Awards

All Awards

• Autonomous Award sponsored by Google DeepMind - celebrates the team whose machine has demonstrated consistent, reliable, high-performance robot operation during autonomous (i.e. non-operated guided) actions during match play. Evaluation is based on the robot’s ability to sense its surroundings, position itself or onboard mechanisms appropriately, and execute tasks. 
• Creativity Award sponsored by Rockwell Automation - celebrates a creative robotic component, concept, or attribute that enhances strategy of play that was intentionally designed and not discovered.
• Digital Animation Award sponsored by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) - celebrates STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) and emphasizes the ability to tell a story through animation that integrates technological, social, and humanistic concepts.
• Engineering Inspiration Award sponsored by SpaceX - celebrates a team who demonstrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school or organization and community.
• Excellence in Engineering Award sponsored by Littelfuse - celebrates the team whose machine incorporates an engineering solution designed to have components work together seamlessly.  
• Finalist - celebrates the Alliance that makes it to the final match of the competition.
• FIRST Dean’s List Award - outstanding passionate student leaders who demonstrate exemplary effectiveness at attaining FIRST ideals.
• FIRST Impact Award - the most prestigious award at FIRST, it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.   
• Founder’s Award - recognizes the organization or individual that has contributed significantly to the growth of FIRST.
• Gracious Professionalism^® Award - celebrates outstanding demonstration of FIRST Core Values such as continuous Gracious Professionalism^®, sportsmanship, and working together both on and off the playing field.
• Imagery Award in honor of Jack Kamen - celebrates attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration of machine and team appearance.
• Industrial Design Award -  celebrates the team whose machine demonstrates industrial design principles, striking a balance between form, function, and aesthetics. 
  
• Innovation in Control Award sponsored by nVent - celebrates an innovative control system or application of control components – electrical, mechanical or software – to provide unique machine functions.
  
• Judges’ Award - during the course of the competition, the judging panel may decide a team’s unique efforts, performance, or dynamics merit recognition.
  
• Quality Award - celebrates machine robustness in concept and fabrication
  
• Rising All-Star Award - celebrates the team that has persisted through challenges, despite the difficulties of being young. This could be the result of being a new team, or a team with recent turnover in membership. 
• Rookie All-Star Award - celebrates the rookie team exemplifying a young but strong partnership effort, as well as implementing the mission of FIRST to inspire students to learn more about science and technology. 
  
• Safety Animation Award sponsored by UL Solutions - celebrates STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) and emphasizes the ability to tell a story through animation.
• Team Spirit Award - celebrates extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit through exceptional partnership and teamwork furthering the objectives of FIRST.
  
• Team Sustainability Award sponsored by Dow - celebrates a team which has developed sustainable practices that focus on a “triple bottom line” (i.e. People, Prosperity, and Planet) to have a positive impact and achieve long-term continuity. 
  
• Volunteer of the Year Award - presented to an individual, business, or organization that consistently excels in their efforts, with proven results in the areas of impact, leadership, personal commitment, community, and historical contributions.​
• Winner - celebrates the Alliance that wins the competition.
• Woodie Flowers Finalist Award - presented to an outstanding mentor who best leads, inspires, teaches, and empowers their team using excellent communication skills.  Dr. William Murphy and Small Parts Inc. began this prestigious award in 1996.  Beginning in 2004, this award was expanded to honor more exemplary communicators in the FIRST community.