The Event Partner Role
Judged awards at events provide a positive opportunity to acknowledge the amazing efforts made by students and volunteers, and provide a method to qualify teams for Championship events. The EP should endeavor to recruit adequate judges from a variety of backgrounds to provide the best experience for the judges and teams.
The EP is responsible for selecting which awards will be given out at their event. Some awards are required for qualifying events, but others are optional to offer. EPs are encouraged to give out more awards than the bare minimum in order to recognize more student achievements. Even if an award won't qualify the winner to a championship event it validates the work students have done, and is something they can show their school or organization to further recognize the success of their program. Awards can be recognized with certificates as a low-cost option in addition to or in place of trophies. The three categories of awards given at an event are:
- Judged Awards – Team awards that are based on criteria included in the Judge Guide and the winners are selected by Judges.
- Performance Awards – Team awards that are based on robot performance on the field in match play and skills challenges. Judges do not determine winners of performance awards.
- Individual Awards – Awards that recognize the contribution of an adult volunteer or sponsor and are determined by the EP or event planning committee before the event. Judges do not typically determine individual awards.
On the event day, EPs oversee the operation of the entire event and provide support for the Judges and the Judge Advisor. Event Partners cannot serve as the Judge Advisor for an event they are running; however, the EP must know and understand the role of the Judges and the Judge Advisor to provide the needed support prior to and during the event. While EPs are responsible to ensure the Judge Guide is adhered to by their judging staff, EPs may not recommend or assign judged awards to any team and decisions on all judged team awards are made by the Judges in consultation with the Judge Advisor. EPs may determine winners of individual, non-team awards such as Volunteer of the Year.
The EP is responsible for ensuring the Awards are entered into Tournament Manager (TM) and uploaded to RobotEvent.com after the event is completed. The EP can coordinate these tasks with the Judge Advisor and the Tournament Manager Operator.
Your Regional Support Manager (RSM) can assist on clarifying the judging process prior to the event and on the event day. Do not hesitate to reach out to your RSM in the event planning process to ensure you and your judges have the training and resources needed to be successful. The Event Planning Checklist and the Judge Advisor's Guide include detailed tasks to prepare for the judging process. Providing a positive experience for your judges will likely result in their return for future events.
Judging Processes
The Judging Processes at RECF Resources > Volunteers > Judging should be shared with the Judge Advisor and Judges. These articles review the awards and the judging process in more detail and are useful to help you to select which awards to give at your event. Even though the EP does not participate in the judging process, it is important that you understand the process and can refer to the information if there are questions at your event.
Judge Certification
The Judge Certification Course is required for Judge Advisors and recommended for Judges and Event Partners.
Prepare the Judges' Room
Judges need a private room where they can convene to review engineering notebooks and discuss teams’ performance confidentially. The day before the event, the Judges' room should be prepared with their judging material and supplies.
- Gather judging materials.
- Post the Standard Award Descriptions for all judged awards to be given at the event. Allow room for Post-It® notes or scrap paper with notes to be posted below the Standard Award Descriptions.
Event Day Judging Tasks for the EP
After check-in closes and the match schedule has been generated, print the following reports from Tournament Manager and distribute one to each Judge Team and the Judge Advisor.
- Team list
- Match list by team number
- Match list by match number (optional)
- One set of the Awards Ceremony Scripts for the Judged Awards
After the Qualification Matches
- After the qualification matches are completed, print reports in Tournament Manager (TM) of the Match Rankings and Robot Skills Rankings and deliver them to the Judge Advisor for consideration during judging deliberations.
- In the (rare) case that no teams meet the minimum requirements for the Design and Excellence Awards, contact your RSM. The award configurations will need to be adjusted at RobotEvents.com. The Tournament Manager Operator will also need to uncheck the affected awards using Tools → Options → Awards.
- The Judge Advisor will complete and turn in the Awards Ceremony scripts with the Award Winners to the EP or Tournament Manager Operator so they can be entered into the program.
- The EP can review the Award winners to verify the Judge Guide has been followed. For example, no team may win more than one Judged award. If there is a question, the EP should consult the Judge Advisor and they should review the Judging rules together. Only the Judge Advisor and Judges should make changes to the Award winners, if any are needed.
After the Finals/Elimination Matches
After the last Finals (VIQRC) or Elimination (V5RC/VAIRC/VURC) Match has been scored:
- In TM, on the Awards tab, click Auto Fill Winners to populate the performance awards fields.
- In TM, on the Awards tab, verify the Award Winners for the Judged Awards are populated with the winning teams as provided by the Judge Advisor.
Presenting Awards
- In Tournament Manager (Reports), you can print an award summary sheet as well as award scripts. Have the Judge Advisor check those sheets against their notes in case of a mistake when the team numbers were entered.
- Print out the Award Ceremony Scripts under Reports in TM and give them to whomever is presenting the awards. The Award Ceremony scripts will now include the team information for each Award Winner.
- Encourage your Judges to give out the awards! They have worked very hard all day to select the winners, and this is a rewarding experience for them and the students. If you have any event sponsors, they can also be asked to send volunteers as judges and can give out awards; this is a great opportunity to recognize your event sponsors while simultaneously recognizing student achievement.
- Gather the teams in the main area and present the awards.
After the Event
- Remind the Judge Advisor to take home all judging notes to destroy, unless there is a paper shredder on-site. Judging notes or used rubrics should never be returned to teams or thrown in the trash where notes could be retrieved and identified.
- Coordinate with the Tournament Manager Operator to upload the event results to RobotEvents.com. The award winners should be viewable on the public event page on the Awards tab if the upload was successful.
- Contact your RSM if there are any errors uploading the results.