Chairman's Award Concerns

[DCA Fan]

I've had this problem for a number of years, and I don't know exactly what the solution would be. While I err towards trusting the judges and their judgement (especially at the Championship level), in talking to many teams after regionals I've heard many shock/anger stories about the events the CA-winning team claimed to play a large part in, from both mentors and students. That is not to say that I have ever encountered a team that didn't deserve to win chairman's that did, however, I could see a case being made for overstating one's accomplishments.

The fact of the matter is that since we don't know what exactly is said or claimed in the interview, or sometimes even the submission, the best practice here is to just be honest about your team's accomplishments, and if you worked with another team, acknowledge their help (and if you feel you need to, specify what help they gave). In this way the judges will get a better picture of your team and how other teams interact with you.

I am all for opening up interviews/submissions in some way. If we can do it in a way that will satisfy those teams looking to preserve competitive advantage, then I think it's something we can easily accomplish.