2026–2027 · Founders Edition Challenge
The Western Pennsylvania BIOGLOW™ season
Experience the vibrancy of the world’s ecosystems while your team researches, designs, builds, codes, and competes. PAFLL serves FIRST® LEGO® League Founders Edition Challenge teams using LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime.
Your path through the season
1. Create/Register Your Team with FIRST
Obtain or renew the official FIRST team number and purchase the BIOGLOW Founders Edition Challenge Set through FIRST.
2. Obtain a Western PA FLL Season Pass For Each of Your Teams
Open Buy Season Pass(es), register each local team, and choose its payment method. School paperwork and pending checks never prevent event registration.
3. Select events for your teams to compete in (Starting September 1st).
View live AM/PM availability and register each team for as many or as few available events as you choose.
Two competition Divisions
Choose the competitive environment that fits each team
Both Divisions provide the complete Western PA FLL experience: teams may attend every local scrimmage, complete robot-game rounds and judging activities, and compete for Division recognition at our Western PA Grand Championship. The difference is the desired level of competitive intensity and whether the team wants a postseason pathway.
OPEN Division is selected automatically. A coach may instead choose SCHOLASTIC Division for any team and may change that choice during the season until the Division lock before a registered event.
| Compare | OPEN Division | SCHOLASTIC Division |
|---|---|---|
| How selected | Default for every team; open to all teams. | Coach actively opts in; available to all teams seeking this environment. |
| Local season experience | All Western PA events, OPEN Division recognition, and the OPEN Division Grand Championship. | All Western PA events, separate SCHOLASTIC Division recognition, and the SCHOLASTIC Division Grand Championship. |
| Competitive environment | The traditional, full-scale experience and our most intensely competitive Division. | The same core experiences in a less intensely competitive environment. |
| Postseason pathway | OPEN Division champions advance to postseason opportunities. | No postseason-advancement pathway. |
| Often a good fit for | Teams seeking the traditional level of competitive intensity or postseason opportunities. | Teams with limits on total season time, teams with more limited experience, or programs entering multiple teams at different experience levels. |
| Event capacity | OPEN Division and SCHOLASTIC Division teams share each AM/PM session’s total capacity. | |
Quick guide
The right choice can differ from team to team
A program with multiple teams may place them in different Divisions based on experience, available time, and competitive goals. Neither choice changes access to the Western PA event series.
DEFAULT CHOICE
OPEN Division
The traditional, full-scale Western PA FLL experience and our most intensely competitive Division. Choose OPEN Division for teams seeking postseason advancement or the traditional level of competitive intensity.
OPT-IN CHOICE
SCHOLASTIC Division
The same core Western PA FLL experiences in a less intensely competitive environment, without the postseason pathway. It can be a good fit for teams with limited season time, more limited experience, or a different experience level from another team in the same program.
Season pass and event policies
The 2026–2027 PAFLL season pass is $325 per team. Pay securely by credit card or PayPal, or record a check or purchase order for manual reconciliation. Additional electronic payment methods appear only when complete payment instructions are available. Payment processing delays never prevent a team from registering for events.
| Capacity | Each AM and PM session has its own capacity, shared by OPEN Division and SCHOLASTIC Division teams. |
|---|---|
| Changes | Teams may change sessions themselves until one week before the event. |
| Late cancellations | A cancellation inside one week is recorded as a late cancellation and immediately releases the space. |
| Division lock | A team’s Division locks 72 hours before its registered event. |
| Waitlist | When space opens, the next team receives an email offer and normally has 24 hours to confirm. |
| Public rosters | Every locally registered team is listed publicly by team name, FIRST team number, and Division. Coach, student, and payment information is not displayed. |
Ready to get started?
Start the Season Pass process now. You can register every team and keep its information current before event registration opens.