The Inspire Award: The Holy Grail

The Inspire Award. The big one. The ticket to Worlds. The confirmation that your team is the total package.

Winning Inspire isn’t about being the best at one thing. It’s about being “Strongly Contending” for everything.

• You need a robot that could win Control or Innovate.
• You need a portfolio that could win Think.
• You need outreach that could win Connect or Motivate.
• And you need to behave with Gracious Professionalism that makes everyone love you.

The Checklist of Champions

To be even considered for Inspire, you generally need to check these boxes:

1. Robot Performance: You don’t need to be Rank 1, but you usually need to be a Captain or 1st Pick. If your robot doesn’t work on the field, it’s hard to be a “Role Model.”
2. Portfolio Excellence: Your portfolio must be flawless. No typos. Beautiful layout. Dense information.
3. Interview Charisma: Every student in the pit needs to be able to talk. If a judge asks the Freshman about the code, and they say “I don’t know, ask the Senior,” you just lost Inspire.

Synergizing Your Submissions

The secret to Inspire is Consistency.

• Your Outreach should explain why you built this specific Robot.
• Your Robot should demonstrate the engineering principles you learned from your Connect sponsors.
• Your Code should make your unique Innovate mechanism possible.

Everything is connected. If your portfolio feels like 5 separate chapters written by 5 different people, you won’t win. It needs to be one cohesive story.

The “Role Model” Factor

Ask yourself: “If every team in FTC acted like us, would the program be better?” If the answer is yes, you are on the right track.

• Do you help other teams in the queue?
• Do you lend batteries and parts?
• Are you cheering for your opponents?

[!WARNING] The Pit Interview: This is where Inspire is won or lost. Practice your “Elevator Pitch.” You have 5 minutes to convince judges that you are the best team there.

Using Tech to Audit Your Chances

[!TIP] Comprehensive Audit: Use FTC Coach for a “Full Team Audit.” Upload your portfolio and sample interview answers. It can check if your narrative flows logically across all award categories, simulating the “Holistic” view of an Inspire judge.

Conclusion

The Inspire Award is a lifestyle. It means you are firing on all cylinders, all season long. It’s the hardest award to win because you can’t fake it. You just have to be that good.