What Awards would you like to see?

[RoboMom]

Originally Posted by EricLeifermann

I think all robot function awards need proof that they work on the field during a match, otherwise its just theory. It maybe a cool idea but its not a robot function, and should be given a judges award or something.

Each Regional is supposed to have field judges who are already verifying.

Suggest rookie awards be adjusted if there are a small # of rookies. (2 or <)

I would like to see another opportunity for a mentoring award on a regional level only as the number of teams grow. The Woodie Flowers Award is an amazing honor, and I wouldn't want to take away from it. But think there should be more opportunities to honor outstanding mentors who play a variety of roles on teams.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by RoboMom

Each Regional is supposed to have field judges who are already verifying.

My team won the Rockwell Automation Innovation in Control award for a tracking and firing autonomous camera mode we never used on field...

[Jared Russell]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

My team won the Rockwell Automation Innovation in Control award for a tracking and firing autonomous camera mode we never used on field...

This happens all of the time with technical awards (and for that matter, non-technical awards). We've all seen teams get trophies for things that didn't quite work right, or that they didn't even use. And we've all seen dominating bots with ingenious features go unrecognized.

Of course, this happens because of the enormous amount of information that our volunteer judges must process. 50+ teams at a regional, each with a robot, pit display, and a half dozen to a dozen on field performances crammed into two days of judging is a lot to reconcile.

I think that more explicit separation of robot awards designed to reward effective on field performance (autonomous modes, awesome manipulators, overall design) and technical innovation (design processes, materials usage) would help. I also think that technical judges who are more closely involved with FRC, who understand where "the bar" is set and know when what a team is saying about their robot sounds fishy would be a great aid to those Regionals that do not yet use such judges.

[Beth Sweet]

I would like to see some sort of a "Up and Coming Culture Changer" award for a team that is doing great stuff, but just hasn't been doing it quite long enough to compete with the more experienced teams. This program, in its mission, is about changing the culture, but it kills me that really only Chairman's and Engineering Inspiration highlight these aspects, when there are so many awards which highlight robot performance and engineering excellence.

(Please don't get me wrong, I truly encourage highlighting engineering excellence, it is a very good thing, I just feel we should place more focus on the organization's stated mission)

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Beth Sweet

I would like to see some sort of a "Up and Coming Culture Changer" award for a team that is doing great stuff, but just hasn't been doing it quite long enough to compete with the more experienced teams. This program, in its mission, is about changing the culture, but it kills me that really only Chairman's and Engineering Inspiration highlight these aspects, when there are so many awards which highlight robot performance and engineering excellence.

(Please don't get me wrong, I truly encourage highlighting engineering excellence, it is a very good thing, I just feel we should place more focus on the organization's stated mission)

I definitely support the general idea here. I'm not sure about how to execute it though, or how to make it so that specific regions whose awards in these fields are won by exactly those teams (well, obviously not RCA, but I've seen EI used in that manner exactly)... I think the Judge's Award is a fairly adequate tool for recognition of such things.

[Akash Rastogi]

I wanted to put out there again, that if anyone has a serious suggestion that is plausible and makes sense, feel free to e-mail FIRST with your suggestion instead of just voicing it here. I'm emailing about the Inventor award tonight.

Anyone have a suggestion of who specifically to email?

[JaneYoung]

Adding a thought here that I haven't seen posted.

If these suggestions are meant for future consideration, it might be a good idea to state that when you send your correspondence. For the upcoming season, 2010 - the budget monies are probably already allotted or close to being so.

At some point, if awards continued to grow and expand, that brings in the time aspects. The contracts in many venues likely give specifics on when the event will begin and when it will end, meaning everyone has left the building and the lights are out. Adding more awards eats up time unless, some awards were relegated to a separate space with the schedule reflecting when the awards would be announced. That could possibly incur more costs, asking for additional space. Some venues may not have additional space to be able to use. And then there's the judges - there would have to be more judges, more awards, more time - so keep all of that in mind as you draft your e-mails and letters. Suggesting change is one thing, implementing it is another.

Just an .02

[Carol]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

At some point, if awards continued to grow and expand, that brings in the time aspects.

Good point. Do you really want to make the closing ceremonies longer??

It also adds to the number of judges needed (which adds some costs as well - shirts, food, etc.) Particularly at Atlanta, it is hard to judge so many teams in little time - I don't know this from personal experience, but Jane can tell you all about it!

[Tetraman]

Maybe it would be time to also consider how awards are given out and presented? Or it would be a good idea to expand the concepts of the current awards.

In addition, why do all awards have to take place during closing ceremonies? If there were "major" awards and "minor" awards, you could have a moment where the MC rattles off the Minor awards and their winners, and then the major awards where the team comes down to recieve the trophy. Consider the minors to be a kind of "honorable mention" award.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Carol

Particularly at Atlanta, it is hard to judge so many teams in little time - I don't know this from personal experience, but Jane can tell you all about it!

Just a little bit of clarification. I have not had the privilege of serving as judge in Atlanta. I have had the privilege of serving as an FTC judge in San Antonio, TX, an FLL judge in Austin, TX, and have judged FRC off seasons such as Mission Mayhem in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and IRI in Indianapolis, IN. This past IRI, I had the privilege (and it is a privilege, please believe me) of interviewing MOE and other amazing teams, such as Chief Delphi. I will never forget the 2009 IRI judging experience. I don't believe any of the IRI judges will.

That said, there are a lot of factors to consider when asking to increase the amount of awards and if anyone is seriously considering suggesting changes, such as a CAD award at regional level, please make sure you have all of your ducks lined up in a row. That means having your facts straight, your information clear, and your request specific and backed with sound reasoning. Keep it all succinct, polite, professional.

(I just recently sat in a meeting where the leader of the unit said that requests will be acknowledged much more quickly than demands. It provided food for thought.)

Thank you, Carol. Like your wig!
Jane

[Robert Cawthon]

The top seed award could be a simple trophy given to the person from that team who is brought out to make the selections of their alliance. It wouldn't take much time if done that way. Sure, there is a good chance that the first seeded team will make the finals, but not always and for those teams it would be a nice reward for being the best (or luckiest) during the qualification rounds.

[Tetraman]

I wouldn't like to see a Highest Overall Seed award. There are much more impressive On-field accomplishments that should be promoted with a trophy.

[Dantvman27]

You know, i just wanted to add to my own topic now that i think about it, but what about like a competitors choice award, where each team gets a vote on what they think is the best robot, with of course the rule you cannot vote for your own team, each whole team getting 1 vote

[Jared Russell]

Originally Posted by RoboMom

I would like to see another opportunity for a mentoring award on a regional level only as the number of teams grow. The Woodie Flowers Award is an amazing honor, and I wouldn't want to take away from it. But think there should be more opportunities to honor outstanding mentors who play a variety of roles on teams.

I agree with this suggestion whole-heartedly. Some mentors are professional engineers and aid in the design process. Others are machinists and tradesmen who help to build robots and teach hands-on skills. Others focus on media/web. Others serve more behind-the-scenes logistical and organizational roles. Still others primarily focus on work in the community and spreading the work of first.

A single trophy and single set of criteria for all of these types of mentors is not enough.

[Tetraman]

How about a Rookie Volunteer Award? Given to a FIRST volunteer in their first to third year of volunteering?