Rookie All Star

[pigpc1993]

I know all award submissions were due today but one of our team members told us we just needed to have a print copy at our pit station. Is this true or are we out of luck because we didn't submit it online.

[Chris is me]

Rookie All Star has no online submission process.

[North Sailor]

Hey there, Our team (1885) won Rookie All-Star at Worlds in 2006. There is no online submission for Rookie All-Star as Chris is me stated, but you are correct in having printed materials to help. If you are really interested in competing for RAS you ought to submit some sort of Chairmans Award entry. This is valuable for showing that your team is interested in being just as active as the fully established teams. With the CA three of your members will go into an interview and talk about the team to the Chairmans judges. These are different than the other judges for the RAS Award, however, as you might imagine, the judges talk to each other (they eat lunch together ). You should have one or two people always at your pit to be there to talk to other teams who visit your pit for scouting as well as judges who will walk through the pits interviewing teams informally. The best suggestion for winning RAS is to have printed materials outlining what makes your team great. Hand these out to those judges who visit the pits. Brochures are helpful, as well as formal business plans. It is also a nice gesture to have a letter or two from your sponsors explaining that partnership, or a letter from parents, or about a particular student. Give them a good story, and sell your team, much the same way as you would a business proposal in a trade show.

[Cynette]

To be considered for Rookie All Star, the only real requirement is that you are a rookie and go to competition.

Rookie teams have found it beneficial to have prepared an essay that answers the questions asked by the Chairman's essay requirements since the criteria for Chairman's can translate to developing a strong rookie team.

Rookie All Star judges are looking for evidence of a developing partnership with your team - with your sponsors, your supporting organization (school, 4-H, Scout troop...), and / or with your community.

You will not be asked to make a separate presentation, or have a special presentation team at the competition. That is the Chairman's process and rookie teams do not go through that process.

You can make a presentation package for the judges that will stop by at your pit. Include your essay and an executive summary, some photos of your team in action, copies of any news articles on your team, your business plan summary if you have that, anything that your pit crew can use to tell the judges about your team and hook them so they will come back to hear more! Pick some members of your pit crew who are enthusiastic about your team and FIRST and have them available to talk to the judges. It is very, very, very important that the people who talk to the judges are STUDENTS! Mentors should keep a few feet away and let the judges interact with the student.

Each team has its own personality. Be sure to be yourselves, and enjoy the experience. Good Luck!

[pigpc1993]

Originally Posted by Cynette

To be considered for Rookie All Star, the only real requirement is that you are a rookie and go to competition.

Rookie teams have found it beneficial to have prepared an essay that answers the questions asked by the Chairman's essay requirements since the criteria for Chairman's can translate to developing a strong rookie team.

Rookie All Star judges are looking for evidence of a developing partnership with your team - with your sponsors, your supporting organization (school, 4-H, Scout troop...), and / or with your community.

You will not be asked to make a separate presentation, or have a special presentation team at the competition. That is the Chairman's process and rookie teams do not go through that process.

You can make a presentation package for the judges that will stop by at your pit. Include your essay and an executive summary, some photos of your team in action, copies of any news articles on your team, your business plan summary if you have that, anything that your pit crew can use to tell the judges about your team and hook them so they will come back to hear more! Pick some members of your pit crew who are enthusiastic about your team and FIRST and have them available to talk to the judges. It is very, very, very important that the people who talk to the judges are STUDENTS! Mentors should keep a few feet away and let the judges interact with the student.

Each team has its own personality. Be sure to be yourselves, and enjoy the experience. Good Luck!

Thanks this was really helpful.