[FRC Blog] Judged Awards in 2017

[Hallry]

Posted on the FRC Blog, 12/2/16: http://www.firstinspires.org/robotic...-judged-awards

Judged Awards in 2017

Written by Cindy Stong and Allen Bancroft, FIRST Robotics Competition Chief Judge Advisors, 2016 DEC 02.


Thank you Frank for giving us an opportunity to spread the word about some updates on FRC Judged Awards. We are continuously trying to improve the award process and we have a few exciting updates to share with you.

You will probably notice this season (if you are in a Regional event) that all judged team awards will be given out on Day 2 of the competition. Districts have been doing this for a while. We feel this should be a great improvement and give your judges more time to gather information and deliberate. Regionals will still have a Day 1 closing ceremony, at which the Woodie Flowers Finalist and Dean’s List Awards will be presented, along with Volunteer of the Year.

And this season all of the award information will be communicated to you on the web, rather than as part of an Admin Manual. You can find the awards information you need here. Please pay attention to those due dates!

And lastly, during the Chairman’s Award interview, we are strongly encouraging teams to bring one adult observer into the interview room, as allowed by the rules. This observer can give the team timely feedback based on observations and feedback based on any questions the judges ask. Teams are not penalized for having this adult observer - it will not lower your score.

Best of luck to all of this season’s teams! And remember - apply for all eligible awards including Dean’s List!!

[Chris is me]

I noticed it was different in Districts this year and I really liked the change. Some awards given out on Friday all but disqualify you from similar awards Saturday (the biggest offender by far was Rookie Inspiration), so that kind of tension break is gone. Plus, right after qualification matches end, people are usually a bit distracted with dinner planning, pick list making, etc. and so it is hard to sit still for another half hour.

[StAxis]

Worried about regionals that are running behind already having late award ceremonies, but overall I think this will be a more positive change.

I am really hoping that they put the awards rules into a downloadable PDF because I can already feel the overwhelming feeling of finding all of the needed information. It will be even more difficult for rookies who don't know what they need to be looking for.

[Brian Maher]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I noticed it was different in Districts this year and I really liked the change. Some awards given out on Friday all but disqualify you from similar awards Saturday (the biggest offender by far was Rookie Inspiration), so that kind of tension break is gone. Plus, right after qualification matches end, people are usually a bit distracted with dinner planning, pick list making, etc. and so it is hard to sit still for another half hour.

On the flip side of the coin, I had never experienced a Day 1 awards ceremony until I started attending regionals last season. I was just confused about the reasoning for awarding some team awards during Day 1, since the alternative works perfectly fine in districts and doesn't cut into our picklisting time.

[mman1506]

Why does the observer have to be an adult mentor? We aren't lucky enough to have a chairmans mentor and it would be nice to have a rookie to take that place and learn the ropes.

[Mike Schreiber]

Whys is the Engineering Excellence award listed in "Awards Based on Creativity and Innovation"

Nothing in the description implies you need creativity or innovation.

Guidelines

• A team spokesperson must be able to competently describe the engineered feature(s) and can trace its conception, design, manufacturing/assembly, or deployment.
• The feature(s) reflect an engineering solution to a specific problem, and it is functional and practical.
• The feature(s) are elegant and advantageous on the field of play.
• It stands up to the rigors of competition.

Also the back button on that page doesn't work.

http://www.firstinspires.org/resourc...ity-innovation

Also why can't I scroll down a list of all awards and detailed descriptions? Ya' know...like I used be able to do...

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Mike Schreiber

Whys is the Engineering Excellence award listed in "Awards Based on Creativity and Innovation"

Nothing in the description implies you need creativity or innovation.

From a very fast search:

el·e·gant
/ˈeləɡənt/
adjective

(of a scientific theory or solution to a problem) pleasingly ingenious and simple.
"the grand unified theory is compact and elegant in mathematical terms"
synonyms: neat, simple, effective; ingenious, clever, deft, intelligent, inventive
"an elegant solution"

[Basel A]

Originally Posted by Mike Schreiber

Whys is the Engineering Excellence award listed in "Awards Based on Creativity and Innovation"

Nothing in the description implies you need creativity or innovation.



Also the back button on that page doesn't work.

http://www.firstinspires.org/resourc...ity-innovation

Also why can't I scroll down a list of all awards and detailed descriptions? Ya' know...like I used be able to do...

The tangible difference that I see is that the "Awards Based on Creativity and Innovation" require a team spokesperson to describe the awarded feature, whereas "Awards Based on the Machine" do not.