[rsilverstein]

Hey guys,

So I know that there are 3 ways to make it to the Championships: Win a Regional, win an Award (Chairmans/EI/Rookie), or get an open-lottery bid.

It seems though, that every year there are teams that everyone says "should be at the Championship". There are always teams with amazing robots that either get unlucky, or miss out on winning a regional by a close loss in the finals. Those teams are devastated that they can't compete again.

On that note, there are plenty of teams that are just "handed" a spot in the Championship by lottery.

In my opinion, because there are more spots in the Championship than regional winners, that FIRST should award a Championship bid to more categories than just the aforementioned ones. There are so many teams who embody what FIRST is all about who would definitely make Atlanta a better experience. It would also courage more teams to strive to meet those goals, instead of just vying for that lottery pick.

Examples
Robot Awards: Industrial Design, Motorola Quality or Engineering Excellence
Team Awards: Gracious Professionalism Award, Team Spirit Award, Entrepreneurship Award
or even give it to the #1 seed.

If these winners happen to overlap more than expected, then yes, FIRST can give out open bids to fill up the gaps in the Championship.

Thoughts?