[Chubtoad]

Personally I believe the HOF should be only for Chairman's Award winners.

When we lost the Semi-finals at LI and UTC, most of my team was all frowns, I however was as chipper as ever because the team itself was great, we were cheering, we were congradtuatlting, we were a team. Even when we lost the Finals in the Newton division, still some team members were all frowns. It was the best the team had ever done ranking, performance, and working AS A TEAM.

This competition has always been about teamwork and heart, and I think if there is going to be any sort of "elite" recognition, from year to year, it should definetly be the Chairman's award, for any other of the "robot" awards, are not about what FIRST is about, (not making this an anti-BB post) in BB you get "the Golden Nut" and some cash, in FIRST you get the experience. The only money given out in FIRST is scholarships, to show that the experience you get from being the best as a team, is the TEAM you get out of it!

It has taken me three years to realize the true meaning of the competition, but I have. My team never got the concept of the Chairman's award, it was always said "Document the team's progress" while what was really meant was the progress of the TEAM on the COMMUNITY, not on the robot.

Starting today we are re-arranging our efforts to spread the word of FIRST and start new teams, branch to our lower schools, and surrounding communities. Our ultimate goal is to make Long Island the place to find qualified engineers, and the winners of not only the Championship, but the Woodie Flower's award, the founders award and the Chairman's award, every year.

We are raising the bar, so everyone else can try to as well.

I LOVE FIRST!