I've noticed throughout the years that awards are generally given to teams who not only explain their robot well in the pits, but have
consistent performance on the field. Anyhow, here are my tips for interacting with the judges in the pits:
- Do not say "This is an all student built robot and we are an all student run team"
- Speak LOUDLY so they can hear you
- Invite them into your pit, really close, so they can see all the robot's intricacies
- Hand them extra parts of your robot to examine (such as a spare custom gearbox or wheel).
- Have more than one student eager to tell them something
- Point out something special about your robot that no others have - tell them something they haven't heard before, something they'll remember.
- Explain your reasoning for design decisions
- And most importantly, don't keep them waiting. If there are judges outside your pit and no one acknowledges them, they will move on.
Good luck teams!