[EricH]

Originally Posted by BHS_STopping

I agree. Even though the awards are very good motivators to try and excel in all aspects of FIRST, many participants realize after the first event or two that having fun and winning awards are mutually exclusive. Success shouldn't be measured by how full your trophy case is; it's about having an amazing experience which you can keep with yourself forever.

Not quite mutually exclusive... You can have fun without winning an award, but if you get an award (especially if you didn't try for it), you have even more fun!