Regional Championship or Regional Chairmans?

[Wayne C.]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

just wait until you're on a team that doesn't win 90% of it's matches...

Sean- where were you in 05? and 04? and 01? and 02? and 99? and 98? and 97? We weren't winning 90% then but we still had a lot of pride in our machines- even if the wheels fell off and they caught fire. We have been very fortunate to have a few really spectacular seasons but they were the result of a team of dedicated individuals giving their best for a long time to build to that.

Championship or Chairmans- tough call. I always tell newbies that if you build a great team the great robots will follow. So I guess that is recognized by the Chairmans.
But school administrators and company heads recognize and understand Tournament Champions better. So there is a lot of "political value" in that recognition too.

Our team has been fortunate to have seen both. To some extent a good machine and experienced drive team get the Championship. But our guys have made FIRST more or less a way of life these days and that seems to be how we were recognized for the Chairmans. To me it was a verification that the team was "doing things right" in the FIRST world and that we have hopefully been setting a good example for others. Oddly, I find myself more in line with the "vision" of actually helping kids develop these days more than ever. And I know the young people our team has sent out will always fondly remember how building robots changed their life for the better.

And we still have fun,,,

WC