As an Event Partner, you choose which awards your event will offer. This article explains the four categories of awards, what each award recognizes, and the award requirements to plan around so you can build the right slate for your event.
Definitions of the terms used here are maintained in the central glossary.
For the full criteria judges use to select each award, see Award Descriptions.
Awards and recognition celebrate student achievement, reinforce a positive competition culture, and encourage growth throughout the robotics season. They are meant to recognize a wide range of student strengths, including innovation, leadership, teamwork, communication, perseverance, professionalism, and technical development, rather than competitive success alone.
Awards fall into four categories:
- Performance Awards are earned through gameplay and are presented automatically at every tournament.
- Judged Awards are selected by judges. If your event includes judging, you must offer the Excellence, Design, and Judges Awards.
- Nominated Awards are optional and may be offered whether or not your event includes judging.
- Recognition Awards are optional, chosen by the Event Partner, and honor the adults and organizations who support teams.
Performance Awards
Performance Awards recognize achievement in competitive gameplay and match performance. You do not select these awards — they are determined by match results and Robot Skills rankings, and are presented at every tournament.
- Tournament Champion / Teamwork Champion — Presented to the teams in the alliance with the highest score in the Finals Matches, also known as Elimination Matches in the VEX Robotics Competitions. One award with two names for the same achievement: it is the Teamwork Champion in the VEX IQ Robotics Competition and the Tournament Champion in the other VEX competition programs.
- Robot Skills Champion — The team with the highest combined Robot Skills ranking at the event.
Earning a Performance Award does not affect a team's eligibility for any Judged Award.
Judged Awards
Judged Awards recognize teams through Team Interviews, Engineering Notebook evaluations, and event observations. They highlight not only the final robot, but also how teams apply the Engineering Design Process, document and iterate on solutions, collaborate, communicate, and demonstrate authentic student ownership across the season.
Judges select these awards with support from the Judge Advisor. As the Event Partner, you choose which Judged Awards to offer, but you may not recommend or assign the winners.
The same Judged Awards are used across competition programs.
- Excellence Award — The highest honor presented at an event. Recognizes a team that demonstrates overall excellence across both judged and performance categories.
- Design Award — Recognizes a team that demonstrates an organized, student-driven engineering design process through its Engineering Notebook and Team Interview.
- Innovate Award — Recognizes a novel, well-documented feature of a team's robot design or gameplay strategy that the team is actively using at the event.
- Think Award — Recognizes excellence in coding and software development, including effective use of sensors, automation, and troubleshooting.
- Amaze Award — Recognizes a team that has built a highly capable, competitive, and consistently performing robot.
- Build Award — Recognizes excellence in robot construction, craftsmanship, reliability, and attention to detail.
- Create Award — Recognizes a creative or ambitious engineering solution to the challenges of the current season's game.
- Judges Award — Lets judges recognize a team whose noteworthy qualities, such as perseverance, growth, or team spirit, are not captured by another award.
- Inspire Award — Recognizes a team that embodies the passion, enthusiasm, and spirit of the program through teamwork, leadership, and positive community impact.
What Offering Judged Awards Requires
Judged Awards require judging at your event. When you offer them, you also need a Certified Judge Advisor and enough judges to interview every team (2 judges per 8–10 teams is recommended).
Some Judged Awards require teams to submit an Engineering Notebook. An Engineering Notebook is not required to compete — only to be considered for those awards. Award Descriptions and Criteria lists which awards require one.
Nominated Awards
Nominated Awards are optional, and you may offer them at judged and non-judged events alike. They let event volunteers — such as the Head Referee, Scorekeeping Referees, or Emcees — and judges recognize teams for enthusiasm, respect toward competitors and volunteers, positive attitudes, and gracious conduct throughout the event.
- Sportsmanship Award — Recognizes a team that consistently demonstrates respect, professionalism, fairness, and positive conduct throughout the event.
- Energy Award — Recognizes a team that brings enthusiasm, excitement, and spirit to the competition and lifts the experience for those around them.
Nomination forms can be found in this article. A team may receive a Nominated Award in addition to a Judged Award or a Performance Award.
Recognition Awards
Recognition Awards are optional and honor the contributions of volunteers, mentors, teachers, and sponsors who make robotics programs possible. You determine these awards as the Event Partner; judges do not select them.
- Mentor of the Year — Honors a mentor who inspires, guides, and supports students in achieving their goals and growing in STEM.
- Teacher of the Year — Honors a teacher who demonstrates exceptional leadership, dedication, and commitment to creating a positive educational experience for students.
- Partner of the Year — Honors an organization that provides outstanding support and resources to make robotics programs accessible and successful.
- Volunteer of the Year — Honors an individual whose dedication, service, and hard work make robotics events and programs possible.
Awards and Advancement
Which awards you offer affects how teams from your event can advance. Not every judged award carries advancement, and the official qualifying awards and advancement pathways are set by your Program Support Team and vary by program, region, event type, and season. Teams check the Awards tab on your event page to see which awards may qualify them for a championship event. Make sure your posted awards are accurate.
For advancement pathways, spot allocation, and the full qualifying-event requirements, see Event Qualification and Advancement.