Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

I am confident that the highest team number of a Championship chairmans winning team will increase next year at least into the 300's ;).

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

I dont think ther was a way for them to change who was going to win after Friday... Early on Saturday (looking back, we were foolish not to realize what this meant) one of the FIRST Ambassitor was hanging around our pits with a video camera asking questions like "What does FIRST mean to you?" and "How has being on the team changed you?".... obviously questions that are going to go in our video...

As for the 'low number bias', I dont think thats a good way to think about it. I know it may sound harsh or ungracious, but wouldn't give the Chairmans award to, say, a 3 year team as opposed to a 9 year team be like giving a "Lifetime Achievement" award to an intern? Im not saying that new teams dont do great things for FIRST (heck, they are FIRST), but the CA is kinda like senor award - wherein most senior teams have given the most back to FIRST.

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

I am not sure it all completely low number teams. My team got honorable mention last number and w are a 1000+ team. We got nothing this year but are definetly looking to improve all summer long and during the school year.

Is FIRST more interested in teams that go for multi state outreach. We are really trying to get in touch with some alabama teams because they are really close to us yet they have very few teams. The only 1 I can think of is 538 ARAB HS

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

254 has a worldwide reach. Helping teams as far away as Israel.

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

Oh Lord someone help me, I'm agreeing with Davis...

I don't think that it's a lower number bias for Chairman's as much as the lower teams have been in the competition for longer and obviously have had more of an opportunity to become involved in their communities and show sustained partnerships between their team and all aspects of their community. It's not that they only like low numbers, but more that the lower numbered teams have had more of a chance to do what the Chairman's Award honors.

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

Yeah but a team like 1114 has done an awful lot for NiagraFIRST. To say that their work is not " good enough" becasue their only three years old seems cruel.
I bust chops on the low number bias but I sure hope it's just a myth because if it isn't then it would hurt the integrity of the Cahirman's award. Why should teams turn it in if they're not going to be seriously considered because of their number? This is actually not a good thing.

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

If there is a low number bias at championships, that is able to be discussed. As far as for a regional level, there is not a bias, or at least not that I can tell. There are at least two 1000+ teams I know that have won two regional chairman's awards in only three years of existence.

As long as the regional are unbiased, the championships will eventually go to a higher numbered team. Hopefully my team will be one of the first to break the 300 barrier. But seriously look at the list of chairman's finalist. Most all of these are elite programs regardless of numbers. I'm proud to be part of the group even without the trophy.

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

One of those two teams is 1002. After winning first runner up last year we came in this year with high hopes. We definately thought we would get at least a runner- up award. When they went through those and we weren't named, the tension mounted. You can imagine our dissappointment when the winner was announced. In retrospect I think we just didn't do enough. The winner is a team that did a ton and ultimately deserved their award. In fact, the only bad thing I can think of about that team was a probation issued in a preseason competition. Basically they were accused with sufficient evidence of having their robot built (by a sponsor). Since that doesn't matter at actual first, congratulations on both their awards, they have a great program. We are coming in next year to try and win our third chairman's at the peachtree regional in four years and try again at nationals. We have more funding this year and will be working hard to get a big sponsor. Hopefully we can achieve our goals. Anyone at nationals should remember us as the team with the glowsticks. Good luck to everyone next year.

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

Oh that's most certainly not what I was trying to say. I apologize if it came out that way. What I'm saying is that obviously older teams (which have smaller numbers) have had more time to create more of the partnerships and continue them. Team 1114 has done some amazing things (trust me, when Karthik first told me, he left me with my mouth gaping open) and that's undenyable. The Chairman's Award places significant focus on sustained efforts which obviously give the older teams a greater advantage. I have no problem with fantastic new teams being recognized, I'm just stating why more than likely, the low number thing has stuck.

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

Feel that? the Earth just stopped turning! :yikes:

In reply to the past few posts... what you have to understand about getting such a prestigious (sp?) award as the national (heck, even regional) CA is that they can only give it to 1 team per year. Now, your team could do amazing things for 3 years but there will almost always be a team thats been in it for longer doing similar things.

Not getting an award isn't the same as being shunned or put down. It just means that its not your turn to be recognized yet. Its not that your efforts aren't appriciated, its just that the teams that have been in the game fore longer have done more. Eventually everything will catch up and teams in the 1k's will be winning left and right.

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

Interesting example. Would you happen to know who won at both events 1114 went to this year? Here's a hint, each has 4 digits in their team number.

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

Thank you for the kind words Ed.

Before we get drawn into a battle about the magnitude of team numbers, let me clear something up. Team 1114 submitted for the Chairman's Award at the Waterloo Regional. The winner at this event was Team 1006, who have been around for the exact same amount of time as us. There was definitely no "Team Number Bias" involved.

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

As far as winning the Championship and winning Chairman's, these are two separate awards controlled by two separate sets of people. Once the judges make their decision on the Chairman's Award winner (I'm guessing this would happen on Saturday morning sometime), there's no changing it regardless of who wins on the field of play. While it makes sense to spread the awards around to as many deserving teams as possible, it does not make sense to create a contingency plan for FIRST's highest honor, in case someone wins the Championship on the field.

I may be way out on a limb here, but I don't think "team number bias" has any part in this discussion at all. A team that has been around longer AND that has exhibited Chairman's Award qualities obviously has an advantage over a newer team that exhibits those same qualities, but hasn't been doing it as long. This DOESN'T mean that the Chairman's Award is being given to teams simply because they're older. A review of the Chairman's Award section in the manual clearly states (in 9.2.2), "...the Chairman’s Award recognizes sustained excellence and impact." It would stand to reason that more veteran teams would fair better in this area, but it's also not a surprise that some four-digit teams are winning at the regional level due to the depth of their outreach and culture-transforming efforts.

Also know that Championship Winners have not gone in numerical order. For instance, Team 67 won AFTER 175, 103, and 254 even though 67 has been around longer. Further evidence exists when you consider 111 as one of thirty candidates in 2005, yet it was 118, 341, and 365 that impressed the judges enough to win honorable mention.

All of this brings me to the meat of what I want to say. Wanting to win a Chairman's Award is a fine external motivator. If that is your ONLY motivation for reaching out, building community, and preparing an entry then it becomes easy to say, "Why bother, we can't win anyway because of ... (plug in your favorite criticism of the Chairman's Award here)."

Now why prepare an entry, even in your Rookie Year?
-It's a great way to document achievement and growth.
-These documents and materials are great ways to promote your team in your community and foster growth in a number of ways.
-They are roadmaps for the future
-The interview process is a valuable experience for students
-The journey is the reward, remember? Read your Chairman's entry from this year and compare it to last year, the year before, and so on. Look at the growth and the culture shift and the changed lives. Isn't that why we do this? Am I missing something?

Re: Who do you think is the best bet to win the Chairman's Award at the Championship?
 

I love what Rich says here. Although it is no secret that we would love to win Chairman's, you have to keep it all in perspective. When we take on new projects, they have to pass the "FUN TEST". Because if they aren't fun or helpful to others, we are simply not doing it.

Saturday morning in Atlanta, I had my team stop and think about all of the lives they have changed and growth they have experienced over the past year. This daily experience is what has true meaning. That is the internal motivator .
This is what makes FIRST people so amazing, they are always looking to grow, learn and help others. You could never get anyone to work this hard for just a trophy.

Best of luck to all in the off-season!!!

Al Ostrow