[Al Skierkiewicz]

Phil,
I really hate the performance part of the award. For so many years we have been told 'it is not about the robot', but now it really is. As a judge we bypassed some teams who were having a bad day at the table. In an attempt to let everyone on the team at the table, these great teams had some issues with inexperienced drivers. Teams who played very well at the regional level also fell apart at the state level.