[Jon Stratis]

I don't personally know of any events that failed to give out a Rookie All-Star. That said, I can certainly envision a scenario where it's not appropriate to give it out.

The award is defined as:

Celebrates the rookie team 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

If you only have one rookie at an event and they don't meet those criteria, why give them the award? Being the only rookie at an event shouldn't be an automatic 3-trophy event for the team. RAS is something that should be earned by a team who "gets it" and can show that they are on their way to being a consistent, long-lived team that will have an impact in their community. I've known plenty of rookies like that, and I've known some that have me walking away from the event wondering if they'll be back next year.