Championships: Competition vs. Inspiration

[Anupam Goli]

Competition is inspiring, it's that simple. Watching amazing matches happen at championships inspires me. Watching boxes on wheels doesn't necessarily inspire me. I'm in support of making championships more competitive; the wild card was definitely a good start to doing that. My guess is that championships will always have waitlists until every region switches to a district model. Regional championships like MSC and MAR are vehicles similar in inspirational quality to the Championship event. Once we have regional championships in every region, then Championships will move to a qualify-only event.

Also, I have a mini rant about RAS, EI, and RCA. I'm all about celebrating culture change and inspiration, and i know the regional winners are up to the regional board, but does everyone notice something about the championship chairmans award winners? They have extremely strong programs in terms of the robot they place on the field and their community presence. I hope I don't generate heat with this comment, but I believe that these awards should also take into account something about the engineering aspect of the team. How can a team share its excitement for STEM and lead others in the community when it fields a box on wheels at competition? I'd rather see the team that has a strong on the field presence and off the field presence than see the "chairmans only" team win the RCA. Why? Because part of every team's chairmans entry should show a strong program for students on the team and the community. The robot doesn't have to dominate every regional, but the model that the team expresses in its chairman's submission should work.