From Bill's Blog: Merits of replacing bronze participation medals

[JoeyTNT280]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

I just asked my mentor today where our medallions are from our years....he said to check the back closet, there's a bunch of boxes of them.

Not getting these medals never made my season any less special. So why would getting pins instead of a medal make a difference for other kids in FRC? I guess I'm still trying to grasp the significance of something material.

I whole heartedly agree with the last line of this post. I mean a medal or a pin or a shirt even is just material proof of the accompishments made in FIRST during that season. I can say that I don't even really know where my 2009 FIM District Chairman's Award medal is. But I'm still looking back on the season and smiling at all the fun I've had and can't wait till school starts to get the season underway.

However on the oppostite argument of this. Teams still pay for all of the EXACT same costs so not getting the same things as previous seasons and paying the same amout is rather dishearting I mean do peices of coloured metal cost that much? I mean it's just a medal or rather metal but there are those who need encouragement to continue in FIRST even if their team didn't do as good as anticipated.

[Chris is me]

Just a note. While you guys personally might not need these medals to have an impacted season, what about the people who do want them? What do you propose for teams like Trobotics, where receiving the "participation medal" is a big deal? That's the main question I ask of the Pin Camp.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Just a note. While you guys personally might not need these medals to have an impacted season, what about the people who do want them? What do you propose for teams like Trobotics, where receiving the "participation medal" is a big deal? That's the main question I ask of the Pin Camp.

Nothing says that you can't a) do the same thing with pins or b) make your own participation awards (medals, trophies, etc).

And you can even just do a certificate emphasizing the student's role on the team. I know one year, 330 gave out a "Most Buttons Collected" award. It went to...

...a younger sibling of some of the team members who didn't have anything to do other than collect buttons. (Note: just one of several that year)

[Akash Rastogi]

If people care that much about shiney hunks of metal I hear punched sheet metal works just as well.

But really, what Eric said sums it up. Since pins would cost less I'd be all for it.

Wouldn't you rather have saved a very low budget team just enough money because of those pins so they can enter another year as an FRC team, rather than complain about losing participation medals that the team who couldn't participate didn't even have a chance to earn? (If this is incoherent babble, I apologize, its 2am and I've been teaching FLL camps all week).

As a last post, I'm all for the pins because they would cost less to make, eventhough I still stand behind the opinion that material possessions shouldn't be needed to remind someone of a special time in their lives.

P.S- We gave out our box of participation medals at the finale of our FLL camp this week. The top 3 teams of kids got those medals. When we asked the kids on the other 7 teams(ages 11 and under) what they felt about not "winning", ALL of them (yes its not a hyperbole) said that they had a lot of fun and wanted to come back to FLL again. Did they care about not getting those medals? NO. Not significantly enough for them not to have a good time and learn.

..Last post since I don't see an end in the topic.

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Wouldn't you rather have saved a very low budget team just enough money because of those pins so they can enter another year as an FRC team, rather than complain about losing participation medals that the team who couldn't participate didn't even have a chance to earn? (If this is incoherent babble, I apologize, its 2am and I've been teaching FLL camps all week).

Billfred and I have both looked into comparative costs, and it's less than $2 per student. The "saving money" argument isn't compelling.