[falconmaster]

Sitting on stage was very odd and totally unexpected. I can tell you that I think that the chairman's being announced first was great. It does show that FIRST wants to make sure that everyone sees and appreciates the chairman's team, and that the chairman's award is taken seriously by FIRST. It was weird not having Engineering Inspiration mentioned next to Chairman's.
Another observation that surprised me was that sitting on stage, we could not hear who ever was at the mic. So we clapped when you all clapped and stood up when you all stood up. (we are looking for a video of the awards so we can see why we were clapping and why we stood up.) It was odd but funny. It was also very interesting to see the awards ceremony from the stage instead of the stands. The waves you guys made looked very cool.

I did have the urge to want to run into the confetti and glitter after the robot competition was over. It was very inviting.

I also liked how the matches were split with the awards.

I agree with the idea of restructuring the championship format from 4 fields to more. Each division is getting too large. As we increase the number of regionals we increase the need to come up with a new structure.

Overall I really liked the way the championship went. Tornado damage and space limitations or not, it went very well.

Having said that, as FIRST grows, so must the championship. We must be willing to try new things to maintain the specialness and accessibility to as many teams as possible. Reducing either the specialness and accessibility will reduce the effectiveness and grandeur of the event .