• Competition Manual – Must read for all teams, includes a competition day overview. Check out the handy breakdown by section.

For events where it is applicable, teams are encouraged to take part in early inspection on Friday.  Teams that pass inspection on Friday will have a more relaxed time Saturday morning.   

These inspections ensure that all FTC Robot rules and regulations are met. The inspection checklist linked below should be used by Teams as a guide to pre-inspect their Robot. Robots must pass Inspections in order to participate in match play.

• • Inspection Checklist

  • Inspection Quick Reference

Note:  Teams that make additional robot modifications, at any point, will need to do a brief re-inspection.

During inspection, student team members present their robot, all components that will be used by that robot, and their Operator Console. Inspectors will review baseline safety and competition requirements with the team. If any requirements are not met, inspectors will work with the team to find a resolution. The Lead Robot Inspector (LRI) has the final authority on a team’s eligibility to participate in Qualification and Playoff MATCHES on matters related to robot construction.

Robot Signs: Robot SIgns must be made by the team in advance of the event. There will not be supplies at the event to make Robot Signs.

• See the linked Robot Sign template.

A Practice field will be available in the pit area for use by all teams.  The use of these fields will be self-regulated.  Please be considerate of others while using the practice field. Robots may not be operated when humans are inside the perimeter of the practice field.

There are 4 parts to the FTC Judging process.

1. Initial interview with the judges. Duration: 10 minutes.
   • Teams may use the first 5 minutes of the Initial Interview for a team presentation. Judges will then ask open-ended questions and interact with the team for the remaining interview time.
   • If the team does not have a presentation planned, let the judges know to proceed directly to the Q&A.
2. Match observations by judges. Judges observe the robot, student interactions, and the Gracious Professionalism of the entire team.
3. Judges follow up with additional interviews, as needed, in the pits during the competition.
4. Evaluation of the Team Portfolio where it is a required component of the Award.

Initial Interviews usually occur in the 8am-10am timeframe of the event. Check the event agenda for details.

All team members are encouraged to participate in the Judging Interview session. Teams must participate in the Initial Interview to be considered for judged awards.

Reminders:

• Spectators (coaches/mentors/parents/etc.) must be silent observers during the interview process.
• No Photos, Video or Audio recording during the Initial Interview

Things to have handy for the Interview:

• Robot (not powered)
• Any visual aids the team would like to share.

Preparing for Judging

• Teams are encouraged to review the Judging Question Bank for the types of questions that could be posed to the team.

• Description of FTC Awards and advancement criteria can be found in the Competition Manual.  

• The FTC Judges Manual is open source: https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/ftc/volunteer-resources

Judging Feedback Form: All teams will receive feedback from their initial interview session. The Judges complete a form following the interview based on their initial impression of the team. This feedback form is not used during deliberations and does not include any updated feedback based on later interactions by the Judges with the team.

Judging of “Sibling Teams”

There have been questions about rules regarding affiliated teams that build identical robots and have identical Team Portfolios i.e. “sibling teams”:

Per the FIRST FTC, there is no rule prohibiting teams from having identical robots or Team Portfolios. In judging – if affiliated teams have identical robots and/or Team Portfolios and are in consideration for a judged award where those items are key elements to the decision process, judges will try to discern (as time allows) how the teams produced these deliverables. If it cannot be determined which team “led” the creation of the deliverable and which team “followed”, then both teams could be removed from consideration for the awards where those deliverables are a key element. 

Sister teams should not combine for judging sessions and team members cannot represent more than one team at a given event. In this case, the judges would not be able to view the teams as distinct entities for judging purposes. 

Note that this is for judged awards where robot elements/team portfolio are requirements and has nothing to do with the robot game.

Team Portfolio

The Team Portfolio is a required element in the consideration for many but not all awards. Teams turn in their Team Portfolio to the judges at the start of their judging interview session.  See the Competition Manual for the awards that require the Team Portfolio and for the required format and recommended content for the portfolio.

The event will not be able to print a team’s portfolio on site at the event. Please have the team’s portfolio printed before coming to the event. Providing a USB or sharing a link/QR code to the team’s digital Team Portfolio is not in compliance with the rules.

At the end of the event, the team’s portfolio will be available for pick-up at Pit Admin or will be returned to the team pit.

Control Award – The separate Control Award Submission Sheet is no longer used. Control Award content should be included in the team’s portfolio. Refer to the Competition Manual for details.

Opening Ceremonies
The pits will close and teams will adjourn to the competition area for the opening ceremonies.  The first match will occur immediately following the conclusion.  Teams slated for Match #1 will need to be queued up prior to the start of opening ceremonies.   

Awards and Closing Ceremonies
Following the final matches, the closing ceremonies will occur.  Our qualifying, league tournament, and state championship events will be presenting the core awards.  Optional awards are at the discretion of the event. 

Game Pins:  Commemorative game-themed pins (max of 15 per team) are provided to teams.  Teams will receive their allotment of game pins at the first qualifier where they compete or, for league teams, at the team’s League Tournament.

Once all teams have checked-in and passed inspections, the match schedule for the qualification matches will be generated.  These will be distributed to the teams and will be available for pick up at Pit Admin.  

The team’s Drive Team (max 3 Drivers, 1 Driver/Coach, as applicable) must wear their identifying Drive Team buttons and should arrive in the queuing area for the team’s assigned playing field TWO matches prior to the start of the team’s match.  It is recommended that the role of Driver Coach be filled by a team member.

The Drive Team should pay attention to the action on their assigned playing field.  They should move to their alliance station as soon as queuing and/or the FTA gives them the go-ahead signal.  The Drive Team must stand in the alliance station assigned to them in the match list.  

The Drive Team should stay alert for the instructions and signals from the FTA, Head Referee, and the Game Announcer so that delays do not occur.  The start of the autonomous and driver-controlled portions of the match begins with a “3-2-1 GO!” countdown. Refer to the Competition Manual for more complete match play procedures/instructions.

After the match, the FTA/Head Referee will announce when teams may remove their robots from the playing field.  The Drive Team should clear the area as quickly as possible, following the queueing path, so that the teams for the next match can set up.  

Teams will participate in at least 5 qualifying matches.  After qualification matches conclude, the alliance pairing process for the Playoff rounds will begin.  Each team sends a team member representative to a spot designated by queueing to await alliance selections.  Refer to the Competition Manual for more information on Alliance Selection and Playoff rounds.

Each qualifier/league tournament will advance a predetermined number of spots to one of the FIRST in Michigan FTC State Championship events.  Visit the EVENT REGISTRATION site page for the allocation of advancement spots by event. See the Competition Manual for more information regarding advancement.