Maryland FIRST RoboticsHow to Write a Strong Team Essay for the FIRST Chairman’s Award
A strong FIRST Chairman’s Award essay presents a team as a lasting force for change, not simply as a group that performs well at competitions. It should show how students identify a need, build a practical response, involve other people, and create results that continue beyond one season.
Australian teams have a valuable story to tell. A programme based in Melbourne, regional New South Wales, Brisbane, Adelaide or Perth may work across long travel distances, different school calendars, volunteer shortages and varied access to workshops. These conditions can make the team’s approach distinctive, provided the essay explains the choices and outcomes clearly.
Understand What The Award Recognises
The award, now commonly referred to by FIRST as the FIRST Impact Award, focuses on sustained impact through education, outreach, inclusion and community engagement. Some teams still use the older name, Chairman’s Award, in everyday conversation. Always check the current award guide, submission rules and judging criteria before drafting.
Judges are looking for evidence that the team has built a culture and a programme with influence beyond its own robot. Competition results can establish credibility, but they should support the central story rather than dominate it. Explain how engineering, programming, mentoring and teamwork become tools for helping more people participate in STEM.
Begin by defining the change your team wants to make. It might be increasing access for girls and First Nations students, helping primary schools start robotics, developing pathways for rural students, or making technical learning more welcoming for families who have never encountered it. A focused purpose gives every later example a clear role.
Turn Activities Into A Story Of Change
Many essays become lists of events: a workshop here, a demonstration there, followed by a sponsorship drive and a school visit. A stronger submission connects each activity to a need and an outcome. Use a simple sequence: the problem, the response, the people reached, the evidence and the next step.
For example, a Sydney team might notice that nearby primary schools have enthusiasm for robotics but no specialist teacher or equipment. The team could lend kits, train teachers, run after-school sessions and create reusable lesson materials. The essay should then state how many schools participated, how often sessions ran, what students produced and whether teachers continued independently.
Specific evidence gives the narrative weight. Include attendance figures, repeat participation, mentor hours, partner numbers, survey results, new teams formed and changes in volunteer responsibility. If exact figures vary between seasons, explain the reason rather than hiding it. A smaller programme with reliable follow-through can be more persuasive than a large programme with uncertain records.
Useful evidence is usually:
- A dated record of workshops, mentoring and public demonstrations
- Feedback from students, teachers, families or community partners
- Proof that participants returned, advanced or took leadership roles
- A clear link between resources used and results achieved
Do not inflate claims. “We inspired thousands” is weak without a reliable method of counting. “Seventy-two students attended four sessions, and 18 later joined school robotics teams” is easier to trust and much easier for judges to remember.
Show How The Team Multiplies Its Impact
An award essay should reveal the systems behind the activities. Describe how students plan projects, train younger members, share technical knowledge, manage safety, contact partners and review results. This demonstrates that impact is embedded in the team rather than dependent on one enthusiastic adult.
A team in regional Victoria may need to coordinate transport to Melbourne events, lend equipment between schools and deliver online mentoring when travel is impractical. A Queensland team might schedule around extreme heat, school holidays and large distances between communities. These local realities are meaningful when they explain an inventive, repeatable solution.
Partnerships also matter. Local councils, libraries, universities, TAFEs, schools, engineering firms and community organisations can provide venues, expertise or funding. Australian sponsorship often involves a careful conversation about community benefit, brand visibility and the school’s procurement rules. Explain what each partner contributed and what the team contributed in return.
| Weak Presentation | Stronger Presentation |
|---|---|
| We ran many outreach events | We delivered six repeat sessions using a student-made lesson kit |
| We reached the community | We worked with three schools and recorded 146 participant visits |
| We encourage diversity | We changed recruitment, transport and session design to remove specific barriers |
| Our sponsors support us | A local engineering partner funded components and two mentors trained students |
| We will continue next year | Younger members now lead the programme using documented procedures |
A useful test is whether another team could learn from the essay. Explain the process, not every small task. If a student-developed workshop guide, mentor handbook or equipment-lending model can be reused, describe where it is stored and how it is updated. A community resource such as a library makerspace model can also prompt ideas for making robotics more accessible outside school facilities.
Make Student Leadership Visible
The essay must sound like students own the work. Adult mentors may provide transport, safeguarding, technical advice and continuity, but students should be shown identifying problems, making decisions and accepting responsibility for outcomes.
Use names of roles rather than a general statement that “the team worked together.” A student outreach lead might create a registration system, a build student might adapt a kit for younger learners, and a programming student might produce a visual coding activity. These details show that leadership is distributed across engineering, communications, fundraising and community engagement.
Student leadership can be especially important in Australia, where teams may include students from multiple schools or depend on volunteers who can only attend after work. Mention handover documents, peer training, committee structures and leadership transitions. A sustainable programme should still function when Year 12 students graduate or a key mentor relocates.
Keep the voice confident but reflective. Acknowledge a problem, failed event or lower-than-expected attendance if the team learned from it and changed its approach. Reflection shows maturity. It also prevents the essay from sounding like promotional copy.
Edit For Judges Who Read Many Entries
Draft the full story first, then edit for clarity and emphasis. The opening should establish the team’s purpose and the community need within the first few sentences. The middle should provide two or three strong examples with evidence. The final section should show what has changed and how the work will continue.
Avoid technical detail that does not support the impact case. A complex drivetrain, autonomous routine or award history may be impressive, but it belongs in the essay only when it explains access, learning, collaboration or community benefit. Every paragraph should answer why the work mattered.
Ask several people to review the draft from different perspectives: a student unfamiliar with the project, a mentor checking accuracy, a partner checking representation and someone outside robotics checking readability. Confirm names, dates, numbers and claims. Make sure photographs, captions or supplementary materials follow the current submission rules.
Before submission, check that the essay demonstrates:
- A defined community need and a purposeful response
- Student-led decisions supported by adult guidance
- Measurable results and credible examples
- A plan for continuity, sharing and future growth
Teams connected with FIRST LEGO League can also study how younger students describe their projects, research and community solutions through Maryland FLL resources. Their direct, problem-solving style can help older teams explain complex outreach work in language that remains clear and human.
A final read-aloud is worthwhile. Cut repeated claims, replace abstract words with actions and put the strongest evidence near the relevant statement. The best essay leaves judges with a precise understanding of what the team changed, how it changed it and why that change is likely to last.
Build the submission from your team’s real records, student voices and community relationships. Set aside time for evidence gathering, invite students to shape the narrative, and use the current FIRST Impact Award guidance as the final check before sending a story that reflects the team’s work with accuracy and purpose.