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Introduction
Judging is an important part of REC Foundation programs. Through the judging process, students have opportunities to practice both written and verbal communication skills, as well as demonstrate the values espoused in our Code of Conduct andS tudent Centered policies. Some awards may also qualify teams to higher levels of competition.
The purpose of this document is to provide the following:
- Policies and procedures for the judging process
- Criteria and descriptions for awards
- Descriptions of the roles of Judges, Judge Advisors, and Event Partners
- Additional tools and materials to conduct the judging process
This document applies to all events that include Judged Awards for the Aerial Drone Competition. The goal is to help improve the judging experience for teams, volunteers, and event organizers, as well as increase consistency of the judging process across event regions.
Questions can be asked on the official Judging Q&A. Only the current season’s Q&A responses are valid. Q&As from past seasons should be ignored.
Key Terms, Definitions, and Links
Design Process – The process of exploring the problem, generating, and testing solutions, and documenting results in an iterative process.
Competition Logbook – The document submitted by a team. Logbooks are sorted by Judges, and some will be evaluated according to a rubric.
Event Partner (EP) – The Tournament Coordinator who serves as an overall manager for the volunteers, venue, event materials, and all other event considerations. Event Partners serve as the official liaison between the REC Foundation, the event volunteers, and event attendees.
Elimination Matches – A Match used in the process of determining the champion Alliance and occurs after Qualification Matches.
Individual Recognition Awards – Awards that are given to a particular individual rather than a team. An example would be “Volunteer of the Year”.
Judge – Person who interacts with teams at an event to help determine winners of judged awards. Those who perform this role online are known as Remote Judges.
Judge Advisor – The coordinator of all Judges at an event. They are responsible for organizing Judge volunteers, guiding deliberations, and relaying the judged award results for the Event Partner/Tournament Manager Operator.
Judged Awards – Awards that are determined by Judges at an event based on standardized criteria and descriptions. An example would be the “Think” award.
Performance Awards – Awards based solely on a team’s on-field performance. Examples would be the Teamwork Champion Award or Skills Champion Award.
Qualifying – An event is considered “Qualifying” if it meets all of the requirements in the Qualifying Criteria. Certain Performance and Judged award winners at Qualifying events will qualify to the next level of competition, such as a region championship.
Qualification Matches – Matches in which teams are randomly partnered and share a score – all qualification matches factor into a team’s ranking for the event and determine which teams move on to Finals Matches. The exact ranking methodology is found in the Game Manual.
RECF – Acronym for Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, the organization which oversees the competition aspects of the Aerial Drone Competition.
Team Interview – An interview, typically 10-15 minutes in duration, during which students on a team are interviewed by Judges. Teams demonstrate their ability to explain their game strategy, safety plans and programming skills. The information shared in this interview and the Judge’s notes become the basis for award nominations and deliberations.
Updates
This document may be updated on December 15. Any significant changes will be listed below.
Continue to the next section, Guide to Judging: Judging Principles