Changes to Chairman's

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Karthik

- There's definitely a push to see full details of how the team has helped grow the FIRST family of programs. Calling this out is important, as it makes it easier for judges to find the quantifiable statistics on growth, however I hope it doesn't mean that they're only focusing on FIRST growth. Many FRC teams (including Hall of Fame teams) have done a lot of work promoting STEM education via other programs. It would be disappointing if this new emphasis on FIRST programs, begins to preclude teams who also support other STEM programs.

I was thinking about this as well. Hypothetically, my loophole would be to talk about how FIRST involvement influenced my team to start other STEM programs, such as VRC or VEXIQ, BEST, etc. The "Message of FIRST" prompt would also be a place to talk about how spreading the ideals learned from FIRST can be done through various programs. If the judges are explicitly told by FIRST to find lesser value in entries that mention other programs, I would be disappointed, but I don't think that will happen.