The threepeat

[Doug G]

Wow - what a thread. I know the CA is the ultimate award, but don't forget its all about having fun and inspiring students. We're a small team of 15 students with very little funding, and yet did a lot of outreach this year like starting and mentoring two new teams, helping to host a local kickoff, and volunteering / tutoring in the local Jr High and Elem schools. We attended only one regional and submitted a CA entry. The students were very proud at what they did - unfortunately the feedback from their entry was that we do not have enough students, mentors, and funding. Sadly, the students were very bummed out - I think they forget that what they did was still amazing regardless of whether they win the CA or not. We will continue to strive our best, having fun, and doing the most with what we have.

I'm tempted to agree that multiple CA's not be allowed, but that's not right - those teams have earned it - and should be recognized especially if they continue to do so much year after year.

I'm just waiting for a Division A/B system to open up for some of these Awards (like what they do for Academic Decathalons). It's just hard to imagine that we'll ever be a huge team with lots of funding.

[OZ_341]

There have been many threads this year about what it takes to win Chairman's. I have generally kept quiet on the topic, but I thought I would finally reply here.

There are certainly plenty of amazing teams that have yet to win Chairman's and I think their day will come. The point I would like to make below is that you can do this in a variety of ways, but that you must be driven by internal motivation.
To be a Chairman's team requires a look inside yourself before you move out into the community. I emphasize with my team to focus on the INTERNAL rewards of helping others, learning and having FUN!!! Every thing we do has to pass the "FUN TEST". Every project that we undertake has to help others or simply be for fun. We won't do something that does not meet these two simple criteria. If a team does this, then the external rewards, like Chairman's, will follow.
Our off-season competition Ramp Riot is an excellent example. We started in 2000 with an idea. We simply wanted to keep on playing when the season was over. The first year we had 7 teams in an empty gym. Our sponsor at the time, told us that they thought off-season events were not a good idea and therefore would not fund it. But we didn't give up because it was meaningful and FUN.
If you come to Ramp Riot, this November, you will find 28 teams and a completely STUDENT-RUN event that raises thousands of dollars. This is not because we are a big team, but because we had students that would not give up on a great idea. This is what legendary hockey coach, Herb Brooks called sacrificing for the "unknown ". You must do this on daily basis to be a Chairman's team.

Each Fall we step into a room of 40 students with almost zero in the bank and a whole lot of BIG IDEAS!!. What we do each year is take hold of these big ideas and find a way to make them happen.

So I guess my message is to think big, work hard, but do it because it is meaningful to you and will help others. That way when you look back on your year, you will never be disappointed.

Best of luck to all in the off-season!!

Al Ostrow

[Evenstar_342]

I agree with Elgin Clock. My team, 342, has won the Chairman's Award at the Palmetto Regional for the past two years running. While I am very proud of my team for this accomplishment, I was very surprised that we won a second time in a row. Although I recognize that we may very well have been the best Chairman's Award team there, I cannot believe other teams like 343 and 415 did not also have entries as strong. If I were leading FIRST, I would institute a policy where teams could not win more than twice in a row at a particular regional. They could submit once a year wherever they want, but would not win at a regional that year if they had already won Chairman's the two previous years.

[Lil' Lavery]

The problem with that is that a team doesnt always have the money to attend another regional to submit the award there. And not allowing them to compete in chairmans at all is totally unfair, as I have expressed above. If you say a team cant compete at the same regional, it would mean they would have to travel elsewhere to submit it there, and not all the teams have the money to attend multiple regionals, or further away regionals. Especially if they plan to attend the championship event as well. And to ditch a regional you've had sucess at is a very tough decision. 116 was very hesitant to not attend VCU this year.

[Daniel Brim]

Concise opinion:

If you are doing chairmans for simply the award, it is for all of the wrong reasons. The best people change the world without expecting immediate gratification.

[aaronD341]

I would never even think about doing something like any community outreach just for chairmans or have that be the reason for me being at an event. When we travel to an elementry school and get to sit down with the kids who are staring at you in wonder and awe (i know it's cliche but eh) It puts everything in perspective, one of the greatest joys of being on 341 is goings to demonstrations and explaining the "brain" of the robot and how it works and watching the kids laugh with joy as they drive miss daisy. It is so awesome to see the little ones learning and being so interested with robotics, and I know because I joined the team because of a demonstration they put on and I was there as a youngster in middle school. We never do something to win an award and even if we dont win any awards it doesn't detur us and make us stop we keep on doing what we do because it is FUN and it is cool to see the kids so excited with something that is not as mainstream as sports or video games. I love demonstrations, for the reward you feel inside, no trophy can ever replace that feeling, ok I know this all seems cheesy but anyone that knows what I am talking about would agree

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by DanielBCR

Concise opinion:

If you are doing chairmans for simply the award, it is for all of the wrong reasons. The best people change the world without expecting immediate gratification.

Yes I know, but when a team deserves a trophy they should get one. Like I mentioned above, what about the seniors, for whom that year would be the last chance for them to get that award. Your not doing it just for the award, but the chairmans helps recognize your sucess. And it helps your team, and often FIRST as a whole. People are attratced to sucess. People want to join something they can win. And if you have won FIRST's highest honor, you are certainly a sucessful team. If you have that trophy/banner to show off at your outreach, in your school, or to potential sponsors you are more likely to get them involved in FIRST.
Visual attractivness is a key part of an outreach effort, and trophies are certianly eye catching and attractive.

[richardp]

Any time a team does outreach they at the very least get their team name better known to the community. While yes trophies are cool and shiny, they have to be earned. I mean if a team such as my own which is "A Strong Contender" for the award at a regional going up against 341, this is to me motivation to really push to break past the "Strong Contender" to a Regional Winner. I think that doing things for the Chairmans award is fine. Isn't that why the judges give feedback sheets? So that a team can improve on their weaker points. Yes this coming year is my last year, and I am more determined than ever to get this, but at every event that I have gone to for outreach when I see people excited I want to do it again. I think Aaron is right in saying that seeing the impact is the motivation and fuel. (Most likely why 641 does so well every year). Also visual attractiveness is key in doing outreach, it doesn't have to come from trophies and banners they do help. There are other ways of being visually attractive but when a team is being successful and have tangible object people tend to give more credit to the team.

[alphastryk]

we (1002) have won Chairmans the past 2 years (2004+2005) at the peachtree reigonal...

[santosh]

I think recogniition of other strong contendors would be very good. Like the honorable mention of the teams who din't win national chairman's.
The idea that a 3peat shouldn't be allowed kinda make me think of it as this way, the Bulls won 3 basketball championships in a row (twice), therefore they shouldn't be allowed ot compete anymore. Or the Patriots created a Football dynasty with the 3 wins of 4 years, therefore they shouldn't be able to compete for it.
The Judges pick who they believe deserves the award. To me the award is an added bonus to the satisfaction you already recieve from inspiring kids to study in and pursue careers in science. I believe that a team should be able to win the chairman's award as many times in a row as they can. It is an award, It is given to the best. You just can't give that up to another team who probably did a superb job in their attempt to win the award but wasn't the best, because that wouldn't be fair at all for the team that was the best.
But I do concur with aaronD341. the work shouldn't be done with the intent to win the CA award.

[wheeler]

As a teacher/mentor of a repeat winner of the Chairman's Award at the Peachtree Regional I have decided to comment.

The Chairman's Award is about the changing of culture, being the team that others strive to be and making an impact on the future of not only younger children but your peers as well. If everyone would understand the real meaning of the Chairman's Award they should find themselves motivated by repeat teams. I know for a fact that teams at the Peachtree Regional have contacted me to see what we have done to earn the award for two straight years. I shared with them the work of the team so that they could work to compete against us. It is competition that makes you rise to the next level. We welcome the challenge of others trying to (knock us off) rise to the level that we have set for teams in our region. I do agree that this should be a region issue. We feared the possibilities of submitting our entry to the Peachtree again this year, but we felt that it would be a slap in the face of the team that does win that year. When you set a level of expectation and others are striving to meet or beat it you owe them the opportunity to be compared to you. By not submitting our 2006 entry to Peachtree we would only taint the victory of the possible winner and for that we did submit again to Peachtree for the third straight year. There are many wonderful teams that have raised the level of play for the Chairman's at Peachtree and this is how the repeat winners affect the culture. The Peachtree Regional ended last night and I was sick to my stomach about the chances of a third straight CA at the same regional. Knowing that some great teams had submitted this year (116, 1102, 1261, 1414, 807, 1648, and others) I was excited about the level of competition this time. We knew that teams were making great changes in their communities and that this might be the hardest year for a CA yet. During the awards I was nervously sick to my stomach as they got closer to the announcement of the CA. I heard them honor many teams that had worked hard this past year in their outreach and growth of FIRST and that just made me worst. At the presentation of the EI award they were making the remarks and I knew that the judges job this year was difficult. They awarded 1102 with the EI award for the second straight year (way to go 1102) and then I went into tunnel hearing. As Dave Lavery read the script for the CA I heard nothing else in the arena. The students had worked thousands of hours for this moment and as he read I waited with baited breath. As he started the part about what the judges said, I started to go weak and when he announced 1002 I jumped with excitement and then got dizzy and emotional knowing that the students had been rewarded for all of their work. This is why the CA is the most prestigious award and why repeats need to continue. I await the calls from the teams to find out what they need to do for next year so that again they can challenge us next year as we all raise the bar for the CA at the Peachtree Regional. And yes I will submit at the Peachtree again next year, I will not abandon my region and those who strive to challenge us.

sorry for the length

[65_Xero_Huskie]

Team 65 has won regional chairmans at Great Lakes in 2003 and 2005.