I agree that the first item, the 27 in. x 17 in. x 13 in., 50 lbs. is a tote. This is supported by the 27 in. x 17 in. x 13 in., 30 lbs. item for rookies.
2 in. x 2 in. x 48 in., 5 lbs. is probably some metal, possibly like last year.
I could see how the 8 in. x 3 in. x 7 in., 14 lbs. item is a battery, since rookies get an item of identical dimensions.
The "very small item" is a mystery. I think there are two main reasons why the dimensions are not specified. If
FIRST gives us the dimensions before kickoff to help with transportation, then they think that this item will not be significantly difficult to transport. But I think that this lack of information is a hint. They basically told us that it would be easy to transport, but that specifying exact dimensions would make the item easy to figure out. Based on this, I think the item must be a ball, or something with well-known dimensions.
There is also another possible interpretation.
FIRST may think that we don't need the size before kickoff, and knowing them, they give us as little information as possible.
I think that another possibility that we should consider is that regardless of the size of the "very small object", it is relatively heavy (possibly 10 pounds or greater).
FIRST knows that we are in high school, so they want to limit the weight of each item in the kickoff kit to about 50 pounds.
This "very small item" is shrouded in mystery, and this is my opinion. What do you think?
Gal