National Championship or National Chairman's

[Koko Ed]

If you guys really want to see what teh Chairman's Award is about come on over to the FIRST Hall of Fame display (I have no idea yet where they are setting it up) and talk to eight different previous Nation winners and they will give you the low down on why it's so important (and it's not just because you earn a ride to the championship every year neither).

[Chris Fultz]

Well, Miss Daisy won Galileo Division last year at Nationals, so this year we are definitely shooting for National Chairman's. We won the same regional two years in a row...as far as I can tell, no team has won as the SAME regional two years in a row. They switch regionals and then win it.

Since this is just the second year for Regional Chairman's, this is probably not a good statistic.

Doesn't competing for the chairmans award totally defeat the purpose of it??

Absolutely not. The competition is different - everybody really "wins" by all of the great things teams think of to do for other teams and the community. The potential of a chairman's award is an enticement to continue to be creative and find new ways. It provides a venue for teams to highlight what they are doing so others can copy and improve on them. The potential of the award might motivate some teams to start specific activities, but I would bet they continue with them because they get immersed in it and the good they are doing. Ask previous winners if they stopped after winning - I would guess "no".

My vote: Why not "both". They recognize different aspects of a team and they are not mutually exclusive. But if I really had to pick one, I would say "Chairman's".

[OZ_341]

First of all, I really don't think the Chairman's Award is something you can "compete" for or expect to win every year. We honestly just go about our daily work because it is fun and rewarding.

We get excited about mentoring teams, running our off-season events and working with elementary students.

It may seem hard to believe, but we really don't have any elaborate plan for winning. We just dream up fun stuff to do and then try to document it during building season. You would have to be insane to put in this many hours for a banner and a trophy. We do it because we love it!! Plain and Simple!

Good Luck to everyone in Atlanta and during the upcoming off-season!

[The Lucas]

Originally Posted by Chris Fultz

Well, Miss Daisy won Galileo Division last year at Nationals, so this year we are definitely shooting for National Chairman's. We won the same regional two years in a row...as far as I can tell, no team has won as the SAME regional two years in a row. They switch regionals and then win it.

Since this is just the second year for Regional Chairman's, this is probably not a good statistic.

Actually, This is the third year for Regional Chairmans. Philadelphia Regional Chairman's Winners are : Miss Daisy in 2004 & 2003, and Miracle Workerz in 2002. I was quite suprised when Daisy won it again, because I didn't think that a team could win the same regional 2 years in a row. Good Luck at Nats Daisy!

Another odd thing about the Regional Chairman's award is that teams that have already won the National Chairman's can still win Regional Chairman's and thus can potentially win the National Award again (I think this has happened every year). I don't think National Winners should be eligable to win any Chairman's award again since there are already one of the 11 teams in the Hall of Fame and there are hundreds of teams that have never won (X-Cats should stay the only double National Winners (92 & 94) since FIRST was much smaller back then).

I already won a National Championship, and I wouldn't trade that 2001 season for any award. After winning a Regional Chairmans the next year, I would rather win National Chairman's Award than the National Championship. I am a mentor now and I would be more proud of a National Chairmans Award which acknowledges my many years of service to the team and the community rather than a National Championship which acknowledges one great robot I helped build.