2008 Championship elimination alliance selection contest

[Andy Baker]

It's that time of year, folks. Within 2 weeks, many of us will be down in Atlanta at the FIRST Championships. Last year, we had a fun contest to see who could come up with the best alliance selection invitation. Team 118 came away with the grand prize, as their student alliance captain walked out in a space suit to accept a pick.

This year, I will be offering up some simple prizes (an AndyMark fitted baseball hat, and some other stuff) to the winner.

The point is to encourage creativity by the students as they either ask teams to join their alliance for the elimination rounds, or accept someone's pick.

Think about it... don't just say "we pick team 3333" or "team 24 graciously accepts". Have some creativity. Sing a song. Write a poem. Announce the team in binary format. Stand on your head. Do a breakdance in celebration. Just don't hurt yourself (or others), and use appropriate language. Have some fun.

There will be super-secret judges on each of the division fields in Atlanta. All selection processes will be judged, and the winners will receive their prizes soon after the division finals are completed*. Each division winner will get a small prize, and the overall winner will get a bit extra.

I welcome others to add to this prize pool, but please hand-deliver the items to me in Atlanta before Saturday morning.

Good luck to all.

Andy B.

* - last year, I did not get prizes out to winners until IRI. This year, I will work to make it immediately after the division finals.