How are teams judged at competitions and what awards are there for FIRST® Tech Challenge teams?
At FIRST® Tech Challenge tournaments, there are three parts to the judging process:
- Interview with judges;
- Evaluation of performance during the tournament
- Evaluation of the engineering notebook.
Each team will have a ten to fifteen-minute “fact-finding” interview with a panel of two or three judges. At the start of the interview, students will get a minimum of five minutes to present to the judges. After the team’s five-minute presentation, the judges will have the opportunity to ask questions about the team, the robot, outreach efforts, etc.
The judges’ interviews take place before any Qualification Matches so the entire team may be interviewed. When teams arrive at the tournament, the interview schedule should be included in the registration materials. Teams must know when they will be interviewed and arrive at the interview room early. Each team should have at least two student team representatives and the robot available; the entire team is encouraged to join in. Mentors (no more than two) are welcome to watch the judges’ interview at most tournaments but cannot take part in the interview.
Teams may not opt-out of judges’ interviews. Teams may attend their scheduled judges’ interviews if their robots have not passed inspection.
You can find more information in the SKYSTONE Game Manual Part 1 on pages 16 and 42
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