Judging and Submission Requirements

FIRST Tech Challenge
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Judging will be completed by faculty and staff of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, including members of the Robotics Resource Center and Interactive Media and Game Development Department.  All teams must follow the submission requirements as outlined below.

CONTACT
While the judging is purely subjective, all judges will use the following rubric to evaluate entries:
Category 1: Connection to Theme (30 points)
Category 2: Creative Storytelling (25 points)
Category 3: Animation Quality & Technique (25 points)
Category 4: Originality (20 points)

Total: 100 points

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The following requirements must be met for an animation to be submitted to the judges and displayed for other teams to watch.

  1. A single animation may be submitted by any registered FIRST Robotics Competition team or FIRST Tech Challenge team. Submissions may be 2D, 3D, mixed media, stop motion or anything else you can use to animate a story.

     

  2. The submitted animation must be no more than 30 seconds long (does not include title screen or credits). Animations more than 30 seconds long will not be judged.
    1. The submission must be relevant to the stated theme.

    2. 30 seconds is only an upper limit. Teams may submit an animation of any length up to that limit, and the duration will have no impact on how the animation is scored.

       

  3. Anything uploaded to and playable on YouTube (or similar video streaming service) by the deadline is accepted. However, It is recommended that animations be submitted with the following for best event playback:
    1. Format: H.264 codec in mp4 file
    2. Resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels (720p) minimum. 1920 x 1080 (1080p) is optimal.

    3. Frame Rate: 24 frames per second.

       

  4. Title Screen & Credits
    1. The animation must begin with a title screen displayed for a 2-second duration followed by a one-second black slate, leading into the primary work.
    2. The title screen display will not be included in the total duration limit.
    3. The title screen must include your program (FIRST Robotics Competition or FIRST Tech Challenge), team number, team name, school/organization, title of the animation, and animation duration.
    4. Credits should follow a one-second black slate at the end of the animation and be no longer than 5 seconds total in length. Length of the credits will not be included in the total duration limit.
    5. Make sure to include team members, mentors, software used, list of public domain sources, and licensed sources in credits.

    6. Total length of work should be no longer than: 2 second title screen + 1 second black slate + (up to) 30 second animation + 1 second black slate + (up to) 5 seconds credits = 39 seconds total (max length). 

       

  5. Content
    1. Animation should be supportive of the FIRST and WPI’s Core Values.

    2. Animation must be free of copyright issues. Do not use copyrighted characters, music, or other elements, unless you have the legal right to do so.

       

  6. Submission Process: *MAJOR CHANGES FOR 2025-26*
    1. Upload the animation to YouTube (or similar video streaming service) by 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan 12, 2026.
    2. Fill out the submission form, you will need:
      1. At least one adult mentor on your team (to complete the form)
      2. The link to your video (must be viewable by anyone with the link)

    3. You are welcome/encouraged to upload the video early and to set the video to “unlisted” until the deadline. The video must be viewable by anyone with the link by the deadline shown above.

       

  7. **DEADLINE**
    1. All video uploads AND the form submission must be completed by 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan 12, 2026. Any entries after this deadline will not be judged. Winners will be announced Mid-February.
    2. Public Viewing - A playlist of all the videos will be published for public viewing when the winners are announced. Keep an eye on official FIRST and WPI channels for the announcement. 

If there are any questions, please feel free to contact us at first_daa@WPI.edu

Video Submission Form
WPI Scholarship Form