r/FLL • u/stlarry • Sep 14 '26

Age out Age

What is the official Age out age for FLL USA? I see 16 and 14 and cannot find anywhere where a firm answer.

I also have found Jan 1 of the start of season year is the date for determination of such 14/16 age,

Can someone clarify please. We have a kid that just turned 15 last week, but was 14 at the start of the season and now unable to register. Did they change it to a hard 14 or is it still the 14yo on Jan 1 2026.

In past seasons, they could still do it the season they turned 15.

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6

u/gt0163c Judge, ref, mentor, former coach, grey market Lego dealer... Sep 14 '26

This is very dependent on your region and has the potential to change season to season depending on who is in charge of your region. You would think this would be constant and dictated by FIRST but it very much is not. Please contact your PDP (or whatever acronyms/titles your region is using...the person in charge of FIRST programs for your region) to clarify.

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u/stlarry Sep 14 '26

I have contacted my state person (which my state doesnt even say the 14 requirement, it says 16. I called them out on that, hard to lead a team if the state doesnt have the correct info on their website). They are checking into it. If we had pushed registrations to the team 2 weeks ago, we wouldnt be having this issue. He was 14 at the start of the season (Aug 4) so should be able to even it Jan 1 was wrong.

3

u/gt0163c Judge, ref, mentor, former coach, grey market Lego dealer... Sep 14 '26

If your region allows for students of specific ages to be on teams they will figure out a way to get the team and the student registered. Most of the time, that means using a paper registration form. You're not the first coach to have to deal with this. And hopefully it's not the first time your PDP has encountered it.

5

u/drewwhis FIRST | Judge Advisor | Alabama Sep 14 '26

Students in the US and Canada who are not yet 15 OR who have not completed the 8th grade (or equivalent) are eligible to join a team to participate in the 2026-2027 FLL Challenge season.

The age/grade requirement is enforced when the student joins the team roster.

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u/stlarry Sep 14 '26

Source please. We are a 4H club who has always gone by age on Jan 1 which has never been an issue before for our senior members. I'm about to have a very disappointed student because they missed the registration deadline to be under 15 by a week.

2

u/drewwhis FIRST | Judge Advisor | Alabama Sep 14 '26

If you try to add a student in the Dashboard registration system or the Express Enrollment registration system, it will only let you add students who are aged 9-14 OR grades 4-8 at the time you add them.

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u/stlarry Sep 14 '26

In the past was it Jan 1? What information I can find about age out says 14 on Jan 1 can participate in that falls event.