The Motivate Award: Spreading the Culture

The Motivate Award is often misunderstood as the “Little Sister” to the Connect Award.

• Connect: Connecting with professionals/industry.
• Motivate: Connecting with the community/students.

The Motivate Award celebrates the team that makes people go, “Wow, I want to do robotics too!” It’s about being an Ambassador.

Defining Your Team Identity

You can’t motivate others if you don’t know who you are.

• The Brand: Do you have a cohesive look? Shirts, pit design, robot colors?
• The Mission: “We are Vanta. We exist to make advanced manufacturing techniques accessible to high schoolers.” (That’s a mission statement).
• The Vibe: Are you the intense, high-performing experts? Or the fun, chaotic, welcoming mentors? Pick a lane and own it.

The Structure of Ambassador Activities

Judges love structure. Don’t just say “We helped people.” Group your activities:

1. Starting Teams: “We helped start 3 FLL teams explicitly to build a pipeline for our FTC team.”
2. Mentoring: “We host weekly Zoom calls with Rookie Team #25499 to help them with code.”
3. Events: “We hosted a scrimmage that allowed 12 teams to practice before the Qualifier.”

Quantifying the “Spark”

How do you measure a spark?

• Before/After Surveys: “Before our workshop, 20% of students were interested in STEM. After, 85% were.”
• Recruitment Numbers: “After our demo at the Middle School, 40 students signed up for the robotics club.”

Narrative Structure for Motivate

Your Motivate section in the portfolio should read like a movement.

1. The Problem: “Our rural community had zero robotics programs.”
2. The Action: “We secured a grant, bought 5 LEGO kits, and trained 2 teachers.”
3. The Result: “Now there is a district-wide robotics league.”

[!TIP] Identity Audit: Unsure if your team has a clear “brand”? Use FTC Coach to review your team identity narrative. If an AI can’t figure out what you stand for, a judge won’t either.

Conclusion

The Motivate Award winners are the teams that ensure FIRST doesn’t die out when they graduate. They build the future. They are the spark.