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Originally Posted by rose2dawn
Team #5402 is a rookie team and we are really pushing to get whatever awards we can. We are looking at Rookie All-Star and Rookie Inspiration the most. Which leads me to our problem:
None of us (even I, the magical communications fairy) have been able to figure out exactly how we can get these. How do we show judges our community outreach? Is there an essay? A presentation? What about a form? Do we have to fill one of those out?
We are struggling to understand and would really appreciate some solid answers and info. Whatever anyone has to offer, we are interested in!  |
All judged awards except ones where you submit online (Chairman's Award, WFA, DLA, and Entrepreneurship all have submissions online) are primarily judged by "pit interviews" where typically a pair of people in blue polo shirts will come around through the pits and interview team members about the robot and the team to help them in deciding who will win the awards at the event. This isn't to say that you will be judged solely on your pit interview, as on-field and off-field performance are components weighed in all circumstances.
So for the Rookie All-Star Award, judges are looking for a rookie team that is "exemplifying a young but strong partnership effort, as well as implementing the mission of FIRST to inspire students to learn more about science and technology." As I am not nor have ever been a judge adviser or judge, or a member of a rookie team, I can't tell you exactly what they are looking for or why the definition of the award is vague.
I can say that RAS winners in the past have been teams that understand the values of FIRST and are considered to be a sort of blue-chip stock for winning the Chairman's Award in the future. Preparing students to be able to talk to judges about things you have done that show your team's understanding of FIRST outside of just the robot (like community service, creating a business plan, generating enthusiasm among outside members of your school and town/city, executing on the ideas of gracious professionalism) helps. Being able to SHOW judges these kinds of things is even better. I recommend creating some kind of documentation you can informally give the judges to show them what your team has done (since you cannot submit for the RCA). This binder will also be beneficial to you when your team moves from this competition season going forward.
Judges will also be looking at how you interact with other teams at the event, and I also can't say I've seen an RAS winner that didn't put on a good show with their robot.
Good luck!