For the basics go over to this page
I think it is best to do that first before starting a competition.
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Thanks for the input! I guess I should of mentioned that this is amongst three buddies haha. A good exercise is all.
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Thanks for this! hase quite a bit of information!
Depending on the level of Grasshopper skill you all have, you could find a parametric design you like and then ask everyone to try replicate it in GH? Whoever recreates the design the most accurately and/or with the least components wins…
You could start with something simple, this website might be good to start with (pick a definition and try recreate it without looking at the answer) >> http://parametric-design.blogspot.com/. Then you can build up to trying to replicate real-world parametric designs, such as facades etc.
That’s the right mind set!
Learning Grasshopper can take a long time, but the best way - in my opinion - is with projects. Conceptualize what you want to do, break it down into smaller tasks, and then research how you can accomplish each of these individual parts with Grasshopper.
I’d also start with something easy. It will be less frustrating because it will lead to faster results!
Here’s a general piece of advice! If you want to truly learn Grasshopper, it’s not enough to only learn how to use this specific tool superficially, but study the basics of programming and revisit maths concepts that you learned back in high school like trigonometry.
And have fun!
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Here’s a list of learning resources I usually provide when running our inhouse courses:
David Rutten Videos
https://vimeo.com/channels/basicgh
https://vimeo.com/channels/datatreegh
The Modelab Grasshopper Primer
http://grasshopperprimer.com/en/index.html
http://www.liftarchitects.com/blog/2009/3/25/grasshopper-primer-english-edition (legacy version)
O’Reilly Course (Luis Fraguada from McNeel)
http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920051985.do
Essential Mathematics/Algorithms Primers
https://developer.rhino3d.com/guides/general/essential-mathematics
https://www.rhino3d.com/download/rhino/6.0/essential-algorithms
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWIvZT_UEpWW6Kgq8mxOgliGBFHhrI4mK
Andrew Heumann Content
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0D5Ey-kk6E25jFAYO1WeZubBpzCnZ2iU
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0D5Ey-kk6E1aPk0Lnm-fY2l6MAaFXMqN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Pb-ScLpFI&ab_channel=YourDeskUniversity
https://runxel.github.io/rhino-secrets/files/Data-Trees-by-Andrew-Heuman.pdf
Harvard GSD-6338 (Jose Luis Garcia del Castillo)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvxxYImPCApUXhX3te3IK32ileXHpzKY4
Think Parametric
https://thinkparametric.com
Parametric House
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjLDKM9EzNdASaNdjBhTqug
The McNeel Discourse
https://discourse.mcneel.com/c/grasshopper
The Defunct Grasshopper Forum
https://www.grasshopper3d.com/
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Wow! 
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Thanks for the advice! I know python quite well and have developed a couple scripts to assist my workflow within Rhino and I think thats one advantage I have. I agree right now I want to just create a cool vase and take it from there or at least thats the idea.
Thanks for this ! I have started on Ruttens videos but will check out the others. Do you guys think the O’Reilly course is worth it ?
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I think it’s the best general introductory Grasshopper course I’ve reviewed for sure. And even though it’s a bit old it isn’t dated, as Grasshopper hasn’t fundamentally changed since 2016. You can try the free trial and see what you think. It’s quite generous with the allotted time too.
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Shots fired! 
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That is hilarious!
Sounds good Ill probably give it a go then. Thanks again for your insight!
The best PDF learning resource IMO.
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I’d add to your very very good list- Gediminas Kirdeikis
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This is what I have been looking for, honestly. Learning how to use and manipulate data types then it looks like we start incorporating geometry into these data types. Thanks for this ! Today is the official start date of the competition we have ten days from today !
Thanks for this!
Don’t forget the stuff by rese-arch. They have some excellent tutorials. They are not free, but its worth it, especially for a little more advanced/fun stuff: Grasshopper tutorials Essentials - video tutorial for Grasshopper tutorials | Rese Arch
I used to teach a grasshopper course to designers at sydney university. The tutorials were all simplified chair models, which was a very tangible way to learn. You can see the video recordings here: https://vimeo.com/stevenjanssen
They date back a bit now, but at this beginners level, i doubt you’ll notice much difference.