AWARDS

For a detailed breakdown of the judging criteria, kindly refer to Game Manual Part 1.



INSPIRE AWARD:

This judged award is given to the team that best embodies the ‘challenge’ of the FIRST Tech Challenge program. 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 and sharing their experiences, enthusiasm and knowledge with other teams.

To be awarded, the team must meet several criteria. Team must show respect and Gracious Professionalism® to everyone they meet at a FIRST Tech Challenge event, each team member contributes to the success of the team , The submitted engineering portfolio must be high quality and well-organized, the Robot design must be creative and innovative. Team interview session must be professional and engaging. The team should be able to share or provide more detailed information to support the information in the portfolio.



THINK AWARD:

This judged award is given to the team that best reflects the journey the team took as they experienced the engineering design process during the build season. The engineering content within the portfolio is the key reference for judges to help identify the most deserving team. The team’s engineering content must focus on the design and build stage of the team’s robot.

To be awarded, Team must show respect and Gracious Professionalism® to everyone they meet at a FIRST Tech Challenge event, Team must submit an detailed engineering portfolio ,The engineering content could include entries describing examples of the underlying science, mathematics, and game strategies in a summary fashion, with examples that show the team has a clear understanding of the engineering design process including an example of lessons learned.

Team must be able to provide additional information, summarize how the team acquired new mentors or acquired new knowledge from their mentors, summary of overall team plan, plans to develop skills for team members. The portfolio should also include information about the team’s design maturity, organizational capabilities, and overall team structure, as well as lessons learned and experiences from the robot design process. The team should refer to the Award Definitions s for judging outlined in Appendix F of Game Manual Part 1 for outreach and be able to provide supporting documentation to the judges, where applicable.



CONNECT AWARD:

This judged award is given to the team that most connects with their local science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) community.The recipient of this award is recognized for helping the community understand FIRST, the FIRST Tech Challenge, and the team itself. This team has a clear team plan and has identified steps to achieve their goals.

To be awarded, Team must show respect and Gracious Professionalism® to everyone they meet at a FIRST Tech Challenge event, Team must submit an detailed engineering portfolio that include a team plan that covers the team’s goals for the development of team member skills, and the steps the team has taken or will take to reach those goals. Portfolio must include a summary of how the team acquired new mentors or acquired new knowledge and expertise from a mentor

Team should provides clear examples of developing in person or virtual connections with individuals in the engineering, science, or technology community. They also need to m actively engages with the engineering community to help them understand FIRST, the FIRST Tech Challenge, and the team itself. The team should refer to the Award Definitions for judging outlined in Appendix F of Game Manual Part 1 for outreach and be able to provide supporting documentation to the judges, where applicable.



INNOVATE AWARD:

The Innovate Award, sponsored by RTX, 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.

To be awarded, Team must show respect and Gracious Professionalism® to everyone they meet at a FIRST Tech Challenge event, Team must submit an detailed engineering that illustrate how the team arrived at their design solution. Robot or robot sub-assembly must be creative, elegant, and unique in its design with each components must be stable, robust, and work reliably most of the time.

The portfolio could inspire the judges to ask the team about the specific detailed engineering information.



Control Award:

The Control Award celebrates a team that uses sensors and software to increase the robot’s functionality in the field. This award is given to the team that demonstrates innovative thinking to solve game challenges such as autonomous operation, improving mechanical systems with intelligent control, or using sensors to achieve better results. The control component should work consistently in the field.

To be awarded, Team must show respect and Gracious Professionalism® to everyone they meet at a FIRST Tech Challenge event, Team must apply for the Control Award by filling out the Control Award Submission Form, located in Appendix E of Game Manual Part 2 and submit an engineering portfolio that include engineering content that documents the control components. Control components must enhance the functionality of the Robot on the Playing Field.

Advanced software techniques and algorithms are encouraged, but not required. Control components should work reliably. Learnings from the team about what they tried and what did not work with regards to sensors, hardware, algorithms, and code could be included in the engineering portfolio.



Motivate Award:

This judged award celebrates the team that represents the essence of the FIRST Tech Challenge competition through Gracious Professionalism® and general enthusiasm for the overall philosophy of FIRST and what it means to be a FIRST Tech Challenge team. This is a team who makes a collective effort to make FIRST known throughout their school and community, and sparks others to embrace the culture of FIRST.

To be awarded, Team must show respect and Gracious Professionalism® to everyone they meet at a FIRST Tech Challenge event, submit an engineering portfolio that include a team organization plan hwhich could describe their future goals and the steps they will take to reach those goals. The team must be an ambassador for FIRST programs and is able to explain the individual contributions of each team member, and how these apply to the overall success of the team.

Team should takes part in their presentation, and actively engages with the judges. They should shows a creative approach to materials that market their team and FIRST. Team could also summarize experiences and lessons learned from outreach. The team should refer to the Award Definitions for judging outlined in Appendix F of Game Manual Part 1 for outreach and be able to provide supporting documentation to the judges, where applicable.



Design Award:

This judged award recognizes design elements of the robot that are both functional and aesthetic. To be awarded, Team must show respect and Gracious Professionalism® to everyone they meet at a FIRST Tech Challenge event. Team must submit an engineering portfolio with engineering content. This could be CAD images or robot drawings of the team’s overall design and/or components.

Team should distinguishes itself from others by its aesthetic and functional design. Basis for the designs should be well thought out with a combination of inspiration, function, and other elements. The design should be effective and consistent with team plan and strategy. The portfolio could inspire the judges to ask the team about specific detailed engineering information.



Promote Award:

The Promote Award is given to the team that is most successful in creating a compelling video message for the public designed to change our culture and celebrate science, technology, engineering, and math. Teams must submit a one-minute-long public service announcement (PSA) video based on the PSA subject for the season.

Video must be of a high quality, as submissions may be used later to promote FIRST. Team must present a thoughtful and impactful video which appeals to the public and show creativity in interpreting the yearly theme. The video must follow video award submission guidelines.



Compass Award:

The Compass Award recognizes an adult coach or mentor who has given outstanding guidance and support to a team throughout the year and demonstrates to the team what it means to be a Gracious Professional The winner of the Compass Award will be chosen from candidates nominated by FIRST Tech Challenge student team members, via a 40-60 second video submission.

Video must follow FIRST branding and design standards, video cannot be longer than 60 seconds and must be of a high quality, as submissions may be used later to promote FIRST. Team must have permission from the copyright owners for the music used in the video with music and permissions must be listed in video credits. Video needhighlights the mentor’s contribution to the team and demonstrates what sets the mentor apart.



Judges’ Choice Award

This award is optional and may not be given at all tournaments. 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 existing award categories. To recognize unique teams, FIRST offers a customizable Judges Choice Award. The judging panel may select a team to be honored, as well as the name of the Judges Choice Award. The Judges Choice Award recognizes a team for their outstanding efforts but does not factor into the advancement criteria.



Winning Alliance Award

This award will be given to the winning Alliance represented in the final Match.



Finalist Alliance Award

This award will be given to the finalist Alliance represented in the final Match.