What Awards would you like to see?
 

If you could add new awards to FIRST at any level, what would they be?

I for one would like to possibly see some field awards brought back. I mean other than tournament winner and finalist, there are no awards for what is done on the field. I know there used to be some but i don't know what sorts of awards there should be. I just wish there was a little more focus on the field and actual application of the robot instead of theoretical things in the pit, i don't mean to sound demeaning, and someone please let me know if i am, but I have seen on more than one occasion an award given to a robot for features that do not work, or didn't do that well on the field. Maybe i am incorrect and the judges are paying attention to the field more than i think they are


anyone have any input on this?

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Bring back Play of the Day and have it voted on by the audience.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=61408

Similar thread. I'd bring back event 1st seed award.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

There should be a mascot dance-off!!! :P

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Regional CAD award, not software specific. There is a lot of brilliant design work that goes relatively unrewarded on the local level.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Perhaps a strategy award might be interesting. The award would be given to the team which utilized the most unique yet effective strategy consistently throughout the competition.

It sort of seems like it would fall under the spirit award. No denials here though that it would be amazing. :D

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I agree with that. There is a tremendous amount of CAD work that goes into Robots that does not get mentioned.

-RC

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I somewhat agree with you, I don't necessarily want more awards added as that would just add time to the ceremonies but i would like the way some awards are judged to change slightly. I think all robot function awards need proof that they work on the field during a match, otherwise its just theory. It maybe a cool idea but its not a robot function, and should be given a judges award or something.


I agree. I would want the play of the day brought back!

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

thanks, yeah that was my main point, not only are there sometimes robot features that look great but don't work, but robot features that don't look impressive that make a great difference on the field

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I don't think there is anything wrong with saying that there should be some award for that stuff Dan.

What I would like to see:
-1st seed(kinda)
-High score (goes to the members of the alliance with the high score of the weekend)
-Play of the Day
-Mad driving skills.(this is something I have thought of for a while, an award given to the team whose drive team has guess what, mad skills.)

My$0.02

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

i would like one for say like a cool or interesting like electrical layout design or for the coolest controls box could be voted on by the other teams like tha animation

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Definitely Regional CAD.
It's an activity closely tied to the Engineering process that goes largely unrewarded or encouraged. 1600 teams waiting all year to possibly be in the Final 5 at the Championship is a discouraging prospect for kids that busted their tails making incredibly detailed layouts.
You could argue that the reward should be in the finished product (and it is for the most part) but that could be said about every other award we strive to win in FIRST.
Lets give these kids doing CAD something local to shoot for.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

REGIONAL CAD!

This above all else is a gaping hole in the current awards structure, in my opinion. The students spend too much time designing and CADing their robot to not get more recognition.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Perhaps some emails and letters are in order.:)

Definitely regional CAD awards. Too bad we wouldn't be able to submit in Solidworks though. >.<

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

See that bites, I understand that Inventor sponsors FIRST and their is a National Inventor Award. Maybe at the regional level it can be any piece of software? IDK how FIRST would take it, but man, CAD is a HUGE portion of Building the robot.

Well, I would love to start the chain of sending emails. Anyone else down?

-RC

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Well.. Inventor opens SolidWorks files... In theory couldn't you just resave them in Inventor? Then again... That's not waht they are wanting..

You could always have local just any CAD program, sense they aren't there anyway, and National Inventor only... Still not fair though..

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I'd like to see the absence of the safety award.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

How about removing bumpers and having the Motorola Quality Award mean something again?

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Without derailing the thread, I'd like to see the safety award tweaked a bit towards internal processes and away from giant posters and labeling one's main breaker.

Now, awards I'd like to see:

-Functionality presentation. Sort of a play on the Delphi Driving Tomorrow's Technology award, the teams would have a short presentation about a particular feature (or combination of features, if they're daring) of their robot. The winning team goes on the field to repeat this presentation on Saturday, letting everyone get a better look without pesky things like defense and strategy getting in the way.

-Some sort of autonomous performance award. This wouldn't work every year (2009 would've been a bad example), but I imagine that the current scoring system could track it if configured for it.

-The return of the Play of the Day award would be nice, though only if there's a manageable process for deciding it. (I would note that the age of the Flip camera might make this easier than it was when the award went inactive earlier this decade.)

If the current slate of awards carries over, though, I won't lose sleep over it.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I'd say that at least for the events I've been to and 2008 Atlanta this has been the case. Granted the same team has won every event I am referring to (sup CORE), but I think that standard at least exists if you're "good enough". CORE is leaps and bounds ahead of the curve on safety and do an awesome job of helping others (including 1714) approach said standards, but they don't send people running through the pits holding a safety sign up in the air.

I'm generally opposed to any kind of award that rewards the teams that do that kind of thing...

I agree. There's been some amazing moments in many games that a simple award for would be nice.

I don't really get Regional Finalist awards, when a single elimination tournament only guarantees an accurate first place. You could argue that the semifinal opponent or the quarterfinal opponent is the true "runner up" for an event. I definitely don't want it removed, but it's a little weird.

I would support Regional CAD (1714's big Inventor team can't go to waste trophy wise!). Not sure what else, but I'm always in favor of adding more on field and non-ludicrous off field awards, provided the professional nature of the award ceremony is maintained (sorry mascot dance contest). Stuff like Highest Score, #1 seed award would all be neat things.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I would venture to guess that there is a lot more that goes into the Motorola Quality Award than the removal of bumpers. I understand your point but many judges who are looking at the machines know how to look beyond the bumpers. Well beyond.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Each Regional is supposed to have field judges who are already verifying.

Suggest rookie awards be adjusted if there are a small # of rookies. (2 or <)

I would like to see another opportunity for a mentoring award on a regional level only as the number of teams grow. The Woodie Flowers Award is an amazing honor, and I wouldn't want to take away from it. But think there should be more opportunities to honor outstanding mentors who play a variety of roles on teams.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I for one don't see the need to bring back #1 seed and high score. I think that all too often it would be the same teams that already win most of the regional awards just adding another plastic trophy to their haul.

I think we need to broaden the awards given (if anything) - not deepen them.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

My team won the Rockwell Automation Innovation in Control award for a tracking and firing autonomous camera mode we never used on field...

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I agree with this suggestion whole-heartedly. Some mentors are professional engineers and aid in the design process. Others are machinists and tradesmen who help to build robots and teach hands-on skills. Others focus on media/web. Others serve more behind-the-scenes logistical and organizational roles. Still others primarily focus on work in the community and spreading the work of first.

A single trophy and single set of criteria for all of these types of mentors is not enough.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

This happens all of the time with technical awards (and for that matter, non-technical awards). We've all seen teams get trophies for things that didn't quite work right, or that they didn't even use. And we've all seen dominating bots with ingenious features go unrecognized.

Of course, this happens because of the enormous amount of information that our volunteer judges must process. 50+ teams at a regional, each with a robot, pit display, and a half dozen to a dozen on field performances crammed into two days of judging is a lot to reconcile.

I think that more explicit separation of robot awards designed to reward effective on field performance (autonomous modes, awesome manipulators, overall design) and technical innovation (design processes, materials usage) would help. I also think that technical judges who are more closely involved with FRC, who understand where "the bar" is set and know when what a team is saying about their robot sounds fishy would be a great aid to those Regionals that do not yet use such judges.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I would like to see some sort of a "Up and Coming Culture Changer" award for a team that is doing great stuff, but just hasn't been doing it quite long enough to compete with the more experienced teams. This program, in its mission, is about changing the culture, but it kills me that really only Chairman's and Engineering Inspiration highlight these aspects, when there are so many awards which highlight robot performance and engineering excellence.

(Please don't get me wrong, I truly encourage highlighting engineering excellence, it is a very good thing, I just feel we should place more focus on the organization's stated mission)

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

How about a Rookie Volunteer Award? Given to a FIRST volunteer in their first to third year of volunteering?

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I definitely support the general idea here. I'm not sure about how to execute it though, or how to make it so that specific regions whose awards in these fields are won by exactly those teams (well, obviously not RCA, but I've seen EI used in that manner exactly)... I think the Judge's Award is a fairly adequate tool for recognition of such things.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I wanted to put out there again, that if anyone has a serious suggestion that is plausible and makes sense, feel free to e-mail FIRST with your suggestion instead of just voicing it here. :) I'm emailing about the Inventor award tonight.

Anyone have a suggestion of who specifically to email?

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Adding a thought here that I haven't seen posted.

If these suggestions are meant for future consideration, it might be a good idea to state that when you send your correspondence. For the upcoming season, 2010 - the budget monies are probably already allotted or close to being so.

At some point, if awards continued to grow and expand, that brings in the time aspects. The contracts in many venues likely give specifics on when the event will begin and when it will end, meaning everyone has left the building and the lights are out. Adding more awards eats up time unless, some awards were relegated to a separate space with the schedule reflecting when the awards would be announced. That could possibly incur more costs, asking for additional space. Some venues may not have additional space to be able to use. And then there's the judges - there would have to be more judges, more awards, more time - so keep all of that in mind as you draft your e-mails and letters. Suggesting change is one thing, implementing it is another.

Just an .02

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Agreed!

There is nothing more important than being safe minded. However, I would like to see a change of how teams are judged in their safety efforts. ie: I have seen some teams running though the pits at the regionals on opening day just so they can get their 'safety' information out first. ::ouch::

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Good point. Do you really want to make the closing ceremonies longer??

It also adds to the number of judges needed (which adds some costs as well - shirts, food, etc.) Particularly at Atlanta, it is hard to judge so many teams in little time - I don't know this from personal experience, but Jane can tell you all about it!

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Maybe it would be time to also consider how awards are given out and presented? Or it would be a good idea to expand the concepts of the current awards.

In addition, why do all awards have to take place during closing ceremonies? If there were "major" awards and "minor" awards, you could have a moment where the MC rattles off the Minor awards and their winners, and then the major awards where the team comes down to recieve the trophy. Consider the minors to be a kind of "honorable mention" award.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Just a little bit of clarification. I have not had the privilege of serving as judge in Atlanta. I have had the privilege of serving as an FTC judge in San Antonio, TX, an FLL judge in Austin, TX, and have judged FRC off seasons such as Mission Mayhem in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and IRI in Indianapolis, IN. This past IRI, I had the privilege (and it is a privilege, please believe me) of interviewing MOE and other amazing teams, such as Chief Delphi. :) I will never forget the 2009 IRI judging experience. I don't believe any of the IRI judges will.

That said, there are a lot of factors to consider when asking to increase the amount of awards and if anyone is seriously considering suggesting changes, such as a CAD award at regional level, please make sure you have all of your ducks lined up in a row. That means having your facts straight, your information clear, and your request specific and backed with sound reasoning. Keep it all succinct, polite, professional.

(I just recently sat in a meeting where the leader of the unit said that requests will be acknowledged much more quickly than demands. It provided food for thought.)

Thank you, Carol. Like your wig!
Jane

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

The top seed award could be a simple trophy given to the person from that team who is brought out to make the selections of their alliance. It wouldn't take much time if done that way. Sure, there is a good chance that the first seeded team will make the finals, but not always and for those teams it would be a nice reward for being the best (or luckiest) during the qualification rounds.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I wouldn't like to see a Highest Overall Seed award. There are much more impressive On-field accomplishments that should be promoted with a trophy.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

You know, i just wanted to add to my own topic now that i think about it, but what about like a competitors choice award, where each team gets a vote on what they think is the best robot, with of course the rule you cannot vote for your own team, each whole team getting 1 vote

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I'd actually limit this to Drivers. If you gave each Driver, and maybe the Human Player, a vote in this way to select a team that promotes teamwork and a GP competitive spirit...I think we'd have a really nice award.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

"Best Scorer" seemed to work pretty well at IRI in this manner. I don't see why one should mandate the Drivers have to vote rather than a team (drivers don't see more than what they play against a lot of the time), but peer awards are not bad.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

My reasoning is that if you have an award that is given out based on teamwork on the field, then the ones who vote should be the ones that are involved on the field.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I completely agree. There are not enough CAD awards. There are a lot of teams that do really good stuff and don't get recognized. A regional CAD award would get a lot more teams competitive about CAD. The Regional level could be peer judged.

I talked to one of the judges last year. The reason they want inventor is that they can see what was done with the CAD. The few teams that have the extra software can use that, but if you want national recognition, do everything in inventor. Everything not made in inventor is against you. He also said that every year they work on inventor they are striving for the same level as other softwares. Also they are changing some stuff this year. Project files are required if i remember right. They will make a file structure for the submission, so they can know where everything is at.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

I love the idea of more chances to recieve a trophy from FIRST, but most of these awards are peer awards that teams give to eachother anyways. Like the "best scorer" and "best play of the day".

I do like, though, the idea for teams to send a representative down to recieve certain awards... I'm glad your team won it, but when your team tends to be over 30 people (ahem, 111), it can get long.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

or 20. I think there was about 70+ students who came down to the field.

I'm sure that FIRST could come out with some creative way to distribute awards if it got too big. Like just announcing the team name and number and then the trophy would be given to the team in the pits afterwords. This of course would only be for smaller/minorish awards.

Re: What Awards would you like to see?
 

Isn't there an award for #1 seed? We call it "first-pick-of-alliance-partners." :)