Team Essays?

[twiggzee]

Anybody have any idea what the Team Essays they ask for in TIMS are for? Are they for the awards (Chairman's, Woodie Flowers, etc)? Or are they just for judges info? Can't find any info for it anywhere. Thought this would be something good for our team to work on before the season starts.

[Dancin103]

Originally Posted by twiggzee

Anybody have any idea what the Team Essays they ask for in TIMS are for? Are they for the awards (Chairman's, Woodie Flowers, etc)? Or are they just for judges info? Can't find any info for it anywhere. Thought this would be something good for our team to work on before the season starts.

I believe the team essays are just general information about your team to give the judges more information. You will submit your Chairman's award, Woodie Flowers award, and any other awards in a specific place denoted by the manual.

[ebarker]

There are multiple sets of judges

a) the Chairman's Judges - hidden in a back room
b) website judges - hidden out in the websphere
c) WFFA judges - hidden out there somewhere
d) the 'floor' judges - those are the people in the blue shirts that visit your booth.

the essays you are referring to are for the floor judges.

I think I have all this right, plus there are even more judges for other things I'm sure.

[rsisk]

Originally Posted by ebarker

There are multiple sets of judges

a) the Chairman's Judges - hidden in a back room
b) website judges - hidden out in the websphere
c) WFFA judges - hidden out there somewhere
d) the 'floor' judges - those are the people in the blue shirts that visit your booth.

the essays you are referring to are for the floor judges.

I think I have all this right, plus there are even more judges for other things I'm sure.

The Chairman's Judges use the team essays as well to get background on the team. Floor judges and Chairman's judges are just subsets of the same group of blue shirt judges.

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by rsisk

Floor judges and Chairman's judges are just subsets of the same group of blue shirt judges.

Obnoxiously reiterating myself :

At an FRC Regional Event there, according to the FIRST planning documentation there are three sets of 'blue shirts'. They look identical to the casual observer.

• PIT Interview Judges
• Match Observers
• RCA Judges

The quantity of these vary and are determined by a formula. Someone that is recruited to be a judge would / should be in only ONE of the above categories at the event.

I realize there is shuffling around at some events but that is undesirable.

Other categories like WFFA, Website, Autodesk, etc are judged offsite and potentially by other people than those above.

I was once told that the PIT Judges has a copy of the executive summary of the RCA submission but I think that was probably in error and they were referring to the TIMS team information sheet.

I suppose there is no reason an RCA judge cannot use the TIMS team essays for background information.