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Originally Posted by UgLyHeAd
For me, a thing that was really upsetting was also the fact that we didn't got the "Good sportsmanship award" (or some other award that focuses on off the field behaviour...sorry, too many award names for me to remember  ))
our team arrived in 6:30 am to volunteer and help constructing the competition's arena. we built every tetra, loaded each robot crate, vacuumed the carpets and lined the Plexiglas boards. our team brought hundreds of pounds of equipment. from a vacuum cleaner to an air compressor, a disk saw and a grinding wheel. other teams were more then welcomed to use our equipment. there were entire teams that wouldn't had the ability to make their robots functional to the match without us and our equipment! also, prior to the competition, we built the entire arm-tip to one of the teams that wouldn't make it in time!.
I'm not saying we did all that and expected some kind of reward. heck, i wasn't even aware of that kind of award until the moment that Blair (the amazing MC) announced it, and all of my team-members eyes gleamed, coz we knew we deserve it. but nonetheless, we were the ones to stay and clean the arena well after everybody else left. |
Please don’t take this as an insult .. as many rookie teams don’t fully understand how the awards are given (which is ok .. the fact they even made it to the competition is more than anyone can expect of a rookie team). You probally saw some people in blue shirts with the FIRST logo. Those are the judges, they decide who gets the awards. During the competition, the judges should of came to your pit and talked to several kids from your team. When this happens, you need to sell yourself to the judges. Point out certain features on your robot that make it unique, steps taken to build it, your teams outreach to the community, marketing, ect. This is the time to tell them about all your hardwork and efforts to make the competition better. Tell them about all the tools you brought, tell them about how your team showed up to assemble the field. Let them get close to your robot, let them touch parts, tell build season stores .. The more you tell the judge, the better your chances at winning something. Never EVER ignore a judge, and never make them try to pull the words out of you. Don’t be afraid to talk to them either, theyre just as normal as you and me. Make sure your team knows to conduct themselves accordingly when around judges too (no horseplay, everyone has safety glasses, no cussing – that’s a big one).
As for the sportsmanship award .. Heres what FIRST says about it:
9.1.3.8 Johnson & Johnson - Sportsmanship
This award celebrates outstanding sportsmanship and continuous gracious professionalism in the heat of competition, both on and off the playing field.
For example, after your team is defeated (or even if you win) go up to the other alliance and shake their hands and say “good match” or something to that effect. FIRST isn’t about robots, its about partnerships, team work, helping others, and promoting the engineering community. The robot is just a bonus. Between the time you ship the robot, and when you go to competition .. check out the awards you can win. Talk to your teammates about the awards you should try to get, and then figure out a plan on how to make your team look the best for this/these award(s). Winning awards (except highest rookie seed, rookie imagery, and rookie allstar) is a skill that is perfected over the years.
Never expect to win an award, you’ll just be disappointed if you don’t get it. It’s always fun to listen to the announcer read off the award and about the team who got it, while you sit there thinking if it was your team or not. There is one thing you can be assured .. the teams who get the awards definitely deserve them. But like robots, FIRST isn’t about awards. Technically, everyone who participates gets an award – the experience they received from participating – there isn’t a single thing on this planet that can compare to that.
It’s too bad you cant stick around to help the team next year. I was a senior in our rookie year, and had a blast. I wished we started the program when I was a freshman. I was glad the team welcomed me back to help again this year, as well as go to the competitions with them. College students with FIRST experience are extremely respected as far as the team is concerned. They know what works, what to do, as well as what not to do. If your team has any former FIRST people on it, be sure to thank them for giving up their time to help the team, the same thing goes for any adults or mentors. Without them, you probally wouldn’t know that FIRST is. When you get out of the army, be sure to stop by your old highschool and see how the team is doing. Good luck in your future endeavors.
Congratulations to all the Israel teams. You guys are the future of FIRST, spreading the program to another side of the planet. Any Israeli teams Atlanta, feel free to stop by Team 1388’s pits for anything you might need. Even if we cant help you, we’ll get you guided in the right direction. Good luck and we’ll see you there!