Rookie Award?

[farmersvilleRob]

Any advice on winning the rookie all star award?

[DonRotolo]

Practice Gracious Professionalism. The whole team needs to do this.

Here's an example: What is it that most everyone on your team has been doing these past few months? Yes, Building Robots. Do you all enjoy building robots? Yes? OK then, when you get to your competition, anyone who isn't actively building (repairing/tweaking) your team's robot (or otherwise doing something important) should be helping other teams, any way they need. Isn't that the fun part anyway???

We know what being gracious is, right?
And can we stop being kids long enough to act as professionally as possible? There you go.

Another example: One student (in a team T-Shirt) is acting like an idiot. s/he is (running/fooling around/being annoying/obnoxious/unsafe/etc.). A judge sees that - oh well there goes your chance. The whole team represents the whole team. One team member can ruin it for everyone.

[Cynette]

This is advice I give every year:

It will be just as important to have the students who are working in your pit also know your team’s story. The emphasis is on partnership. With whom has your team formed a partnership? Is it with your school, teachers and administrators? Is it with a business that is sponsoring you? Is it with the community, or a community organization? Is it a combination of all of them? How is your partnership being developed, nurtured, grown and what is the personal impact on your team and the impact on the surrounding community?

You can make a presentation package for the judges that will stop by at your pit. Include your essay and an executive summary, some photos of your team in action, copies of any news articles on your team, your business plan summary if you have that, anything that your pit crew can use to tell the judges about your team and hook them so they will come back to hear more!

Pick some members of your pit crew who are enthusiastic about your team and FIRST and have them available to talk to the judges. It is very, very, very important that the people who talk to the judges are STUDENTS! Mentors should keep a few feet away and let the judges interact with the student.

Each team has its own personality. Be sure to be yourselves, and enjoy the experience. Good Luck!

[Mr. Rogers]

Yeah, student members talking to judges is a must. Just have a plan ready before you go, practice q & a with "judges" before competition. There are many judges going around the pits, try to identify which judges are scouting each award. (don't ramble about the robot's mechanical features to a spirit award judge. ) Look and sound prepared. If a judge comes to your pit, two or three members should give them there full attention. We practiced the above and did alright.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Sound advice to your team members...
At competition, you are never invisible, someone who may be a judge or other volunteer will always see what you are doing. Therefor make it something good.

[newteam1111]

Does the Rookie all star award qualify for any pts in the Michigan regionals?

ALso, can the team be reconsidered for the all star award if they have won this award in one of the regionals?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by newteam1111

ALso, can the team be reconsidered for the all star award if they have won this award in one of the regionals?

It is possible to win multiple RAS in one year. However, it's also somewhat of a common practice for rookies who win it at their first event to mention this to judges at the second event; I've heard of a few cases where the team specifically told the judges not to select them because they'd already won it.