[IKE]

The bridges were probably the coolest most dynamic and exciting bonus I have seen in FIRST. They provided an excellent challenge and rewarded good design and driving yet were simple enough with a little teamwork almost anyone could score on them. Rotate a similar element into the game every few years as this one was a winner.

More than Michigan can do the district model. I talked to a lot of MAR participants this year and while almost everyone had a very specific complaint, the season seemed to meet or surpass their expectations over and over.

I was truly shocked how many teams were able to shoot baskets. When the challenge was anounced, I thought this would be a horribly low scoring season. Overall, I am impressed with so many teams doing so well at scoring.

With 1114 winning the Chairman's Award, a lot of myths were "busted". Yes an international team can win. No you don't need a team of 100 students (I think 1114 is around 24). Yes field competitive teams are role models too.

Never judge a book by its cover. When Kareem Abdul Jabar was invited to be an honored guest, there a few vocal people against hero worship of pro-atheletes, only to find out KAJ is a huge supporter of STEM complete with even writing a book targeted to get middle school kids excited about inventors.