FIRST^®, the FIRST^® logo, FIRST^® Robotics Competition, FRC^®, Coopertition^®, and Gracious Professionalism^® are registered trademarks, and Sport for the Mind™ are common law trademarks of the United States Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST^®). ©2013 FIRST. All rights reserved.

This chapter contains descriptions of the FIRST^® Robotics Competition Awards as well as any required submission criteria.  Note an asterisk designates a new or “changed” award. Unless otherwise noted, all awards are given at Regional events, District events, State/Region Championship and the FIRST Championship. FIRST will hold an Awards Ceremony to present these awards at each event.

The Chairman’s Award, the Woodie Flowers Award, Entrepreneurship Award, and the Media and Technology Innovation Award must be submitted through the FIRST Student Team Information Members System (STIMS) https://my.usfirst.org/stims/site.lasso.   The Main or Alternate contact for your team must assign at least one (1) and up to four (4) student award submitters in FRC TIMS.  Those students will be notified of their status via email and may then log into the STIMS and be able to view the awards submission section on their main page.

The FIRST Dean’s List Award must be submitted by the team’s main or alternate contact through TIMS, https://my.usfirst.org/frc/tims/site.lasso.

The FIRST^® Future Innovator Award (FFIA) must be submitted via the FFIA portal. http://www.allthingspatent.com/FRC/

Submission for the Chairman's Award, the Woodie Flowers Award, and Entrepreneurship Award will open at Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, November 8, 2012 and close for submissions at Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, February 21, 2013.

Submission for the Media and Technology Innovation Award will open at Noon Eastern Time on Friday, March 1, 2013 and close for submissions at Noon Eastern Time on Friday, March 23, 2013.

Submission for the FIRST Future Innovator Award will open at Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, November 8, 2012 and close for submission at Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, March 14, 2013.

The FIRST^® Robotics Competition (FRC^®) is about much more than the mechanics of building a robot or winning a competitive event. It is about the partnership among people who are part of the FIRST community and the impact on those who participate in FIRST programs with a united goal of achieving FIRST’s mission. FIRST’s mission is to change the way young people regard science and technology and to inspire an appreciation for the real-life rewards and career opportunities in these fields.

The concept of the Chairman’s Award includes Regional and District Championship Chairman’s Awards, which enable FIRST to recognize more teams for their exemplary efforts in spreading the FIRST message, as well as their talents in organizing materials for their presentations. 

The teams who have earned the Regional and District Championship Chairman’s Award can travel to the FIRST Championship to be considered for the 2013 Chairman’s Award.

The Chairman’s Award was created to keep the central focus of FRC on the ultimate goal of transforming the culture in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology, as well as encouraging more of today’s youth to become scientists, engineers, and technologists.

The Chairman’s Award represents the spirit of FIRST.  It honors the team that, in the judges’ estimation, best represents a model for other teams to emulate, and which embodies the goals and purpose of FIRST.  It remains FIRST’s most prestigious award.

Because the Chairman’s Award recognizes sustained excellence and impact, not just a one (1) year team effort, it is not possible for a first year (rookie) team to receive the Chairman’s Award.  However, all teams that received a NASA Grant, including rookie recipients, must prepare a Chairman’s Award submission as part of the grant requirement (even though rookie NASA grant teams will NOT be considered for the award). 

All teams are encouraged to print a copy of their final submission for their records and to confirm for themselves that the submission was accepted.

The criterion for the 2013 Chairman’s Award has special emphasis on recent accomplishments in both the 2012/2013 year and the preceding two (2) years. The judges focus on teams’ activities over a sustained period, as distinguished from just the six (6) week design and build time frame. 

With the exception of Michigan, teams may submit for the Chairman’s Award at one regional or district event at which they are competing.   FIRST will present a Chairman’s Award at each regional and district event.  Chairman’s Award recipients from district events will go forward to be considered at the State or Region Championship.  The recipients from the Regional events and the State or Region Championships will be eligible for the Chairman’s Award presented at the FIRST Championship.

Michigan Teams

Michigan teams may submit their Chairman’s Award submission at either one of their first two district events. 

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame members; i.e., teams that have already earned the Championship Chairman’s Award, are ineligible to resubmit for consideration for five (5) years.  Teams that earned the Chairman’s Award at the Championship prior to 2008 are eligible to participate in 2013. Teams that earned the Chairman’s Award in 2008-2012 are ineligible in the 2013 season.

The Chairman’s Award is presented to the team judged to have created the best partnership effort among team participants and which best exemplified the true meaning of FIRST through measurable impact on its participants, school, and community at large.

The FIRST Robotics Competition is not about machines; it is about the experience of people working together toward a shared goal. Documenting and preserving your team’s FIRST experience becomes an important component of the over-all FIRST experience.

There is no single “best way” for a team to earn the Chairman’s Award. Many factors come into play. The primary factors the judges will evaluate are:

• How strongly does the submission document the impact FIRST has on the learning experience of the students, school curriculum, engineers, and/or community during the 2012/2013 team year as well as in prior years?
• Has the team explained/demonstrated why/how it should be a role model for other FIRST teams to emulate?
• How well has the team communicated its excitement and impact within the entire school, community, and beyond (state/nation) through participation in FIRST during the 2012/2013 team year as well as in prior years?
• Has the team documented an innovative way to spread the FIRST message?
• How well year-round team partnership effort is reflected during the 2012/2013 team year as well as in prior years? (You can define partnership in many ways, including: the partnership among the team’s students/corporate sponsor/engineers; school/university sponsor/engineers; students/adults; community/team)

As a whole, does the content of the documentation exemplify the true meaning of FIRST?

The Chairman’s Award submission should include documentation for all the above factors.

The submission, excluding the Executive Summary, will be limited to 10,000 characters, including spaces and punctuation, and may include up to four (4) photographs totaling no more than 1.0Mb of memory.

Students may submit their team’s Chairman’s Award submission through the FIRST Student Team Information Members System (STIMS) (https://my.usfirst.org/stims/site.lasso). Follow the directions shown on the site to submit your team’s entry.  Teams may only submit at one regional or district event at which the team will compete.  This site will be available beginning at Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, November 8, 2012.

Submitters may enter information, save it, and return to the site to edit the Chairman’s Award submission until they are ready to finalize it for final judging. All entries will need to be finalized by Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, February 21, 2013. No entries will be accepted or altered after this date.

Chairman’s Award submitters will go into STIMS (https://my.usfirst.org/stims/site.lasso) and enter the following required information:

Team Number:

Regional/District Selection:

Executive Summary – Teams must complete all the following fields in order to be considered for this award. The information included in the Executive Summary is not included in the total character/word count for the Chairman’s Award Submission.

• Team Name
• Corporate/University Sponsors
• Briefly describe the impact of the FIRST program on team participants with special emphasis on the 2012/2013 year and the preceding two years (500 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
• Examples of role model characteristics for other teams to emulate (500 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
• Describe the impact of the FIRST program on your team and community with special emphasis on the 2012/2013 year and the preceding two years (500 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
• Team’s innovative methods to spread the FIRST message (500 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
• Describe the strength of your partnership with special emphasis on the 2012/2013 year and the preceding two years (500 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
• Team’s communication methods and results (500 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
• Other matters of interest to the FIRST judges, if any (500 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
• Upload pictures (maximum of 4 allowed, not to exceed 1.0Mb in total)
• Essay (10,000 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation, or approximately 1500 words)
• Electronic signature of Team Captain/Student Representative certifying that the document is complete and accurate

Chairman’s Award submissions are posted on a private, password-protected site where only the judges can read the entries. Judges at each regional and district event will be interviewing the candidates who successfully completed the submission process. Teams should always print and bring a hard copy of their submission to the event.

In preparing this document, bear in mind that students, engineers, teachers, community, school, sponsors, families, and other supporters, as well as the machine itself are all integral parts of your team experience. Your submission needs to clearly convey the factors outlined above.

Important Note: Chairman’s Award Judges also review the information entered in the Judges Information Page as part of the Chairman’s Award submission. This information is entered as part of the Team Information Management System (TIMS) at https://my.usfirst.org/frc/tims/site.lasso.  Refer to Section 1 Communications for more details about the Judges Information Page.

Submission Deadline

Chairman’s Award submissions are due no later than Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, February 21, 2013.

All teams submitting for the Chairman’s Award will be interviewed by the Judges at the event. Chairman’s Award interviews are limited to ten minutes total; five minutes for a presentation by the team (which includes set-up) and up to five minutes of question and answer led by the Judges. Not more than three team members (students and/or adult mentors) from each team are allowed to present.

Teams submitting for the Chairman’s Award must provide a DVD to the judges at the start of their Chairman’s Award interview.  The content of the video must be in English and should explain what the team has done to earn the Chairman’s Award.  The video may be shown to the judges during the team’s 5 minute presentation time or the team can choose to not show the video during the presentation time.  Even if the video is NOT shown during the interview, a DVD must still be provided to the Judges in order for the team to be considered for the Chairman’s Award.  In addition, the team must provide the equipment for viewing (i.e. laptop/speakers etc.) the video.  Teams who do not submit a DVD to the judges will not be considered eligible for the Chairman’s Award and will not be interviewed by the judges.  This is applicable at all events including the FIRST Championship.

Note: For 2013, any teams that submitted for the Chairman’s Award and want their DVD back at the end of the event will need to collect their DVD, after the awards ceremony, from Pit Administration. In addition, the winning Chairman’s Award team will also be required to bring a copy of their DVD to the FIRST Championship. Therefore, the winning team must also collect their DVD after the awards ceremony if they want to bring that copy to Championship.

The DVD format should be as follows:

• A 16:9 (“widescreen aspect ratio”)
• Not more than 3 minutes long, no shorter than 1 minute long.
• Include a clean audio track
• Free of copyright restrictions, including music.

DVD may consist of:

• Video footage
• Voice over/music over still photographs
• Animated presentation
• PowerPoint converted to DVD format

Note: Teams do not have to use professional equipment to get professional results.  There is a good chance that someone on your team or in the school does this as a hobby and can be recruited to help.

Sound

• Should be clear of pops and hisses

Copyright

• If using copyrighted music must have written permission
• If using Creative Commons Music (CCM) on line, the music must be used in accordance with the appropriate license and properly attributed.
• Music may not contain obscene or suggestive language

Content Guidelines:

• Please show us what you are doing to earn the Chairman’s Award
• Please do not identify non-team minors by name or specific location. Use only first names, no locations.

Other required information (to be included on the cover of the jewel case):

• Your team number (also include on the front of the DVD)
• Your team name (also include on the front of the DVD)
• The Regional/District competition you are entering
• Your corporate and university sponsors
• Permission for FIRST to use your video in marketing & promotional material and/or live at FIRST events & competitions (this form can be found at the end of this document)

Note 1: Please ensure that your DVD is actually a DVD file. Files with extensions like .mov., .avi., or .wmv. may not play on equipment at the event.  If we cannot view your DVD, you may be ineligible.

Note 2:  The Chairman’s Award is our highest honor and teams who receive the Chairman’s Award represent the highest standards of FIRST.  When the Chairman’s judges have narrowed the selection to two or three teams, these contenders for the Chairman’s Award at all events will have their DVD viewed by the Judge Advisor for appropriate content and to ensure that the above guidelines have been met.  Although the Chairman’s judges will not be judging your video as part of your submission, a DVD with inappropriate content will disqualify a team for the award.

Tips, Timelines & Tools

• Chairman's Award Video Helpful Tips and Guidelines
• Chairman's Award Video Suggested Shot List
• Chairman's Award Video Tape Log (example)
• Chairman's Award Video Tape Log (blank)
• Chairman's Award Video Consent & Release Form
• Guidelines and Tips video by Paul Lazarus of White Dwarf Productions
• More Guidelines and Tips by Paul Lazarus of White Dwarf Productions

At the Championship, a panel of judges will review the submissions from all the Regional and District Championship Chairman’s Award recipients and will select one winning Chairman’s Award recipient. This team has the additional honor of choosing one of its junior or senior student members to receive the Allaire Medal.

The Allaire Medal recognizes leadership exemplified and is awarded to an individual student on the winning Chairman’s Award team.

Named in honor of Paul A. Allaire, a long-serving FIRST Chairman of the Board, the Allaire Medal is given to the student who has demonstrated outstanding leadership on his/her FIRST team, within his/her school and community and whose personal character best embodies the spirit of FIRST.

The team receiving The Chairman’s Award at the Championship will select the Allaire Medal recipient.  The adult and student team members of the Chairman’s Award winning team determine the winner.  The recipient must be a high school junior or senior who has been accepted into a four (4) year degree program at a college or university.  The Allaire Medalist receives the Allaire medallion and up to $10,000 in total scholarship support for undergraduate tuition, room/board and fees/books at his or her intended university or college.

This award recognizes creativity in effectively solving a real-world, complex problem through the invention of a unique solution beyond the requirements of the FIRST competition season.  This award directly links to the FIRST mission to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and to the FIRST vision to transform the culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated.

The FFIA will be judged by a panel of leading experts in the fields of engineering and patent law, including Dean Kamen, and representatives from Abbott and others, to determine the winning idea.

The winner will be announced at the FIRST Championship. The winning student(s) will be granted an award sponsored by the Abbott Fund and also will have the opportunity to meet with a venture capitalist firm for a real-world experience in discussing their invention and possible business application.

The FFIA competition is open to all FRC and FTC teams officially registered for the current 2012/2013 FIRST competition season. Teams may apply at the FFI PORTAL.  The FFIA portal for student submissions will open at Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, November 8, 2012 and close for submissions at Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, March 14, 2013.

Applicants make a formal electronic submission(s) of an invention pertaining to the National Academy of Engineering’s 14 Grand Challenges or related to one of the four broad themes of the challenges: 1) Sustainability; 2) Health; 3) Security; or 4) Joy of Living.  The invention does not need to ‘solve’ one of the Grand Challenges, of course, just be related to one in some way.  Even a very small part of the solution is a step forward!  http://www.engineeringchallenges.org

Each of the Grand Challenges falls under one or more of four broad themes:  1) Sustainability; 2) Health; 3) Security; and 4) Joy of Living. 

Here is the list of Grand Challenges, with links to more detail on each:

1. Make Solar Energy Economical
2. Provide Energy From Fusion
3. Develop Carbon Sequestration Methods
4. Manage The Nitrogen Cycle
5. Provide Access To Clean Water
6. Restore And Improve Urban Infrastructure
7. Advance Health Informatics
8. Engineer Better Medicines
9. Reverse-Engineer The Brain
10. Prevent Nuclear Terror
11. Secure Cyberspace
12. Enhance Virtual Reality
13. Advance Personalized Learning
14. Engineer The Tools Of Scientific Discovery

Ideas submitted for an FFIA in prior years will not be accepted unless the idea has been greatly improved/changed and could be considered new.

Submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by a designated judge panel independent of current FIRST Program competition season judged awards.

FIRST strongly encourages all teams to file for patent protection by filing a provisional patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), before submitting for the Future Innovator Award.

• Additional information regarding provisional patent applications can be found at www.uspto.gov
• Once an idea is shared through submission for this award, patent protection can only be sought in the United States and cannot be sought in any other jurisdiction, unless a provisional patent has been filed before submission.

At the 2013 Championship, the winner of the FIRST Future Innovator Award, sponsored by the Abbott Fund, will be announced and shown at the awards ceremony.

Submission will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Complexity of the problem to be solved by the invention
2. Effectiveness of the invention in solving the problem
3. Uniqueness of the invention
4. Simplicity of the invention
5. Practicality of developing and implementing the invention
6. Whether the invention was utilized for a FIRST -related activity
7. The degree to which to invention addresses one of the 14 Grand Challenges or the 4 Challenge Themes
8. Judge’s Discretion (This criterion gives Judges the ability to take in to consideration elements of the invention not well captured above)

How to Apply for a Patent

Patent Process Video by Abbott

Submission Tips Video by Abbott

2012 Award Presentation at CMP

Any additional questions can be submitted to maxid@maxval-ip.com

In an effort to recognize the leadership and dedication of FIRST’s most outstanding FRC students, the Kamen family sponsors an award for selected top students, aka FIRST superstars, known as the FIRST Dean’s List.

Similar to the very prestigious National Merit Scholarship Award winners, there are three (3) “categories” of FIRST Dean’s List Award students: 

1. FIRST Dean’s List Entrants/Nominees (the group of two (2) students nominated by each FRC team);
    
2. FIRST Dean List’s Finalists comprised of the two (2) students selected at each regional; six (6) selected at the Michigan District State Championship; and four (4) selected at the Mid-Atlantic Regional (MAR) Championship;
    
3. FIRST Dean List Winners (10 students selected from the FIRST Dean’s List Finalists at the FRC Championship).
    

Teams nominating students as FIRST Dean’s List Entrants/Nominees should note that colleges and universities are extremely interested in recruiting FIRST Dean’s List Award students and accordingly, FIRST strongly urges teams to nominate a student in his or her junior year as a FIRST Dean’s List Semi-Finalist.  While FIRST judges will consider any student nominated by their team as a FIRST Dean’s List Semi-Finalist, judges will give preference to students in their junior year when making their selections to maximize the impact of the FIRST Dean’s List Award for students and colleges/universities supporting FIRST.

The students who earn FIRST Dean’s List Award status as either an Entrant/Nominee, Finalist or Winner, will not only be great examples of student leaders who have led their teams and communities to increased awareness for FIRST and its mission all the while achieving personal technical expertise and accomplishment, but it is FIRST’s intention that they will continue on, post-award, as great leaders of FIRST’s ever growing student alumni and as advocates of FIRST.  The FIRST Dean’s List Award, introduced in 2010, joined the ranks of other prestigious FIRST awards like the FIRST Founder’s Award which honors sponsors or other supporters who help to grow FIRST; the Woodie Flowers Award, which honors outstanding mentors at FIRST; and the Chairman’s Award, which honors the teams believed to have best achieved the mission of FIRST.

Since its introduction in 2010, the FIRST Dean’s List Award has attracted the attention of prestigious colleges and universities who desire to recruit FIRST Dean’s List students.  As FIRST believes such interest is beneficial to our students, those selected will be asked to provide written consent for the release and use of certain personal information, including image, to interested colleges/universities for the sole purpose of their recruitment to the institution.  Prestigious colleges have expressed great interest in meeting FIRST Dean’s List’s Award winners and so FIRST hopes that each team will take advantage of the opportunity to nominate their best students as FIRST Dean’s List Semi-Finalists!

The award was created during the 2010 FRC season by the Kamen family in recognition of Jack and Evelyn Kamen; parents of FIRST founder Dean Kamen.  Jack, who passed away in August of 2008 at the age of 88, and his wife Evelyn have been fixtures at many FIRST events.  Their humor, along with a positive and supportive attitude, truly symbolizes the FIRST culture.  In fact, Jack is the designer of the playful red, white and blue geometric shapes that create the FIRST logo which wonderfully balances the technical and emotional sides of what FIRST is all about.  Dean’s mother, Evelyn, is a tireless caretaker for her family and is an exceptional teacher, principal and tremendous FIRST supporter.  She lends her experience as a leader of schools to chair the judge panel that selects the FIRST Dean’s List Award winners.

Dean’s parents always encouraged his passion for innovation and his gift for motivating leaders throughout the world to support the FIRST mission.  It is the family’s hope that this award will encourage the passion in all FIRST students to promote the FIRST mission both as a student on an FRC team and for years to come as members of the FIRST student alumni.

The process for competing for the FIRST Dean’s List is similar to the process for the Woodie Flowers Award and the Chairman’s Award in that applicants must first compete at the Regional level to be considered at the Championship level.  Entrants/Nominees for the FIRST Dean’s List are submitted by their mentor and supported by the entire team. These students will be reviewed at one (1) Regional where their team is competing with two (2) FIRST Dean's List Finalists chosen at each Regional.

All Dean’s List Finalists will be considered for the final selection of ten (10) FIRST Dean’s List Award winners at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis.

Each FRC mentor is invited to select up to two (2) students (may select only one but not more than two) as FIRST Dean's List Semi-Finalists.  In deciding which students to nominate, mentors should consider the impact the award will have on the nominated student. For example, mentors may choose to nominate a junior whose college acceptance prospects would be enhanced by both the nomination and any subsequent advancement in the competition.  Each mentor may only submit their two (2) FIRST Dean's List Semi-Finalists to compete for the FIRST Dean's List Finalist designation at one (1) regional.  Students previously selected as FIRST Dean’s List Entrants/Nominees or Finalists ARE eligible for nomination again this year.

Criteria for selection of the FIRST Dean's List shall include, but not be limited to a student's:

• demonstrated leadership and commitment to the ideals of FIRST;
• interest in and passion for a long term commitment to FIRST and its ideals;
• overall individual contribution to their team;
• technical expertise and passion;
• entrepreneurship and creativity;
• ability to motivate and lead fellow team members; and
• effectiveness at increasing awareness of FIRST in their school and community

Evaluation of Entrants/Nominees and Finalists will be based on a one page essay, submitted by the mentor, which best describes each student's fulfillment of the criteria. (As previously noted, Mentors can submit up to two nominations/essays per team).   Although a single mentor must submit the nomination, the team as a whole must verify the accuracy of the submission.   FIRST is relying upon the team for veracity and accuracy of the submission data.

Each entry shall be in the form attached which includes identifying information; i.e., the student’s cumulative GPA; and an essay of not more than 4,000 characters attesting to why the student has been nominated.  Essays must be submitted no later than Noon Eastern time on Thursday, February 21, 2013 to https://my.usfirst.org/tims/site.lasso. A photograph of the FIRST Dean’s List Semi-Finalist is encouraged, but optional, and the essay submission and such photos may be used, in promotion of the recipient and/or the award, at the discretion of FIRST.  Winners will be required to sign a FIRST media release to allow use of their likeness to sponsors contributing to the FIRST Dean’s List recognition program and will be responsible for any taxes associated with federal/state prize requirements.

If a team is attending more than one regional event, the mentor must select one event at which their nominations are to be considered. Each essay must clearly state the team name, the names and grade levels of the student(s) nominated, an explanation of why the students were nominated as well as the regional event at which the nomination is to be considered. Teams participating in Michigan and Mid-Atlantic Robotics Region District events must submit their nominees at the local Championship.

At each FRC regional event, Judges will select two (2) students from the FIRST Dean’s List Entrants/Nominees as FIRST Dean's List Finalists.  The two (2) Regional FIRST Dean’s List Finalists will be honored at the award ceremonies at that regional event.  Six (6) FIRST Dean’s List Finalists will be selected/honored at the Michigan FRC State Championship and four (4) selected/honored at the Mid-Atlantic Robotic FRC Region Championship.

All FIRST Dean's List Finalists will be considered for the FIRST Dean’s List at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis using the essays provided. Finalist candidates need not be present at the FIRST Championship in order to be considered.  Ten (10) Students will be selected as the FIRST Dean’s List Award Winners for the 2013 FRC season.

The ten (10) 2013 FIRST Dean’s List Award winners will receive the following:

• A unique trophy and public recognition at the 2013 FIRST Championship;
• a written recommendation from FIRST leadership to the college(s) or employer(s) of their choice;
• a credit towards the winning student’s team 2014 registration fee;
• a commemorative plaque for the student’s school Hall of Fame;
• an invitation for them, and a chaperone, to attend an expenses paid FIRST Dean’s List Award Summit, at FIRST Headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire; and
• the opportunity to work with all members of the FIRST Dean's List and FIRST leaders to advance the mission of FIRST.

Each year FIRST presents this award to honor an organization or individual that has contributed significantly to the growth of FIRST.

This award recognizes the team that develops and implements an outstanding marketing strategy, complete with rationale for digital channels/devices to disseminate content.

The FRC Website Award was started in 2003 to recognize excellence in student designed, built and managed websites.  Given the new digital possibilities to spread the FIRST message, FRC has expanded the website award to include other digital media.  With the Media and Technology Innovation Award, students are encouraged to look beyond building a team website, taking into account the numerous ways people search for and consume content.  Students should think broadly, considering channels (traditional sites, mobile, apps), devices (smart phones, tablets), and content (social, rich, and viral* media).   Be Imaginative!

Develop a team marketing strategy complete with rationale for digital channels/devices to disseminate content.  Digital media still includes websites, but can and should be augmented with mobile apps for disseminating content including social, viral* and rich media.

*Viral media defined as low/zero budget and homemade content.  Professionally produced content will be disqualified.  Viral content is something that premiers and is spread person-to-person on the Internet. 

Submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by a Comcast designated judge panel. This is independent of current FIRST Program competition season judged awards.

At the 2013 Championship, the winner of the Media and Technology Innovation Award will be announced at the awards ceremony.

 Submission will be judged on the following criteria:

• Strategy
  • Target right audience with right message
  • Develop a clear strategy for choice of distribution channels and content creation
  • Must use at least two channels.  More channels are not necessarily better
• Overall Experience – Ensure content and channels fit together in look and feel
  • Are you promoting a positive impression of FIRST and its mission?
• Visual Design
  • Appealing
  • Easy to read
  • Visual fit with FIRST – Even though the team has its own identity, is it clear that this team is a part of FIRST?
• Navigation – Content organization and prioritization
  • Simple
  • Intuitive
• Content – Is information compelling and optimized for consumption.  More than just text.  (Think about using sound, video.)  Good content should be engaging, relevant, appropriate
  • Was original content created?
  • Content is kept up-to-date and refreshed
  • Action-oriented
  • Use of live links
  • Appropriately cited and not infringing on others’ trademarks or copyrights
• Functionality – Content loads quickly.  Works with multiple major browsers
  • Ease of use
  • Efficiency – Able to complete required tasks easily
  • Utility
• Engagement
  • Did your digital media engage an audience to find out more about your team or about FIRST?
  • How did you track the results?

Student submitters upload their PDF-formatted submission through the FIRST Student Team Information Members System (STIMS) (https://my.usfirst.org/stims/site.lasso).

Submissions are not to exceed two pages including graphics.  Submissions should include both strategy and any results that have been tracked (include web site traffic, # of friends and/or followers, likes, etc.).  This document should include applicable links, urls, and hashtags that provide access to the digital properties you created.  This  includes, but is not limited to, web and video sites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, Pinterest boards, mobile apps, etc.

Submissions will open at Noon Eastern Time on Friday, March 1, 2013, and close at Noon Eastern Time on Friday, March 22, 2013. 

The Woodie Flowers Award celebrates effective communication in the art and science of engineering and design.  Dr. William Murphy founded this prestigious award in 1996 to recognize mentors who lead, inspire and empower using excellent communication skills. 

 Two subcategories are awarded:

• The Woodie Flowers Finalist Award (WFFA) is presented to one adult mentor at each Regional Competition or Region/State Championship.
• The Woodie Flowers Award (WFA) is presented to one WFFA winner at the FIRST Championship 

Each year, students may submit an essay nominating one mentor from their team to be considered for this award. FIRST will recognize one adult mentor at each regional or State/Region Championship to receive the WFFA.  If a team already has a mentor who has received the WFFA in a prior year, then that team may re-submit that mentor in the current year in addition to nominating a mentor for the WFFA if they wish.  The current year WFFA recipients, along with those mentors who received a WFFA in a prior year and have been re-nominated, will be judged to receive the WFA at the FRC Championship.

High school students on a FIRST Robotics Competition team may nominate one (1) adult team member as their Woodie Flowers Finalist Award (WFFA) candidate.  The students will describe how this mentor has given them the best understanding of the challenges, opportunities and satisfaction involved in the discipline of engineering and design. Professor Flowers will lead the past Championship Woodie Flowers Award (WFA) recipients as they judge and select the Finalists and the Championship recipient based on student essays.

This award recognizes an individual who has done an outstanding job of motivation through communication while also challenging the students to be clear and succinct in recognizing the value of communication. As such, it is very important that this be a student-led effort and a student decision. Team mentors should direct their students to the online entry site and let the high school students decide whom to nominate. Adults can help edit, but this must be a student-led effort, since any team mentor is eligible. Authors must be clearly identified as high school students in the online submission.

Regional WFFA (except District Event Teams) – Each team may nominate one adult member from their team to be judged at one Regional Event they are attending.  The adult mentor must be on the same team as the student.  Previous year WFFA recipients are not eligible to receive the current year WFFA.

Michigan State Championship WFFA (applies only to teams participating in Michigan District Events) - Each Michigan District team may nominate one adult member from their team at one District Event to be judged at the Michigan State Championship.  The adult mentor must be on the same team as the student.  Previous WFFA recipients are not eligible to receive the current year WFFA. One Regional WFFA recipient will be selected at the Michigan State Championship.

MAR Region Championship WFFA (applies only to teams participating in MAR District Events) - Each MAR District team may nominate one adult member from their team at either one District Event to be judged at the MAR Region Championship or at a Regional Event they are attending.   The adult mentor must be on the same team as the student.  Previous WFFA recipients are not eligible to receive the current year WFFA. One Regional WFFA recipient will be selected at the MAR Region Championship.

Please note that at each District Event, the Region/State Championship WFFA nominees nominated at that District Event will be called to the playing field to be recognized.

FIRST Championship WFA – All prior year Regional WFFA recipients are eligible to be re-nominated for the current FIRST Championship Woodie Flowers Award.  However, if a team has multiple prior Regional WFFA recipients, then the team may only re-nominate one of those previous recipients. The re-nomination can be made as soon as the online submission process begins.  All of the Regional WFFA recipients from the current year are automatically eligible to receive the current FIRST Championship Woodie Flowers Award. Teams that have submitted a previous year WFFA recipient for the current FIRST Championship WFA and have a current Regional WFFA recipient will be asked by the WFA committee which Regional WFFA recipient from their team will be their FIRST Championship WFA candidate. A person may not receive the WFA more than one time.

Two aspects of this award are important: (1) the accomplishments in communication by the mentor and (2) the student’s ability to communicate clearly and concisely through their

nomination.

A specific judging criterion is based upon the team’s description of how the mentor inspired each member of the team in some or all of the following ways:

• Level of student participation;
• Creativity of effort;
• Clear explanation of mathematical, scientific, and engineering concepts;
• Demonstration of enthusiasm for Science and Engineering;
• Encouragement to work on projects as a team effort;
• Inspiration to use problem-solving skills;
• Inspiration to become an effective communicator; and
• Motivation through communication.
   

Each FIRST team completes a product development cycle as it designs a concept, develops a prototype, and builds and debugs a unique machine. This requires teamwork, attention to detail, scheduling and hard work. The award-winning essay should answer this question; “How did the candidate inspire your team throughout this process?” If the essay best describes how this individual excels above all others as he or she inspires the team, then that mentor truly deserves to be recognized with the award that honors Professor Woodie Flowers and his contribution to engineering, education, and communication.

The students enter team and candidate information, reference information, and a maximum three thousand (3,000) character essay written in English. Teams may also add up to six (6) pictures, totaling no more than 1.0 Mb. of memory. This essay should be a team effort and will stand alone as the team’s entry to award their candidate the deserved recognition.

For students to re-nominate a past WFFA winner for the Championship WFA, they must write and submit a new 3,000 character essay.   

Teams may only submit their WFFA candidate at one Regional or District competition for judging.

The Woodie Flowers Award entries are due by Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, February 21, 2013.

Students enter their candidate through the FIRST Student Team Information Members System (STIMS) https://my.usfirst.org/stims/site.lasso.

Student nominators must follow the directions listed on the screen. As the student nominator fills out the required information, he/she will also choose their selected regional/district.

Student nominators can easily enter information, save it, and return to the site to edit their entry information until they are ready to submit it for judging. All entries will be final at Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, February 21, 2013.  No entries will be accepted or altered after this date.

Students will go to the website to enter information in the following fields:

Team Number

Candidate Information:

First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name

Address, City, State, zip code

Employer

Occupation

Position on team

High School Student Nominator’s information: (Student recommending candidate)

First Name, Last Name

Phone Number

High School

E-mail Address

Position on Team

Year in school (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th)

Adult Reference (On the same team)

First Name, Last Name

Phone Number

E-mail Address

Position on Team

Adult Reference (Any FIRST affiliation)

First Name, Last Name

Phone Number

E-mail Address

Regional / District Selection         (Team must attend this Regional / District)

Upload Pictures       (Up to 6, no more than 1.0 Mb total)

Essay (Character max: 3,000) - The students will see a quote from Dr. Murphy and/or Woodie about the value of concise and clear writing. Once candidates’ information and essays are submitted, they are sorted and posted on a private, password-protected site where only the Judges can read the entries.

Student nominators must submit a new 3,000 character (maximum) essay in order to re-nominate their previous year Regional WFFA recipient to be eligible for the current Championship WFA. Student nominators will not be able to edit the original submission. Past winners without a new essay will not be eligible for the WFA. While the judges can review past essays, the new essay must be able to stand alone as a complete submission. 

Each FIRST team may nominate/re-nominate a maximum of one (1) candidate for the 2013 FIRST Championship WFA.

This award celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit and recognizes a team which has developed a comprehensive business plan in order to define, manage and achieve the team’s objectives. This team displays entrepreneurial enthusiasm and the vital business skills to ensure a self-sustaining program.

A formal business plan must be completed and entered through the FIRST Student Team Information Members System (STIMS) https://my.usfirst.org/stims/site.lasso.

The Awards Submission section of STIMS will open for submissions at Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, November 8, 2012 and close for submissions at Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, February 21, 2013.

• A formal business plan is uploaded in PDF format into STIMS (https://my.usfirst.org/stims/site.lasso).
• The team has a clear concept or approach to building their team and functions as a complete unit.
• They assumed risks and were successful in managing that risk, dealing appropriately with adversity and unexpected events.
• They had a plan and executed it successfully.
• They understood the goals of the competition and the goals of FIRST.
• They demonstrated sustainability through, for example, succession and contingency planning.

Business Plan Template

The Executive Summary

The Executive Summary is your chance to tell a story and should be no longer than two pages.  It provides a concise overview of the plan along with a history of your team.  This section tells your reader where your team is and where you want to take it.  It’s the first thing your readers see, therefore it is the thing that will either grab their interest or make them want to keep reading or make them want to put it down and forget about it.  More than anything else, this section is important because it tells the reader why you think your business idea will be successful.

Contents of the Executive Summary:

• The Mission Statement – briefly explains the thrust of your business.  It could be two words, two sentences, a brief paragraph or a single image. It should be as direct and focused as possible, and it should leave the reader with a clear picture of what your business plan is all about.
• Date the team began
• Names of the founders and the functions they perform
• Number of team members
• Location of team and who are your sponsors
• What you do/services rendered
• Relationships and information regarding current sponsors
• Summary of team growth – what have done in the past leading up to this point.
• Summary of team’s future plans – what are your plans for growth in the next 12 months in the areas of sponsorship, team and community outreach (including helping FIRST grow)

With the exception of the Mission Statement, all of the information in the Executive Summary should be highlighted in a brief, even bulleted fashion.

Teams are eligible to win the Entrepreneurship Award at any event they participate in.

Every year, FIRST and Underwriter's Laboratories (UL) invites teams to submit a short animated film to promote team safety.

Your team is invited to participate in the 9^th annual FIRST Safety Animation Contest for FRC student team members.

The theme for 2013 is: “Make Event Safety A Top Priority”

STOP. THINK. ACT.  FRC teams practice safety throughout the FRC season. Now it’s time to spread the word to participants and spectators.  Your 2013 Safety Animation should demonstrate the ways FRC safety rules benefit everyone everywhere. 

Ideas for consideration include:

• Personal awareness of safety issues
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Safe utilization of hand and power tools
• Stored energy, Battery safety, Chemical safety
• Respect of Electricity
• Proper lifting practices
• Situational awareness

The FIRST Safety Manual, which contains the FRC safety rules that FRC teams live by, is available here http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/safety-video-and-manual

Animations should:

• Be no more than 40 seconds long including opening and credits
• Be submitted electronically as a region one .iso image of a DVD

Animations must be submitted by your team’s student award submitter in STIMS, https://my.usfirst.org/stims/site.lasso between Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, October 11, 2012 and closes Noon Eastern Time on Thurdsay, December 13, 2012. 

Submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by UL designated judge panel. This is independent of current FIRST Program competition season judged awards.

Animations must be submitted online by Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, December 13, 2012.