Pennsylvania FTC Championship Tournament

The Compass Award recognizes an adult coach or mentor who provided outstanding guidance and support for an FTC Team throughout the year. The winner of the Compass Award is determined from candidates nominated by FTC student Team members, via a 40-60 second video submission, highlighting how their mentor has helped them become an outstanding Team and truly demonstrated what it means to be a Gracious Professional.

The Promote Award is given to the Team that is most successful in creating a compelling message for the public designed to change our culture and celebrate science, technology, engineering and math. The FTC Public Service Announcement Video was evaluated by the Judges to determine the winner of this Award. Teams must present a thoughtful and high-quality video which appeals to the general public and best exhibits this year's topic of "Now that I've succeeded in FIRST..."

The Control Award is given to the Team that demonstrates innovative thinking in the control system to solve Game challenges such as Autonomous Operation, enhancing mechanical systems with intelligent control, or using sensors to achieve better results on the Field.

Here is what the judges had to say about the winner:

During autonomous their robot had a unique sense of position on the field. To achieve their goals they see the world in blue and red. Their camera vision sensor guaranteed that they always went off an arc tangent.

The Motivate Award celebrates the Team that exemplifies the essence of the FIRST Tech Challenge competition and embraces the culture of FIRST while making a collective effort to make FIRST known throughout their school, and community and sparks others to embrace the culture of FIRST.

Here is what the judges had to say about the winner:

This team hails from a merry land. They are actively bringing STEM education to students without the same opportunities. They embrace the first spirit to the ends of the earth.

The intent of the PTC Design Award is to expand on the challenge, inspiring Teams to incorporate industrial design into their robots. These elements can be shown in the simplicity of the design as it applies to the tasks, the look and feel of the robot, and how the design allows us to think of robots in new ways. The Design aspect must serve a function but they should also differentiate the robot in a unique fashion.

Here is what the judges had to say about the winner:

This teams design is robust and functioned as intended. The side arm motion depostiting climbers was a delight to watch. This team's name aptly demonstrates the use of artificial inteligence in their robot design.

The Rockwell Collins Innovate Award celebrates a Team that has the ingenuity and inventiveness to make their designs come to life.

Here is what the judges had to say about the winner:

This team was on the right track from the start. Block by block they increased their score. With Star Wars force and Indiana Jones like whip they sounded the all clear.

Our next Award, The Connect Award, is presented to the Team that the Judges' feel most connected with their local community, FIRST and the business world. The best Team is more than the sum of its parts, and recognizes that their schools and communities play an essential part to their success. The recipient of this Award is recognized for helping the community understand FIRST, the FIRST Tech Challenge, and the Team itself. In addition, the Team that wins this Award is aggressively seeking engineers and exploring the opportunities available in the world of engineering, science and technology.

Here is what the judges had to say about the winner:

This high powered team really connects with their community. They have a multifaceted and global reach. In interacting with this team, one wonders what will they do NEXT!

The Think Award is given to the Team that the Judges feel best reflects the journey the team took as they experienced the engineering design process during the build season. The Engineering Notebook is the key reference for Judges to help them identify the most deserving Team. This Team's Engineering Notebook focused on the design and build stages of the Team's robot and exemplified their journey as a team and engineers.

Here is what the judges had to say about the winner:

This team's hand written notebook electrified the judges with their well documented journey. Lightning bolts Illuminated their drawings, CAD and math calculations. Their flower power wheels made this notebook bloom.

The Inspire Award is given to the Team that the Judges felt truly embodied the challenges of the FTC program. The Team that receives this award is a strong ambassador for FIRST programs and works to promote FIRST and make it loud in their community. The Team that receives this Award has performed well in all Judging categories and was chosen by the Judges as a model FIRST Tech Challenge Team on and off the playing field. The Judges used Match performance, observations made during interviews and in the pit area, the Team's Engineering Notebook, and performance on the playing field in determining the winner.

Here is what the judges had to say about the winner:

This team exemplifies gracious professionalism on and off the field and makes a concerted effort to promote first in their community. The way their notebook came together was pure poetry. As the winners of the Inspire award their is no reason for their dragon to be blue.