– FIRST Tech Challenge DECODE Season Guide

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Overview
Roles Covered:Judge Advisor
Job Description
The Judge Advisor trains, directs, and supervises Judges throughout the event. Judge Advisors
oversee the judging processes and procedures to make sure they are in accordance with FIRSTTech
Challenge judging guidelines.

Requirements
Technical
Medium
Physical
Medium to High
Administrative
Medium to High
Communication
High
Pre-event Training High

If a Judge Advisor has an affiliation with a team attending the event, they
must disclose the affiliation to the Event Director, Judge Advisor
Assistant (JAA), and Judges at the event. For more details, please refer to
the Managing Conflicts of Interest section in this document.

Time Commitment
The Judge Advisor should expect to spend 10-12 hours at a full day event. Approximately 6-15 hours of
pre-event training and planning is required.
Below is a breakdown of the time commitment for a Judge Advisor:
● About 8 hours of training before the event for the Judge Advisor role including
encouraged participation in monthly FIRST^® Judge Advisor discussion calls.
● About 8 hours of planning for the event.
● About 2 hours training the Judging team.
● At least one full day for the event, about 12 hours.

Larger events could span multiple days. Be sure to check with your
Volunteer Coordinator or Event Director for more information about the
hours needed for the role.

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Attire
• Comfortable closed-toe, closed-heel shoes, much of the day will involve moving between the pit
area, arena, and the deliberation room.
• ANSI Z87.1 or regional equivalent certified safety glasses are required in team pits and
competition areas.
• As one of the event leaders, comfortable professional wear is encouraged.
• Judges Advisors should not wear team affiliated clothing, jewelry, team colors, or team created
branding at the event.
• If team swag or giveaways are present and a Judge accepts the gifts from one team, then the
Judge must be willing to accept pins and other branding items from all teams. If the Judge
wears one of the items from a team, they must wear all of the items handed out by the team.
Training and Certification
Read and complete all tasks listed in the Pre-Event Trainingsection.
Any volunteer who applies to a role will be able to get into the Learning Management System (LMS)
using the 'FIRSTTraining' button. Roles with the training required will appear in the 'roles missing
certification' area.
If you have applied for a role but have not received access to the training, please email
training@firstinspires.org A separate confirmation of the role assignment will come later when you are
assigned to a role. If you have not received a confirmation email, but believe you should have, please
contact the Volunteer Coordinator using the Event Dashboard where you applied for the role.
Judge Advisors should speak to the Volunteer Coordinator or Event Director to find out what additional
requirements, such as meetings before the event or run-throughs of the space before the event are
required. The approximate training time is 3-4 hours.
Roles and Responsibilities
FIRSTis fun for all. The most important role for a volunteer is to provide a
safe, fun, and welcoming environment for all FIRST^® participants. When
executing the duties of your role, always make decisions with the team
experience in mind. Ask for help from event leadership if you feel your
required duties conflict with the best team experience.

Judge Advisor Responsibilities
The Judge Advisor’s responsibilities are closely aligned with the judging process.
From a team perspective, the Judge Advisor is responsible for ensuring that all FIRST^® Tech Challenge
teams have a high-quality judging experience. Every team should feel like they were treated fairly and
given the opportunity to show the Judges their accomplishments. The key to a high-quality experience
is planning well for the event.

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From a volunteer perspective, the primary role of a Judge Advisor is to facilitate Judge deliberations
and decision-making after all the team interviews have been completed for the day. The Judge Advisor
does not take part in the interviews and does not select teams for awards.
The following is a list of additional responsibilities assigned to the Judge Advisor:
• The Judge Advisor should not bring any outside knowledge of any team to the Judges, unless it
occurred at the event, as this can influence their final decisions.
• Collaborates with the Judges to help guide them in selecting the teams that best fit the award
criteria.
• Keeps the group of Judges moving forward with award decisions. The Judge Advisor ensures
decisions are made on time, and that scripts are written when needed by the Event Director.
Other responsibilities may vary from region to region.
Prerequisites for Judge Advisors
• Must be at least 23 years old, and at least 3 years removed from participating as a student
member of a FIRST^® Tech Challenge team.
• It is best if a Judge Advisor has some judging experience with one of the FIRST^® Programs.
• A person with strong facilitation skills and a thorough understanding of the judging and Judge
Advisor role could be an excellent candidate for this role.
Reporting Structure
The Judge Advisor is a key volunteer at an event and reports to the Event Director.
The Judges and the Judge Advisor Assistant report to the Judge Advisor.
Modeling Gracious Professionalism
As a Judge Advisor, you serve in a visible role at an event. You will guide Judges in a process that will
allow them to celebrate teams and listen to their stories, challenges, and accomplishments that took
place throughout the season. Many students see judging interviews as a stressful time, publicly
speaking to new people in an unfamiliar environment. Judges are there to put the team at ease by
taking notes and asking questions that will allow teams to demonstrate how they have grown
throughout the season. It is important for Judge Advisors to help Judges understand the impact that
Judges can have on students through their interactions.
The only time that a Judge Advisor should be commenting about a team is during the deliberation
processes.
While Judges can only recognize a limited number of teams at an event, Judge Advisors play a key role
in ensuring that every team has the opportunity to share their story. They also ensure that all Judges
are actively involved in the deliberation process and that every voice is heard in the judging room. You
should make sure to keep a professional demeanor in working with the entire Judge crew. Judges are
expected to maintain a light-hearted and friendly demeanor both in the interview room and around the
pits, helping to ensure positive and respectful interactions with everyone they encounter.
The Judge Advisor must never disclose information that they learned about a team, discussions, or
deliberations to anyone during or after an event.

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Philosophy of Judging
Judged awards celebrate teams for their activities outside of the robot game, including their outreach
activities, their robot design, and their creativity, while the robot competition (on-field) awards are
earned by teams based on their ability to play the game. Please reviewSection 6: Awardsof the
Competition Manual to learn more about the award categories.
It is important that both Judges and students have a positive judging experience. The awards are a
method FIRST^® uses to inspire and to recognize students for their achievements, help them celebrate
their successes, and to cheer them on in their journey through the FIRST^® programs.

No interview is done, or decision is made, by a single Judge. A Judge
must never interview a team by themselves; this is done using pairs or
trios! Judges need to work well with others to make award decisions
under strict deadlines, which can be tough! Judges look for teams who
are a strong candidate for each award.

Before the Event
Judge Advisors should regularly check their email for any pre-event communications from the Event
Director or Volunteer Coordinator, which may include details on the following items:
• Details about the event: venue-specific details (where to report), when to report, etc.
• Attending meetings or completing commitments not already outlined in this manual.
• Key reminders or clarifications on any items listed in the Pre-Event Training section.
This section outlines key tasks to complete before the event; however, Judge Advisors should consult
the FIRSTTech Challenge Judging Process Guidefor an expanded explanation of the items below.
Prior to an event, Judges Advisors should complete the following actions:
• Meet with the Event Director and perform the following:
• Build or gather botha Public Scheduleand Structured Interview schedule.
• Confirm who is recruiting volunteers to serve as Judges and the JAA (if applicable). This
may vary from region to region and in some cases is the Judge Advisor.
• Obtain a list of Judges and their contact information from the Event Director or Volunteer
Coordinator for the event as early as possible.
• Determine the role that Judges will play in Opening and Award Ceremonies, the timeline for
each event, and where they will be seated/standing.
• Establish the deadline for submitting award decisions and scripts and identify who should
be provided with these items and how they should be provided (on paper, added to scoring
system, or some other way).
• Determine if any additional pre-event training or meetings will take place with the Judges.
• Confirm who is bringing printed judging materials, supplies for judging, and other equipment
needed to complete the deliberations (i.e., TV, projector, computer, etc.).
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• Confirm the location of the Structured Interview rooms and any venue-specific requirements
around moving furniture.
• Communicate with the Judges in advance.
• Select 2 questions from the Judging Question Bankas a baseline for all interviews.
• Update theJudge Advisor Presentationto include your event’s logistics (like schedule) and the
questions that were selected for the Structured Interview.

Pre-Event Training
Judge Advisors must complete the required reading in this section and are required to pass a
certification test prior to serving in this role.
Resources for training and certification:
Judge Advisor Pre-event Training List
Requirement
Resource
Required
Welcome to FIRST^®
Required
TheJudge Advisor Volunteer Manual(this document)
Required
The FIRST Tech Challenge Judging Process Guide
The Competition Manual – specifically:
• Section 6: Awards (A)
Required
• Section 8: Game Overview
• Section 13: Tournament (T)(For Typical Playoff Timing)
• Section 16: Glossary
Team Updates -Combined
Team Updates are posted weekly. These releases occur on
Required
Thursdays at 1 PM Eastern. Judge Advisors are required to read the
team updates and encouraged to sign up for the Team Update
notification emails to help stay up to date.
Required
Complete the FIRST^® Data Protection and Privacy Training
Required
Review the Judging Question Bank
Required
Review the Quick Start - JudgingDocument
Required
Review the Outreach Terms and Definitions
Required
Read and comply with the Volunteer Handbook
Required
Review and complete theConflict of Interest Formas required
Required
Review the Judge Advisor Presentation
Required
Review the FTC Scoring Judge and Judge Advisor Guide
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Judge Advisor Pre-event Training List
Volunteer Q&A System- The Q&A serves as a space for these
volunteers to ask questions and receive official answers from FIRST^®
Staff and our Global Key volunteers about the Competition Manual
and its expected implementation.
Encouraged

To access the Q&A volunteers must have an active FIRST^® Dashboard
account,have applied to volunteer in the specific role for the current
season and have a signed consent and release form.
Encouraged
Complete Strategies for Inspiring Success for All modules
Encouraged
Attend the monthlyVolunteer Calls
Review the Competition Manual – specifically:
Encouraged
• Section 8: Game Overview
Or watch thegame animation video for a general understanding of
the game.
Complete theJudge Advisor CertificationTest in the FIRST^® Learning
Required
System
(For volunteers outside of North America without a FIRST^® Dashboard
Account use the PDF to self-certify)

Event Day
This section outlines key details that take place during an event; however, Judge Advisors must consult
the FIRSTTech Challenge Judging Process Guidefor an expanded explanation of the items below.
The exact details surrounding your event may vary depending on the format of judging established by
you and the Event Director. The formats for judging are traditional judging (in-person), virtual judging
(online-only), or a hybrid judging format (partly virtual and partly in-person).
This section will focus on the traditional judging process, but best practices and other important details
may apply to any of the judging formats.
Report Time
The Event Director or Volunteer Coordinator will confirm the time you should arrive typically via email
the week before the event. In most cases, Judge Advisors should arrive at the earliest time volunteers
are told to report.
When you arrive onsite check-in with the volunteer check-in table, or Volunteer Coordinator and Event
Director.

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Set-up
Before heading to your judging deliberation room, meet with the Event Director to confirm some key
details noted below:
Day of Event Logistics
Review the event schedule for the day and note any changes from prior discussions.
Discuss queuing path and plan for Structured Interviews – this conversation should include
the Lead Queuer.
Discuss the following – SeeSection 6: Awards (A)of the Competition Manual for more details:
• Are there other event/region-specific awards being given out?
• Are there teams who are not eligible for certain award considerations?
o Opted out of judging
o Outside of their own region
o Previously won the Inspire Award at a Qualifying or League Tournament (if they
are attending multiple Tournaments)
Learn if the event is awarding a Judge’s Choice award
Confirm the timing for playoff matches, specifically when the award results and scripts are
due in FTC Scoring.

After checking in with the Event Director, and confirming the details in the table above, report to your
judging deliberation room to prepare for the event.
Next Responsibility
Once your Judges have arrived at the deliberation room, you will conduct a judging briefing using your
version of theJudge Advisor Presentation,which includes the expectations of the day. This
presentation should be sufficient to help Judges understand the flow of judging, but Judge Advisors
should be prepared to answer questions while presenting the slides.
The remainder of the process is explained in the FIRSTTech Challenge Judging Process Guide.
Team Interaction and Support
When interacting with teams please always consider the team’s perspective. The teams have put
significant time and effort into preparing for this event and may be feeling very stressed about
everything working out as they have planned. Today is a very big deal for the team and we are here to
help!
While it is our job to help guide the teams to a successful event, it is their responsibility to follow the
rules and be on time for scheduled activities. If exceptions must be made for teams, please work with
the Event Director to coordinate them.
If you feel there is an issue with an individual or several individuals from a team that warrants specific
intervention beyond just a kind reminder, please ensure the correct stakeholders for the team are
aware. Here is a generally acceptable process when working with a student or team who you need to
change their behavior:
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The ABCs of Managing Team Behaviors
Do not directly reprimand a student one-on-one without an adult
from their team present. Ask the student to bring an adult who is
Ask for an Adult
responsible for the team to meet you, before moving forward with
any discussion about the concerns at hand.
Is the environment conducive for the feedback you are about to
Be aware of the
give? Is it loud in the area where you are? Are there other teams
Environment
around that may hear the reprimand? Moving the conversation to
a quieter, more private space as needed can be helpful.
(Offer a) Clear
Explain the concern to the team and offer clear examples of the
Explanation
behavior that is concerning.
Offer the opportunity for students and adults to ask clarifying
Discuss any Questions
questions
Outline with the students and adults what the next steps are if the
Explain Next Steps
issue is not corrected. Certain behaviors may include the risk of
yellow cards

Note: the only person at an event who can give an official warning or
issue a yellow/red card is the Head Referee. Please refer these more
severe issues to the Head Referee and notify the Event Director or the
Program Delivery Partner.

Be cautious about passing on any negative feedback about any teams directly to the Judges. It is not
possible to know all the contributing factors around such a complaint or observation. Judge Advisors
must follow the protocol listed in the Team Interaction and Supportsection of this document. If
there are issues which are repeated or egregious follow the process forReporting Other Issues or
Concernsand inform the Event Director or the Program Delivery Partner. The Judge Advisor should
seek feedback from the Event Director to determine if there is any relevant information to provide the
Judges for their evaluation process.
Teams may only be disqualified from award consideration for very rare egregious actions and only with
approval from FIRST^® HQ. The Event Director and/or JA should call the on-call supportnumber to
discuss the issue.
Managing Conflicts of Interest

Conflict of Interest – a conflict between the private interests and the
official responsibilities of a person in a position of trust.

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All listed volunteer roles will be asked to disclose any potential Conflicts of Interest, and to complete
theConflict of Interest and Disclosure form.During the Judges meeting, Judges will be asked to
declare conflicts of interest to the rest of the judging pool. Some scenarios of conflict of interests:
• A coach/mentor volunteers as a judge or a referee.
• A parent/relative of a team member volunteers as a judge or a referee.
• A recent alum (student or adult) of a team competing at the event volunteers as a judge or a
referee.
• A sponsor of a team competing at the event volunteers as a judge or referee.
Having a Conflict of Interest, or even the perception of a Conflict of Interest can affect a team’s
experience, even if decisions that were made throughout the day were not biased in any way. The
perception of potential favoritism is enough to discourage a team, coach, or mentor, and take away
from their overall experience at an event. Knowing what a Conflict of Interest is, and how to avoid being
in a position that could be a conflict will ensure all teams feel they have been evaluated fairly.
All volunteers at an event have a responsibility to act in the best interest
of the event which means to treat all teams fairly and equitably.
Volunteers should use prior FIRST^® experience to help inform their
decisions but should not use prior knowledge or perception of any team
to inform their decisions either good or bad. Every team, at every event,
deserves a fresh blank slate with all volunteers.

A volunteer who does not disclose their conflict of interest can compromise the integrity of FIRST Tech
Challenge events. In judging, this could cause teams affiliated with the volunteer with a Conflict of
Interest to be removed from consideration for awards.
Conflict of Interest, in some cases, can be quite easy to see. In other cases, it may be less obvious, and
it may be difficult to decide what constitutes a true Conflict of Interest. In some cases, the bias may be
apparent, while other times a Conflict of Interest may be perceived by a team or a coach. It is best to
keep the following in mind when volunteering:
• Be open and forthcoming about any conflicts you may have with a team competing at the event.
• If there is a known Conflict of Interest, avoid making decisions about a team that would change
the outcome of the day, such as speaking for or against a team in judge deliberations, or holding
some teams to a different standard than others.
• Remove yourself from any situation that could be perceived as a Conflict of Interest.
Emergencies
The Program Delivery Partner, Event Director and the event site host organization are responsible for
having safety and security plans in place for each event. Included in the plan should be topics such as:
• A map of all the emergency exits
• Knowledge of where on-site medical support is located
• Shelter in place plans in the case of severe weather
• Evacuation plans
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Youth Protection Reporting
Issues that are non-medical but are of concern to a
participant/participants should also be reported. Anything that
happens during an event that made a youth volunteer, team
member or spectator feel uncomfortable or threatened should
be addressed.

As appropriate and if you feel safe doing to, speak directly with
www.firstinspires.org/report
the offending party and try to quickly and calmly defuse the
immediate issue. Call the Event Director and/or the Program
Delivery Partner and inform them of the issue and seek assistance as needed with any immediate
remediation of the issue.
Ensure all issues are reported in a timely manner using theFIRST^® Reporting Portal. Youth Protection
Concerns encompasses a wide variety of one-time or ongoing issues such as suspected abuse,
bullying, harassment, discrimination, questionable behavior, or violation to the FIRST^® Code of Conduct.
Reporting Other Issues or Concerns
Feedback received from event participants about issues
such as game play, rule changes, awards, and event
management (other than medical/safety issues) are
considered program related concerns and not youth
protection issues and should be shared with FIRST^® via
customerservice@firstinspires.orgor bycontacting
support.
help.firstinspires.org/s/contactsupport
Please note that match results and award results are
final and we will not review match videos.
Safety
An important priority for all volunteers is to observe their event areas to help promote a safe and
orderly space for all the participants. It is likely that various volunteers and event participants will bring
concerns to your attention, but you should also be proactive in identifying areas of concern.
Prioritize working with the teams to help identify and correct potential safety issues in the area. Please
review the section aboutTeam Interaction and Support.
Safety Glasses and Closed Toe Shoes
All volunteers, teams, coach/mentors, and spectators are required to have safety glasses and wear
closed toe shoes while in the pit and competition areas. It is important to watch out for anyone entering
these areas without proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and to ask them to put on proper PPE
before entering. Some events will have volunteers staffed at the pit entrance with spare safety glasses
to pass out. Other events may not have spares to provide.
End of the Day
After all Judging is completed, the Judge Advisor (and any volunteers assigned to help) should ensure
that the structured interview rooms are cleared and re-set per venue instructions and that the judging
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deliberation room is cleared, supplies are collected, and any judging papers are collected and disposed
of off-site.
The Judge Advisor should also check in with the Event Director before leaving to confirm that this has
been done satisfactorily.
After the Event
The Judge Advisor should send a thank you to each Judge and ask for their feedback. The Judge
Advisor should communicate Judges’ feedback and their own feedback to the Event Director to help
improve the event going forward.
Judge Advisors are also encouraged to join the monthly in-season volunteer Judge Advisor calls that
FIRST^® hosts to provide feedback about the judging process.

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Important Tools
Public Schedule
The Program Delivery Partner or the Event Director should publish the public schedule of events before
the event. This schedule will have a high-level overview of all the activities for the event. It is important
that everyone at the event does their best to stay true to the public schedule so that teams and
volunteers who have planned their day around these times have a good experience.

Time
Agenda
7:15 am
Doors Open for Staff & Key Volunteers
7:30 am
Judges and Inspectors Report
8:00 am
Doors Open for Teams
8:30 am
Judging & Inspection Commences
10:15 am Team Check-in Hard Deadline (Check the Competition Manual)
Match schedule is generated and distributed to teams. (Check the Competition Manual)
10:30 am Note to Scorekeeper: 6 Matches total(Check the Competition Manual)
10:40 am Drivers’ Meeting with Head Referee & Opening Ceremony
Qualification Matches 1 - 8
11:00 am Note to Scorekeeper: 7-minute cycle-time
12:00 pm Lunch
Qualification Matches 9 - 45
12:45 pm Note to Scorekeeper: 5-minute cycle-times
3:50 pm
Qualification Matches Projected End
4:00 pm
Alliance Selection
4:20 pm
Double Elimination Rounds 1 - 4
5:10 pm
Award Ceremonies Start & Double Eliminations Round 5
6:20 pm
Projected End of Event
7:00 pm
Doors Close
Occasionally things that happen out of the event’s control may impact the schedule. In these cases,
work closely with the Event Director to understand the updated agenda.
Figure 1: Example Schedule for a 30 Team Event

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Registered Teams List
The Program Delivery Partner may provide a list of teams registered for the event, or the Scorekeeper
can export a report of all the registered teams for the event. Sometimes this list may change the day of
the event based on which teams show up. The Scorekeeper report will have the most accurate
information about who is competing at an event. Notes that teams may be competing only in the
judging portion of the event and not have a robot present.
Figure 2: Competing Team Report

Volunteer Roster
The Volunteer Coordinator or the Program Delivery Partner will have access to a list of applied and
assigned volunteers for the event.

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Event Layout/Map
The Program Delivery Partner and Event Director should publish a map of the venue before the event. In
some cases, details on the map might not be available until the day of the event.
The Event Layout / Map should detail the following:
• Load-In Path
• Parking for Personal Vehicles and Busses
• Team Check-in
• Volunteer Check-in
• Competition Area
• Pit Area (May include thePit Map)
• Judging Room Locations (if applicable)
• Safety Details as available (Emergency Exits, AED, Shelter in Place Locations)

Figure 3: Example Event Map
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Judging Schedule

Figure 4: Example Judging Schedule
Match Schedule
The match list will be generated on the day of the event after the teams have been confirmed. This
schedule will list which teams will play in which alliance (Red or Blue) and it will also list a match start
time. Some events will have more than one competition field. Some events will have more than one
division, in which case each division will have its own schedule.

Figure 5: Example Match Schedule

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Pit Map
Pit maps are typically provided by either the Event Director or by the Scorekeeper. Having a map of
where each team is in the pit is key, as teams, parents or Queuers might need to find. Below are two
sample pit maps. Pit Maps created in FTC Scoring will appear on the FTC-Eventspage.

Figure 6: Example Pit Map for a small12-team Qualifier Event

Figure 7: Example Pit Map for a Typical Regional Championship Event
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Useful Links and Information
On-Call Support Numbers
On-Call Support
These numbers are for volunteer support only. Teams should not use these numbers
to call about rulings or technical assistance.

Administrative, Judge, Referee and Non-Technical Issues:
(603)206-2412

Scoring System (FTC Live) or other Technical Issues:

(603)206-2450
Call or use the built-in chat feature on FTC Live available for events with internet
access
Pre-Event Support
Mon – Fri
8:30am – 5:00pm Eastern Time (UTC-4 or UTC-5)
Contact Supportincluding live chat or emailcustomerservice@firstinspires.org

Program Resources
FIRST^® Tech Challenge Website
Event Search

Game and Season Resources
FIRST^® Tech Challenge Blog

Volunteer Resources
Team Email Blasts

Feedback
We strive to create support materials that are the best they can be. If you have feedback about this
manual, please emailcustomerservice@firstinspires.orgor bycontacting support. Thank you!
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Document Outline

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