Chairman's Award Help

[Emily5484]

Hi, I just got the Chairman's Award essay, and I am working on the video, but I have no idea how to start, or what to do, for the judge's interview. The manual says I need props, presentations, and a theme, but I have no idea what to do. Our team is very young (2 years) , and this is our first time going for the Chairman's award. Thanks for any help.

[AndrewPospeshil]

Hi Emily,

The presentation is pretty much what you make of it in my experience. The "feel" of your interview is reflective of a lot of things: your presenters' personalities, your team's initiatives, your essay, etc. I find that if your presentation isn't a good fit for your team, it comes off as unnatural and forced. Stuff like props and a slideshow are not mandatory for your Chairman's submission, but they can be helpful. Note that there's not one "correct" way to do this. 2014's winners (27 RUSH) used a very polished looking video cart with videos and everything, while last year's Hall of Fame winners (597 Wolverines) used a potted tree in their presentation. I feel these two teams are a good example of two different presentation styles. Check out the winners page here to see examples of past essays, presentations, and videos; it includes all of last year's Regional/District Championship winners and all HoF winners.

The video is actually not judged formally, but it shouldn't be overlooked. You should check the Administrative Manual (section 6) for the verbatim guidelines, but basically your video will not be viewed by the judges before they decide the award winner(s). If you're a top contender at your event the Judge Advisor will look over your video to make sure it's alright to show (no profanity, no copyright issues) but the actual Judges who decide the winner will not see it. It's basically a way for you to quickly sum up your team's efforts to other teams. It's an opportunity for you to have fun in a low-risk medium. Tip: audio quality is more important than video quality. Prioritize a microphone of some sort over a good video camera.

As a final note, Team 2486 has some fantastic resources on their website about the award. You should check that out to get another perspective on the Chairman's Award. Good luck this season!

[Woetie]

Originally Posted by AndrewPospeshil

The video is actually not judged formally, but it shouldn't be overlooked. You should check the Administrative Manual (section 6) for the verbatim guidelines, but basically your video will not be viewed by the judges before they decide the award winner(s). If you're a top contender at your event the Judge Advisor will look over your video to make sure it's alright to show (no profanity, no copyright issues) but the actual Judges who decide the winner will not see it. It's basically a way for you to quickly sum up your team's efforts to other teams. It's an opportunity for you to have fun in a low-risk medium.

How sure about this are you? I've heared several differend things one of which being that the video is a way for judges to make a choice out of the final 3.

Regarding the origional question:
I think Andrew covered most of it. I would look for a way to get the ones who are presenting in a comfortabel situation. Don't force a theme or write out a complete script if your presentors aren't comfortabel with it.
Finally I would like to point you to an amazing seminar made by team 1114 Simbotics regarding all the aspects of the chairmans award:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_aixQwlNcw
This should help you create a good submission.
Good Luck!

[popnbrown]

I think Andrew was trying to link you to the 2015 winners but they changed the link on him.

http://www.firstinspires.org/resourc...-award-winners

[Katie_UPS]

Originally Posted by Woetie

How sure about this are you? I've heared several differend things one of which being that the video is a way for judges to make a choice out of the final 3.

As noted by the admin manual in section 6.4, the video IS NOT part of the judging process. Top 3 teams will have their video reviewed to make sure it's not inappropriate.