[EricH]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Do not say "This is an all student built robot and we are an all student run team"

...For the simple reason that the aim of FIRST is to get students and engineers working together. So you take pride in having an all-student-built robot. Maybe everyone else takes pride in the partnership between students and mentors. Neither is better--but the latter is closer to the aims of FIRST.

Originally Posted by sanddrag

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).

Or spare arm...Yes, this works. Last year, 330 kept their spare arm in the pits. It spent more time being shown to people than being on the competition robot. (The real arm was hard to see with the ramps on.)

Originally Posted by sanddrag

And most importantly, don't keep them waiting. If there are judges outside your pit and no one acknowledges them, they will move on.

Definitely. Have someone designated to glance up every little bit to check for judges. Or have designated "talkers" whose main job is to talk to judges (and scouts).