Judging Tips for Competition

Judging is a really important aspect when it comes to attending regionals. The judges evaluate all of the teams and the more you interact with the judges and show your team accomplishments, the more likely you will become considered for awards!

• Judges wear blue polo shirts. They may return more than once on Friday and Saturday. Judges will not expect everyone to know everything, but it is important to make sure that your pit speakers have enough knowledge about how the team is run and the basics of the robot. It is also nice to have an engineer and public relations person doing pit speaking , they can help each other out.

• It is always important to always have a few students available on Friday and Saturday in your pit area. Judges work under a very tight time schedule and may not have a chance to come back to speak to your team.

• Often the judges will only have 5 minutes to spend in the pit with your team. Jump in and sell the team. Have students practice their “elevator” speech: about FIRST, their role, the drive system, the control system, their community, their partners, their appreciation for engineering, why they designed something the way they did, their biggest challenge this year, their fundraising strategies. It is the same process used for college interviews, or job interviews.

• First impressions count. How your pit looks does matter. Try to be clean and organized and free of team members “hanging around”. Too many people might discourage a judge from getting a chance to speak to your pit speakers.

• Assume judges will not have seen copies of your Chairman’s Award entry, if you submitted one. Feel free to hand them a copy in the pits.

• During Chairman’s presentation some teams give the judges binders, scrapbooks, or other documentation to take back with them to the deliberation room, these will be available to pick up Saturday after deliberations.

• Judging for the Entrepreneurship award will occur on Friday. Make sure you have an example of your business plan to share with the judges on Friday.  

• Some teams prepare short handouts, brochures or a magazine about their team for the judges to take away, highlighting what your team has done throughout the year. These handouts can then be used for finding  sponsors and publicizing your team.

• Judges will be observing your team throughout the entire competition, even if they aren’t interviewing you. Make sure your teammates are very careful what they say in the halls, stands, and bathrooms it will reflect back on your team. Judges will also ask the other volunteers, for their input.