Sparkys

The Sparkys

The Sparkys are our annual end-of-years recognizing people in our community and their work. We inaugurated the Sparkys in the December 17th 2022 Championships. Trophies were fabricated by Henchman Sam.

Nominees and winners for most of these awards are handled by an internal panel called the Havocwood Foreign Press, an internal panel of staff and announcers who have seen almost every fight at NHRL this year. (If you're confused about the name, here's an explanation.)

2022

Award	Voted on by	Winner
Most Fun Bot - For the most entertaining bot across weight classes, regardless of W-L record.	Havocwood Foreign Press	Mixtape
Community Award - For the builder who does the most work in building our community and helping others in the sport.	Havoc Robotics CEO Kelly Biderman	Zoe Lambert (Bugsbee)
Rookie Builder of the Year - For the builder who made their debut in combat robotics this year, and also attended their first NHRL event this year.	Havocwood Foreign Press	Thomas Farkas (First Drink of the Day)
Fight of the Year - For the best fight of the year.	NHRL fans on YouTube	Watch it here
Best Driver - The driver who shows the most ability, regardless of the bot they’re driving.	NHRL builders	Calvin Iba (Lynx, Mixtape, Sucker Punch)
Most Innovative Bot - The bot that pushes the limits of creativity, technical boundaries, and advanced the league and sport as a whole.	Henchman Rob, Henchman Sam, and Safety Officer Ricky Willems	DeepMelt
Unsung Hero Award - A crew member for event day who works hard to make NHRL better. Not a full-time staff.	NHRL Staff	Justin and Ryan Hunter (Pit desk)
McChord Award - The bot, builder, team, fight, or any other event/person/thing that best exemplifies why Austin McChord founded NHRL in the first place.	Austin McChord	Team AGVs
Most Valuable Builder - For the best NHRL competitor, in terms of quality of performances.	Havocwood Foreign Press	Jamison Go (MegatRON, Saiko!, Silent Spring)

2023

Award	Voted on by	Winner
Most Fun Bot - For the most entertaining bot across weight classes, regardless of W-L record.	Sparkys Award Panel
Community Award - For the builder who does the most work in building our community and helping others in the sport.	Havoc Robotics CEO Kelly Biderman
Rookie Builder of the Year - For the builder who made their debut in combat robotics this year, and also attended their first NHRL event this year.	Sparkys Award Panel
Fight of the Year - For the best fight of the year.	NHRL fans on YouTube
Best Driver - The driver who shows the most ability, regardless of the bot they’re driving.	NHRL builders
Most Innovative Bot - The bot that pushes the limits of creativity, technical boundaries, and advanced the league and sport as a whole.	Henchman Rob, Henchman Sam, and Safety Officer Ricky Willems
Unsung Hero Award - A crew member for event day who works hard to make NHRL better. Not a full-time staff member.	NHRL Staff
Havoc Award - The bot, builder, team, fight, or any other event/person/thing that best exemplifies why Austin McChord founded NHRL in the first place. (Formerly the McChord Award)	Austin McChord and NHRL Staff
Best Young Builder - The most promising and exciting builder under 18 years of age.	Sparkys Panel
Most Valuable Builder - For the best NHRL competitor, in terms of quality of performances.	NHRL Staff