Changes to FLL Champions Award criterion

[PhilBot]

This FLL thread seems pretty slim, so let me pose a question.

How many FLL coaches noticed that the FLL Advancement / Champions award rules have changed significantly this year?

The big change seems to be that the actual Robot Performance Score (mission points) do not factor into the Champions award any more, other than to set a "top 40% minimum threshold bar" that must be reached.

So in past years there was a 4 way split between Performance, Technical, Project and Core Values, now it's only a 3 way split: Design, Project, Core Values.

It's now more important that you can convince the judges that your robot is efficient and reliable, rather than actually being able to demonstrate it repeatedly in competition.

I'm not sure what has lead to this change.... it was snuck in without much fanfair, especially if the judge reactions in MD were any indication.

I can see some logic in sepparating the actual Robot Game scores from the "Overall award" because it keeps it more in line with FTC and FRC....

EXCEPT that in FTC and FRC the Overall winner AND the Robot Game winners advance to worlds. In FLL, only the Overall winner advances.

I'm not saying the game score is the only thing that matters, not by a long shot. But it should matter SOME !!! Otherwise what's the point?

It seems odd to me that despite the big fanfair that is made of the FLL robot games at worlds (it's the only thing the general public gets to watch), we are only sending our above-average robots to compete, not the TOP robots. How is this inspiring?

Does this mean that soon only the FTC Inspire and FRC Chairmans Award winners will get to go to Worlds? Makes you go Hmmmm.

Phil.