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Judges are detectives trying to find information about your team. The questions they ask are intended to help you provide that information.

You can help them by taking a look at the descriptions of the awards and developing answers that will spotlight what your team has accomplished that is relevant to that award.

For example, if you think your team is a strong candidate for the Entrepreneurship award and a judge arrives Friday morning asking about how your team is organized, pull out your business plan and hand them a copy, tell them about your great team organization, etc...

The judges will be asking questions that are relevant to the awards, so study the award descriptions and be ready to describe how your team has achieved that criteria.

You will most likely be visited by two sets of judges, one set will be asking about team related awards and the other set will be asking about machine related awards. You can tell pretty quickly which set you are talking to by their opening questions. Focus your answers based on the information your particular set of judges is asking. No need to talk about community outreach when the judge is asking about how your robot is constructed.

Remember that this is an exchange of information. The judges are truly interested in what you are saying, but you have to convey that information as efficiently as possible. You may only have 5 minutes to relate your teams story. So be prepared, speak loudly and clearly, and most importantly, enjoy the experience.

Good luck!