Guide to Judging: Awards

Last revised on August 20, 2025

Section 4: Awards

Overview: There are a number of awards that can be offered at a competition; some of these are based on team performance in matches and are not a part of the judging process. Others judge specific attributes demonstrated by teams. The award descriptions and criteria (see the Judged Award Appendix) give guidance on the attributes needed for each award. Some criteria overlap between several awards. All awards take into account team conduct and student-centeredness.

<AW1> Standard Award Types

The Qualifying Criteria contains charts that indicate which awards qualify teams from local events to an Event Region Championship or the VEX Robotics World Championship. The exact number of qualifying spots allocated to each event is determined by the RECF RSM for that region and can be found on that event’s information page on RobotEvents.com.

There can be three different types of awards at RECF qualifying competitions:

• Performance Awards: These awards are based on robot performance on the competition field in match play (Tournament/Teamwork Champion, Finalist/Second Place, etc.) and Skills Challenges (Robot Skills Champion, Robot Skills Second Place, etc.). Performance Awards do not impact a team’s eligibility to earn a Judged Award.
• Judged Awards: These awards are based on the award criteria. Judges, in coordination with the Judge Advisor, determine winners of Judged Awards using the RECF judging process, award criteria, and rubrics. Event Partners who choose to include judging at their event may choose which awards are offered in accordance with the Qualifying Criteria. The selection of Judged Awards may vary, but the Excellence Award, Design Award, Innovate Award, and Judges Award are required. Single page award descriptions can be printed out for use in Judge deliberations. Teams must have completed an interview to receive a Judged Award. Most, but not all Judged Awards require the submission of an Engineering Notebook.
• Volunteer Nominated Awards: These awards are based on the award criteria. Volunteer Nominated Awards are a subset of Judged Awards, and allow volunteer event staff—such as the Head Referee, scorekeepers, and emcees—to nominate teams for these awards based on what they have seen at the event. Alternatively, the awards can be determined solely by the Judges. The Field Note to Judge Advisor and the Sportsmanship and Energy Nomination Award Forms are helpful tools for event staff to submit award nominees and provide information to the Judge Advisor. Only the Sportsmanship and Energy Awards have the option to be determined in this manner.
  • If the Sportsmanship and Energy Awards are determined solely by volunteer nominations and not by Judges:
    • The Event Partner should work with key volunteers such as Head Referees, Division Managers, and others to develop a process to determine the award winners for the Sportsmanship and/or Energy Awards that is within the guidelines in the Guide to Judging.
    • These awards can be given out at an event that does not include Judged Awards.
    • These awards can be given to a team who has earned a Judged Award at the event.
  • If the Sportsmanship and Energy Awards are determined by Judges:
    • These awards are considered “Judged Awards”; a team can only earn a single Judged Award at the event, including these.
    • Event staff should be prepared to submit multiple candidates and provide additional information if the Judges request it to assist in their deliberations.

<AW2> Award Quantities & Precedence

Each award is given out in a single instance at an event, except for the Excellence Award and Judges Award in accordance with the Qualifying Criteria. If no team meets the requirements for an award, that award should not be given out at that event. An individual team may only earn one Judged Award at an event. They may earn additional Performance or Volunteer Nominated Awards apart from these.

The precedence of Judged Awards is as follows, and aligns with Appendices A, B, and C in the Qualifying Criteria:

• For VIQRC: Excellence Award, Design Award, Innovate Award, Create Award, Think Award, Amaze Award, Build Award, Judges Award, Inspire Award, Sportsmanship Award, Energy Award.
• For all other programs: Excellence Award, Design Award, Innovate Award, Think Award, Amaze Award, Build Award, Create Award, Judges Award, Inspire Award, Sportsmanship Award, Energy Award.

<AW3> Other Award Types

Two additional types of non-qualifying awards may be presented at some events:

• Individual Recognition Awards: These awards recognize the contributions of a volunteer, mentor, teacher, or sponsor, and are determined by the Event Partner. Judges do not determine individual award winners. Event Partners may create their own process for judging these awards if needed.
• Custom Awards: While nearly all events choose to use standard awards, it is possible to give out custom awards using the Tournament Manager software. To prevent confusion, Event Partners should ensure that teams understand which awards being presented are custom awards specific to the event, and emphasize that those awards will not factor into qualifications.

Note: For the full list of Judged Awards, along with their descriptions, criteria, and other information, please see the Judged Awards Appendix.

Continue to the next section, Guide to Judging: Judging Engineering Notebooks