SPECIAL AWARDS
VRC Robotics Community Award presented by Cook Medical
The Robotics Community Award is presented to a high school VEX VRC Robotics team that best represents the mission of robotics by supporting and encouraging other teams in their local community.
Key Criteria:
Supporting other local robotics teams and events - both VRC and IQ
Mentoring other teams
Volunteer hours
Increases awareness of VEX robotics
Has helped start a new team(s)
Jack Klein Memorial Award
Jack Klein was an Indianapolis Public Schools student and robotics enthusiast who was diagnosed with Lymphoma as a third grader. He cheerfully endured cancer treatment before his death from the disease in 2016. He's remembered for his sense of humor, commitment to fun, knack for making friends, and love of robotics. His friends and family, known as Jack's Pack, honor his legacy by paying it forward with random acts of kindness they capture and share on social media using the hashtag #JacksPack. We invite you to join the #JacksPack movement of kindness. Be sure to use the hashtags: #JacksPack #INVEXStateChamp #Robots4All
Ballard Indiana State Tournament Championship Award
Former Mayor Gregory A. Ballard was elected the 48th Mayor of Indianapolis on November 6, 2007, and was re-elected to a second term on November 8, 2011. As the visionary behind the City of Indianapolis VEX Robotics Championship (IndyVRC), which he later helped transition into the State Robotics Initiative, Mayor Ballard's commitment, and steadfast pursuit of providing access to hands-on, mentor-led, robotics education and programming for all students is recognized annually through the Ballard State Tournament Championship award.
Senior Hall of Fame
We are so proud of our 2024 Seniors and excited to see what the future holds for each of them. Check out the 2024 TPF4Y Senior Hall of Fame HERE.
Mentor of the Year
The Mentor of the Year Award is presented to an Indiana mentor serving in a coach capacity for an elementary, middle, or high school robotics team who shows true leadership and dedication to his or her robotics students. The winner of this award continually exceeds expectations to create a safe, enjoyable and educational experience for all students. The recipient of this award can be nominated by the students, principal, parents, or colleagues associated with him or her.
Event Partner of the Year
The Event Partner of the Year Award is presented to an Indiana event partner who has hosted a VEX IQ or VRC event during the robotics season. This event partner must show true leadership, dedication, patience, fairness and have a passion for helping and supporting all teams. The winner of this award continuously exceeds expectations to create a safe, enjoyable and educational experience for all teams during their event. The recipient of this award can be nominated by a coach, student, principal, parent, or colleague.
The Innovate Award
The Innovate Award is presented to a team with the most effective and efficient design process; a top contender for the Design Award. Key criteria:
• Engineering Notebook is required
• Engineering Notebook is a clear, complete, and organized document of the design process
• Team demonstrates effective management of time, talent, and materials
• Students understand and explain how they developed an effective game strategy and robot design
• Students understand and explain the engineering design process
• Students understand and explain how they worked together to develop their robot
The Think Award
The Think Award is presented to a team with the most effective and consistent programming strategies and solutions to solve the game challenge. Key criteria:
• Participation in the Programming Skills Challenge is required
• Autonomous programming is consistent and reliable
• Programs are cleanly written, well documented, and easy to understand
• Team clearly explains the programming strategy used to solve the game challenge
• Team clearly explains their programming management process, including version history
• Students understand and explain how they worked together to develop their robot programming
The Amaze Award
The Amaze Award is presented to a team that has built the most consistently high scoring and competitive robot. Key criteria:
• Robot design is consistently high scoring and competitive
• Robot construction is high quality
• Robot programming is effective, successful, and consistent
• Students understand and explain how they worked together to develop their robot
The Build Award
The Build Award is presented to a team that has built the most durable robot. Key criteria:
• Robot construction is durable and robust
• Robot is reliable on the field and holds up under competition conditions
• Robot is designed attention to safety and detail
• Students understand and explain how they worked together to develop their robot
The Create Award
The Create Award is presented to a team who has built a robot that incorporates the most creative engineering design solution to the challenges of this season’s game. Key criteria:
• Robot design incorporates a creative design solution
• Team has demonstrated a highly creative design process and methodology
• Team has committed to ambitious and creative approaches to solving the game challenge
• Students understand and explain how they worked together to develop their robot
