[Al Skierkiewicz]

Phil,
I think you missed my point. I know that there are many world class FLL teams that excel both on and off the table. However, I also know that the nature of students of this age is to fail at some tasks from time to time. I have seen great robots at one event fail at another due to fatique, lack of focus, or confusion. It breaks my heart when a team does very well in judging but has to be eliminated due to table scores.
In FRC there are some fantastic teams that have gone through an event with hard luck for the entire weekend. They would get paired up with a robot that failed to move, or failed to show up for the match on many matches. Now there is no way for them to perform well in competition even though they have a superb robot. From our standpoint, every team should have a chance to compete on and off the field. As a Chairman's Team we are committed to helping others achieve judged awards including helping them practice their presentations, informing them about the process and insuring that rookies get the extra added help to make their first event a memorable one. Many teams should be given the opportunity to make it to Champs. We support them whether they achieve success on the field or in the judging rooms. For us TEAMS are judged and TEAMS win so TEAMS should make it to Champs. If your team concentrates on performance then fine. If you concentrate on community, great, if improved technology or innovation is your bag, then we hope you are recognized for your achievements.