Awards

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Inspire Award

The team that receives this award is a strong ambassador for FIRST programs and a role model FIRST team. This team is a top contender for many other judged awards and is a gracious competitor.

The Inspire Award winner is an inspiration to other teams, acting with Gracious Professionalism® both on and off the playing FIELD. This team shares their experiences, enthusiasm, and knowledge with other teams, sponsors, their community, and the JUDGES. Working as a unit, this team will have shown success in performing the task of designing and building a ROBOT.

Think Award

This judged award is given to the team that best reflects the journey the team took as they experienced their season. The content within the PORTFOLIO is the key reference for JUDGES to help identify the most deserving team. The team could share or provide additional detailed information that is helpful for the JUDGES.

Connect Award

This judged award is given to the team that connects with their local science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) community to learn and adopt new tools through effort and persistence. This team has a team plan and has identified steps to achieve their goals. A PORTFOLIO is not required for this award.

Reach Award

This award celebrates a team that has introduced and recruited new people into FIRST. Through their efforts, they have sparked others to embrace the FIRST culture. A PORTFOLIO is not required for this award.

Sustain Award

Sustainability and planning are essential for a FIRST team, because they ensure the program’s long-term success. This award celebrates the team that has considered their future team members and has worked to ensure that their team or program will continue to exist long after they have gone on to develop their careers. A PORTFOLIO is not required for this award.

Innovate Award

The Innovate Award celebrates a team that thinks imaginatively and has the ingenuity, creativity, and inventiveness to make their designs come to life. This judged award is given to the team that has an innovative and creative ROBOT design solution to any specific components in the FIRST Tech Challenge game. Elements of this award include design, robustness, and creative thinking related to design. This award may address the design of the whole ROBOT or of a MECHANISM attached to the ROBOT and should work consistently during MATCHES, but does not have to work all the time to be considered for this award. A PORTFOLIO is not required for this award.

Control Award

The Control Award celebrates a team that uses sensors and software to increase the ROBOT’S functionality during gameplay. This award is given to the team that demonstrates innovative thinking and solutions to solve game challenges such as autonomous operation, improving mechanical systems with intelligent control, or using sensors to achieve better results. The solution(s) should work consistently during MATCHES but does not have to work all the time. Solutions considered for this award are not solely limited to the AUTO period of the MATCH and may also be used during TELEOP. The team’s PORTFOLIO must contain a summary of the software, sensors, and mechanical control but would not include copies of the code itself.

Design Award

The Design Award celebrates the team that demonstrates an understanding of industrial design principles by striking a balance between form, function, and aesthetics while meeting the needs of this season’s challenge. The design process used should result in a ROBOT which is efficiently designed and effectively addresses the game challenge. A PORTFOLIO is not required for this award.

Judges' Choice Award

During the competition, the judging panel may meet a team whose unique efforts, performance, or dynamics merit recognition, but does not fit into any of the other award categories. To recognize these unique teams, FIRST offers a Judges’ Choice Award.

Overview

FIRST Tech Challenge celebrates the excitement of competition both on and off the field. Through the following awards, we celebrate the FIRST Core Values which makes us so much “More than Robots”. Please note that different event types (e.g., League Tournaments, Regional Championship, FIRST Championship) or event sizes may offer different sets of awards. Not every award is presented at every FIRST Tech Challenge event. No awards are presented at League Meets, see section 14 League Play Tournaments (L), additional details by event type are available in the sections below.

Judged awards are determined by volunteers from the community who prepare for the event with thorough training and certification. There are two key judging volunteer roles:

JUDGES – meet with teams to learn about and celebrate the unique journey and accomplishments of each team and evaluate these against award requirements. JUDGES interact with STUDENTS during the interview process, and in the pits. As a group, JUDGES determine the teams that receive awards at events.
JUDGE Advisor (JA) – trains, directs, and supervises JUDGES throughout the event. JUDGE Advisors oversee the judging processes and procedures to make sure they are in accordance with FIRST Tech Challenge judging guidelines.

FIRST Tech Challenge judging is delivered in one of two ways. Most events will have in-person (“traditional”) judging along with the standard in-person gameplay. The second is a hybrid format, which has in-person gameplay, but judging is done remotely before in-person gameplay. This manual will primarily describe the traditional in-person judging process. The remote judging process follows the same overall judging standards and requirements, but interviews are conducted online, and in-person meetings may not occur.

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