[Ginger Power]

So basically summing up what I've heard:
-Judges seem to focus on one or two unique/ingenious aspects of the robot
- Having a student built robot impresses judges
- Student explanation of the robot goes a long way
- Robot on field record isn't a major factor but does influence the award
-The more unique the robot the more likely it is to win the award (if it works well)

Thanks everybody for replying!