Robotics Team/Club Website

Requirements

• The school or other organization submitting the Website must have at least one team entered in the 2009-2010 VEX Robotics Competition season (one website entry per school/organization).
• The Website must be visible to the general public via a URL.
• The Website should have a unified design with a consistent look and feel throughout.
• Websites may use Flash and/or Silverlight, and must work on Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari browsers. No other plug-in may be required to view the site.
• Your Website should include what you have done in the past, what you are working on now, and what your plans are for the future. Cover whatever is most important to your program: starting new teams, bringing in new programs, increasing membership, building new robots, working on non-robot projects, mentoring other students, and serving your community. There is no fixed list, but you should give the viewer a clear picture of where you are and where you are going.
• Feel free to include videos, photos, animations or any other technique that tell your story.
• Provide recognition for your sponsors, teachers, mentors, and schools. You are encouraged to promote all the STEM activities in which your robotics program participates (VEX, BEST, Botball, FIRST, TSA, Underwater Robotics, workshops, camps, math competitions, bridge building, solar-powered cars, etc.)
• Do not infringe copyrights. The website may not include any material not suitable for a child, and may not promote violence or law breaking.
• The Website must have been designed and programmed by students in your VRC robotics program.

Judging
Submissions will be linked to from the RobotEvents.com Online Challenge website and will be scored by the viewing community. Submissions will be judged on a 50-point scale.

The community voting will determine seven of the ten finalists to make the final round of judging. Three additional submissions will be chosen by the VEX Advisory Councils, Innovation First engineers, and representatives of representatives from the presenting sponsors of the VEX Robotics Competition World Championship. The ten finalist submissions will then be scored with a weighted system including the community voting scores, and scores given by the VEX Robotics Advisory Councils and representatives from the presenting sponsors of the VEX Robotics Competition World Championship. The combined scores of the judging panels will determine the 2010 Website Challenge winners.

Point Scale

• 20 Points: Content: How well does the Website tell your program’s story, and does it provide useful information for outsiders wanting to learn about your program. Does it encourage other students to participate in their own programs and/or join yours?
  
• 20 Points: Points for technical excellence – is the site either custom-developed or – if using a content management system – highly customized for the team? Does the site have unique features or is it just a stock template? Is the Website attractive and easy to navigate and does it have a unified design? Does the Website have a clear, easy-to-use layout, good structure, and consistent use of colors, menus, and imagery? (No deduction for using tools such as a content management system, but the developer should customize it for their school/club.)
  
• 10 Points:
  
  Does the Website contain up-to-date information? The site should not be "stale."
  Does the Website recognize the contribution of sponsors, teachers, mentors, and others?