the 3-4 matches. Couple that with the additional event opportunities and it's hard to turn down.
Qualifying Structure - This is just personal opinion, but I like the VEX IQ tournament qualifying structure better. Having the best robot in FLL doesn't ensure moving on to states, as project and core values judging are equally weighted with robot. The VEX IQ qualifying structure is more weighted towards the robot and technical achievements.
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Just FYI but the number events you can attend and the type of qualifying structure is based upon the Partner running FLL in your area. Make sure you do the research in your area to see what your partner is running.
I really like the project portion of FIRST Lego League, it really shows the inventiveness of kids and the ideas they can come up with. After judging a couple FLL events, I am simply blown away by the ideas and presentations these kids come up with. FLL also has the
FIRST Global Innovation Award, which allows kids to basically apply for patents for the ideas they come up with.
With VEX IQ, I feel the project portion isn't as innovative as the one in FLL. This year the theme for VEX IQ is "Engineering" (a very broad topic) whereas the FLL theme is "World Class" or education based.
Overall, I would go with FIRST Lego League just for the benefits of the project portion.