LIST OF FIRST® LEGO® LEAGUE AWARDS
Required Awards
Champion's Award
1 winner and up to 3 finalists depending on tournament size
This award celebrates a team that embodies the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge experience, by fully embracing our Core Values while achieving excellence and innovation in Robot Performance, Robot Design and the Innovation Project.
Core Values Award
1 winner and up to 3 finalists depending on tournament size
This team displays extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit, knows they can accomplish more together than they could as individuals, and shows each other and other teams respect at all times.
Innovation Project Award
1 winner and up to 3 finalists depending on tournament size
This team utilizes diverse resources for their Innovation Project to help them gain a comprehensive understanding
of their problem, have a creative, well-researched solution and effectively communicate their findings to judges and the community
Robot Design Award
1 winner and up to 3 finalists depending on tournament size
This team uses outstanding programming principles and solid engineering practices to develop a robot that is mechanically sound, durable, efficient and highly capable of performing challenge missions.
Robot Performance Award
1 winner and up to 3 finalists (2nd, 3rd + 4th places) depending on tournament size
This award celebrates a team that scores the most points during the Robot Game. Teams have a chance to compete in at least three 2.5-minute matches and their highest score counts.
Coach/Mentor Award
Up to 3 winners and up to 3 finalists depending on tournament size
Coaches and mentors inspire their teams to do their best, both as individuals and together, and without them, there would be no FIRST LEGO League. This award goes to the coach or mentor whose leadership and guidance is clearly evident and best exemplifies the FIRST Core Values.
Optional Awards
Breakthrough Award
Up to 3 winners
This award celebrates a team that made significant progress in their confidence and capability in both the Robot Game and Innovation Project and are a shining example of excellent Core Values. They demonstrate that they understand that what they discover is more important than what they win.
Engineering Excellence Award
Up to 3 winners
This award celebrates a team with an efficiently designed robot, an innovative project solution that effectively addresses the season challenge and great Core Values evident in all they do.
Rising All-Star Award
Up to 3 winners
This award celebrates a team that the judges notice and expect great things from in the future.
Motivate Award
Up to 3 winners
This award celebrates a team that embraces the culture of FIRST LEGO League through team building, team spirit and displayed enthusiasm.
Champion's Award
1 winner and up to 3 finalists depending on tournament size
This award celebrates a team that embodies the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge experience, by fully embracing our Core Values while achieving excellence and innovation in Robot Performance, Robot Design and the Innovation Project.
Core Values Award
1 winner and up to 3 finalists depending on tournament size
This team displays extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit, knows they can accomplish more together than they could as individuals, and shows each other and other teams respect at all times.
Innovation Project Award
1 winner and up to 3 finalists depending on tournament size
This team utilizes diverse resources for their Innovation Project to help them gain a comprehensive understanding
of their problem, have a creative, well-researched solution and effectively communicate their findings to judges and the community
Robot Design Award
1 winner and up to 3 finalists depending on tournament size
This team uses outstanding programming principles and solid engineering practices to develop a robot that is mechanically sound, durable, efficient and highly capable of performing challenge missions.
Robot Performance Award
1 winner and up to 3 finalists (2nd, 3rd + 4th places) depending on tournament size
This award celebrates a team that scores the most points during the Robot Game. Teams have a chance to compete in at least three 2.5-minute matches and their highest score counts.
Coach/Mentor Award
Up to 3 winners and up to 3 finalists depending on tournament size
Coaches and mentors inspire their teams to do their best, both as individuals and together, and without them, there would be no FIRST LEGO League. This award goes to the coach or mentor whose leadership and guidance is clearly evident and best exemplifies the FIRST Core Values.
Optional Awards
Breakthrough Award
Up to 3 winners
This award celebrates a team that made significant progress in their confidence and capability in both the Robot Game and Innovation Project and are a shining example of excellent Core Values. They demonstrate that they understand that what they discover is more important than what they win.
Engineering Excellence Award
Up to 3 winners
This award celebrates a team with an efficiently designed robot, an innovative project solution that effectively addresses the season challenge and great Core Values evident in all they do.
Rising All-Star Award
Up to 3 winners
This award celebrates a team that the judges notice and expect great things from in the future.
Motivate Award
Up to 3 winners
This award celebrates a team that embraces the culture of FIRST LEGO League through team building, team spirit and displayed enthusiasm.
GLOBAL INNOVATION AWARD
The FIRST® LEGO® League Global Innovation Award showcases the real-world, innovative solutions created by FIRST LEGO League teams from around the world as part of their annually themed Challenge.
Demonstrating originality, creativity, potential impact and value, 20 semi-finalist teams are recognized for their inventions, and receive assistance to further develop solutions, including $20,000 USD to the winning team.
Inspired to be the next generation of innovators, many teams go on to meet government leaders, receive patents, bring their inventions to market, and become entrepreneurs. Learn more about award guidelines and team participation.
This year's Global Innovation Award is moving forward, and will shift to a virtual platform to judge and honor the 20 semi-finalist teams. Learn More
Demonstrating originality, creativity, potential impact and value, 20 semi-finalist teams are recognized for their inventions, and receive assistance to further develop solutions, including $20,000 USD to the winning team.
Inspired to be the next generation of innovators, many teams go on to meet government leaders, receive patents, bring their inventions to market, and become entrepreneurs. Learn more about award guidelines and team participation.
This year's Global Innovation Award is moving forward, and will shift to a virtual platform to judge and honor the 20 semi-finalist teams. Learn More
FLL AWARDS STRUCTURE
The Champion’s Award is the most prestigious award that a team can win at an official FLL event. A champion is someone who passionately supports a cause, and this award celebrates the ultimate success of the FIRST mission. To be considered as a candidate, a team must perform well across all areas of FLL competition. The Champion’s Award recognizes a team that embodies the FLL experience by fully embracing our Core Values while achieving excellence and innovation in both the Robot Game and Project.
The remaining FLL Program awards fall into 3 categories:
The remaining FLL Program awards fall into 3 categories:
- Core Awards: recognize teams in areas we consider “core” to our mission.
- Special Recognition Awards: honor the service of individuals who support FLL and our teams in an exceptional way. A team may win a Special Recognition Award even if they have also won a Core Award.
- Optional Awards: recognize the most remarkable teams for which a standard award does not exist. These may take the form of FLL Judges Awards or a separate local award with criteria established by an individual tournament organizer.
AWARDS ELIGIBILITY
FLL teams work extremely hard over the course of a season, and after so much effort, the last thing anyone wants is for a team to be ineligible for tournament awards. Doing well on the rubrics and achieving a high score in the Robot Game are important for winning awards, but they are not the only factors. Your team also needs to follow the FLL rules and policies to be eligible for awards.
As the Coach, make sure your team and everyone associated with your team understand FLL policies that may impact award eligibility. If you need clarification, the time to ask questions is before an event. Once on site, all decisions impacting award eligibility are determined by the local Judge Advisor and/or event organizer. And just like decisions made by the Head Referee at the table, their authority is final.
Adult InterventionIt is easy for anyone to get caught up in the excitement at tournaments, but they are the team’s opportunity to shine. Adults play an important role in Coaching and supporting the team, but the team’s robot and Project must be the work of team members. If judges or referees notice adults directing a team’s performance, cuing the team, or prompting children, they may ask the adult to leave the immediate area.
Judges are trained both to give any benefit of the doubt to the team and to recognize an overabundance of adult participation. A team’s inability to answer questions, or to make robot adjustments without the direct assistance of an adult, will be evident and will impact award eligibility.
Other Rules to Keep in Mind
As relayed throughout this Coaches’ Handbook and other materials, there are a number of additional award eligibility requirements that teams must meet. We have listed some of them here:
As the Coach, make sure your team and everyone associated with your team understand FLL policies that may impact award eligibility. If you need clarification, the time to ask questions is before an event. Once on site, all decisions impacting award eligibility are determined by the local Judge Advisor and/or event organizer. And just like decisions made by the Head Referee at the table, their authority is final.
Adult InterventionIt is easy for anyone to get caught up in the excitement at tournaments, but they are the team’s opportunity to shine. Adults play an important role in Coaching and supporting the team, but the team’s robot and Project must be the work of team members. If judges or referees notice adults directing a team’s performance, cuing the team, or prompting children, they may ask the adult to leave the immediate area.
Judges are trained both to give any benefit of the doubt to the team and to recognize an overabundance of adult participation. A team’s inability to answer questions, or to make robot adjustments without the direct assistance of an adult, will be evident and will impact award eligibility.
Other Rules to Keep in Mind
As relayed throughout this Coaches’ Handbook and other materials, there are a number of additional award eligibility requirements that teams must meet. We have listed some of them here:
- FLL teams may include up to 10 children. No team member may exceed the maximum allowed age in your region.
- Teams are only eligible to win awards and advancement at the first official Qualifier or tournament they attend each season. Teams who have the opportunity to attend multiple Qualifiers for fun cannot win additional awards or receive multiple chances to advance to a Regional or Championship. Please contact your FLL Partner with any questions about how this works in your region.
- Teams must participate in all elements of an FLL competition including the Robot Game as well as Core Values, Robot Design, and Project judging in order to be eligible for any FLL Core Award.
- All team members present at an event are expected to participate in all judged sessions, in addition to showing up as a team for the Robot Game.
- For Core Values award eligibility, teams (including Coaches, Mentors, parents and others associated with the team) must uphold and display FLL Core Values at all times, not just during Core Values judging sessions.
- For Robot Performance and Robot Design award eligibility, the robot must be built in accordance with all allowable parts, software, and other rules.
- For Project award eligibility, teams must demonstrate completion of all 3 steps of the Project process (identify a problem, develop an innovative solution, and share results) as part of their presentation, and fulfill any other Project requirements as defined in the annual Challenge documents. — Project presentations must be no more than 5 minutes in length, including set up time; they must also be “live” with media used for enhancement only.
JUDGING FAQ
1. How is the Champion’s Award determined? Are certain weights used?
A: The Champion’s Award recognizes a team that “embodies the FIRST LEGO League experience, by fully embracing our Core Values while achieving excellence and innovation in both the Robot Game and Design, and the Innovation Project.”
At an official event Judges will look for balanced, strong performance across all areas; this means that all three judged sessions (Core Values, Robot Design, and Innovation Project) and the Robot Game performance are weighted equally (each worth 25% of the team’s overall score) to determine the initial group of Champion’s candidates. All candidates must also meet the following requirements:
2. Does FIRST LEGO League have an official policy on how teams advance to Championships from Qualifiers?
A: In accordance with the Participation Rules, teams are eligible for awards and advancement only at the first official event of each qualifying level attended during season. In most cases, event capacity within a region limits team participation to only one qualifying event each season.
The Qualifier Advancement Policy is based on Champion’s Award criteria. As described above, Champion’s Award criteria require that the team, performs well in all three judged areas (Core Values, Innovation Project, and Robot Design) and the Robot Game to be considered for Champion’s Award.
Contact your local Partner or Tournament Director to find out how many teams will be advancing from the event you are attending. (See the official Advancement Policy).
It is possible for a team to receive a 1st Place in one of the four areas Core Values, Innovation Project, Robot Design or Performance Award but not advance to Championship if the team does not score well in the other three judged areas.
3. Is it possible to win the Robot Performance Award based on field/game score without doing the Innovation Project?
A: It is not possible to win the Robot Performance Award without doing the Project. Teams must participate in all 3 judged areas (Innovation Project, Core Values and Robot Design) and the Robot Game to be eligible for any required award and Robot Performance is a required award. This rule encourages teams to embrace the spirit of discovery and focus on all aspects of the Challenge.
4. Can elimination or alliance rounds be used to determine Robot Performance Award?
A: The Robot Performance Award recognizes a team that scores the most points during the Robot Game. Teams have a chance to compete in at least three 2.5-minute matches and only the highest score out of the three matches counts. While some events may hold elimination or alliance matches for the excitement and fun, these may not be used to determine the Robot Performance Award. Instead, any awards provided for elimination or alliance matches may only be Local Awards. Note that scores from any alliance or elimination rounds will not be used to determine the Robot Performance rank needed to be met for qualifier advancement or Champion’s Award consideration.
5. What happens if my team goes past 5 minutes when giving their Innovation Project presentation?
A: Some Judges may warn the team that they have gone over five minutes, while others will allow the team to finish. In some cases, the tournament may need to keep a very strict time schedule, so Judges will end the presentation at five minutes. If the Judges allow a team to go over five minutes, that may reduce the amount of time Judges have to ask questions and could affect how the Judges assess your team. Your team should practice timing their presentation before the tournament to reduce the chance they will go over five minutes.
6. Can the Coach help the team setup their Innovation Project presentation?
A: As stated in the project document, teams should plan a presentation that they are able to set up and break down with no adult help. The coach should refrain from helping the team setup any presentation materials or props. There may be rare instances when a presentation prop or other item is too bulky or heavy for team members to carry. In this instance, some tournaments may allow the coach to assist the team, or the tournament may provide volunteers to move the heavy/bulky item. Check with your tournament organizer before the tournament if you have any questions about tournament policies and procedures.
7. Do tournament directors have the flexibility to create their own judging tools or additional requirements for teams, other than those specified in the Challenge document?
A: Each official tournament is held to a set of “Global Standards,” designed to provide a consistent experienced for teams attending official events. Some items, including the rubrics, are required to be used by events exactly as provided by FIRST. Other items may be modified to meet local needs.
Official tournaments will not have any new or additional requirements, such as a binder or video, other than the required items outlined in the Challenge document, Coaches’ Handbook, and FIRST website.
Each region may choose to require teams to present a Core Values Poster or Robot Design Executive Summary. In addition, some regions may have completely optional additions that are only used for local awards. These local, optional additions will not be considered by the Judges for any required awards. If you have any questions about what is required at your tournament, please contact your FIRST LEGO League Partner or Tournament Director.
A: The Champion’s Award recognizes a team that “embodies the FIRST LEGO League experience, by fully embracing our Core Values while achieving excellence and innovation in both the Robot Game and Design, and the Innovation Project.”
At an official event Judges will look for balanced, strong performance across all areas; this means that all three judged sessions (Core Values, Robot Design, and Innovation Project) and the Robot Game performance are weighted equally (each worth 25% of the team’s overall score) to determine the initial group of Champion’s candidates. All candidates must also meet the following requirements:
- Robot Performance: The team’s single, highest score is used to create the performance placement for all teams.
- Innovation Project: The team must complete all parts of the project, including the identification of a real-world problem related to the Challenge theme, creation of an innovative solution and sharing their research and solution with others, as well as any other season-specific requirements that may exist.
- Core Values: The team must adhere to all Core Values throughout the event and the season.
All candidate teams are then reviewed during a deliberative process that considers the team’s placement across all four areas, along with other qualitative factors. Final determination of the award winner(s) is based on a vote of the full judging panel.
2. Does FIRST LEGO League have an official policy on how teams advance to Championships from Qualifiers?
A: In accordance with the Participation Rules, teams are eligible for awards and advancement only at the first official event of each qualifying level attended during season. In most cases, event capacity within a region limits team participation to only one qualifying event each season.
The Qualifier Advancement Policy is based on Champion’s Award criteria. As described above, Champion’s Award criteria require that the team, performs well in all three judged areas (Core Values, Innovation Project, and Robot Design) and the Robot Game to be considered for Champion’s Award.
Contact your local Partner or Tournament Director to find out how many teams will be advancing from the event you are attending. (See the official Advancement Policy).
It is possible for a team to receive a 1st Place in one of the four areas Core Values, Innovation Project, Robot Design or Performance Award but not advance to Championship if the team does not score well in the other three judged areas.
3. Is it possible to win the Robot Performance Award based on field/game score without doing the Innovation Project?
A: It is not possible to win the Robot Performance Award without doing the Project. Teams must participate in all 3 judged areas (Innovation Project, Core Values and Robot Design) and the Robot Game to be eligible for any required award and Robot Performance is a required award. This rule encourages teams to embrace the spirit of discovery and focus on all aspects of the Challenge.
4. Can elimination or alliance rounds be used to determine Robot Performance Award?
A: The Robot Performance Award recognizes a team that scores the most points during the Robot Game. Teams have a chance to compete in at least three 2.5-minute matches and only the highest score out of the three matches counts. While some events may hold elimination or alliance matches for the excitement and fun, these may not be used to determine the Robot Performance Award. Instead, any awards provided for elimination or alliance matches may only be Local Awards. Note that scores from any alliance or elimination rounds will not be used to determine the Robot Performance rank needed to be met for qualifier advancement or Champion’s Award consideration.
5. What happens if my team goes past 5 minutes when giving their Innovation Project presentation?
A: Some Judges may warn the team that they have gone over five minutes, while others will allow the team to finish. In some cases, the tournament may need to keep a very strict time schedule, so Judges will end the presentation at five minutes. If the Judges allow a team to go over five minutes, that may reduce the amount of time Judges have to ask questions and could affect how the Judges assess your team. Your team should practice timing their presentation before the tournament to reduce the chance they will go over five minutes.
6. Can the Coach help the team setup their Innovation Project presentation?
A: As stated in the project document, teams should plan a presentation that they are able to set up and break down with no adult help. The coach should refrain from helping the team setup any presentation materials or props. There may be rare instances when a presentation prop or other item is too bulky or heavy for team members to carry. In this instance, some tournaments may allow the coach to assist the team, or the tournament may provide volunteers to move the heavy/bulky item. Check with your tournament organizer before the tournament if you have any questions about tournament policies and procedures.
7. Do tournament directors have the flexibility to create their own judging tools or additional requirements for teams, other than those specified in the Challenge document?
A: Each official tournament is held to a set of “Global Standards,” designed to provide a consistent experienced for teams attending official events. Some items, including the rubrics, are required to be used by events exactly as provided by FIRST. Other items may be modified to meet local needs.
Official tournaments will not have any new or additional requirements, such as a binder or video, other than the required items outlined in the Challenge document, Coaches’ Handbook, and FIRST website.
Each region may choose to require teams to present a Core Values Poster or Robot Design Executive Summary. In addition, some regions may have completely optional additions that are only used for local awards. These local, optional additions will not be considered by the Judges for any required awards. If you have any questions about what is required at your tournament, please contact your FIRST LEGO League Partner or Tournament Director.
