[Jared Russell]

While I don't necessarily think that the Chairman's Award has a significant effect on the number of rookie teams each year, I do think that misguided corporate and government initiatives have to shoulder at least some of the blame. It is great when local/state/national governments see value in FIRST and want to commit funds to bring the program to more students, but throwing money at the problem via registration fees and grants is only half of the battle (and arguably, the easier half).

The other half is mentorship, sponsorship, sustainability plans, and technical support - real grass roots efforts that ensure that a team will be around for a long time. Even the best "Chairman's"-caliber teams in FIRST are stretched pretty thin when they try to apply that quality of support to more than perhaps a couple of rookies at a time.