as posted on FIRST: Championship Eligibility
"2004 Championship Eligibility
Preamble
The Championship Eligibility Process is being updated to better serve the teams participating in the program, and better support the core values of FIRST. The system used for the last two years, although appropriate for that period, could not provide a long term solution that would keep up with growth in the number of teams and Regionals. We were rapidly converging on a situation in which most of the Championship eligibility would be determined in the prior year or at the Regionals and a very large number of teams would be pooled to compete for a very small number of remaining slots. We think the new system will help rationalize the process. Its major features are
-Merit Based qualifying is focused on FIRST core values.
-Outstanding team performance or outstanding robot performance is the ticket. For a rookie team, a balanced combination is the way to qualify.
-Teams’ performance in the last season is deemphasized. Last year’s Chairman’s Award Winners and last year’s Champions are, however, still qualified.
-The pool of slots that remain will be allocated with preference to those who have waited longest to attend a Championship.
-In this transition year, qualifications earned by points last year will be honored.
Championship Eligibility Process
FIRST would like to thank all teams for their patience while we evaluated the Championship eligibility criteria for 2004. We worked to create a system that was fair to all teams while rewarding excellence and maintaining the high quality of the Championship. While transitioning to an improved qualifying system, some of the changes are effective for the 2004 season and a few additional changes will be implemented after this season for 2005 and beyond. We look forward to continual input at the forums to help ensure the eligibility criteria address the primary concerns of all teams. As in the prior system there are three ways to qualify.
- Prequalifying Teams (same as 2003):
-All prior Championship Chairman’s Award winners
-Original and sustaining teams from 1992
-2003 Championship “Stack Attack” winners
-2003 Point qualifiers based on the previous 5 point or more system
Note: The existing Point System will be discontinued after the 2004 season.
- Merit Based Qualifying Teams from the 2004 season:
-Regional Chairman’s Award winners (1 per Regional)
-Regional Engineering Inspiration Award winners (1 per Regional)
-Regional Rookie All-Star Award winners (1 per Regional)
-Regional Champions (3 per Regional)
- Open Registration in the Fall:
For 2004 and beyond, a select number of Championship spots each year will be available for open registration. These slots will be based on the number of years since a team last attended the Championship. All teams will be classified in a Tier (ie. Tier 6 equals six years since attending a Championship or last attended in 1998; Tier 2 equals two years since attending or attended in 2002). If the number of teams in a tier is greater than the number of available slots, FIRST will use a lottery system for teams within each tier to determine eligibility for the remaining open slots. The final determination will be first come/first serve until all available openings are filled. A wait list will be maintained for any openings that become available after the close of registration. Typically 10 to 15 openings occur during the Competition season.
Teams can access the year they last attended the Championship in the Team Information and Management System used for registration. Teams that are qualified to register will have access to Championship registration starting noon Eastern time on October 22, 2003. The year each team last attended the Championship is part of TIMS and your team should verify that information prior to the opening of Championship registration.
This coming year FIRST will change the rookie awards to include a Rookie Inspiration Award for outstanding effort as a FIRST team in community outreach and recruiting students to engineering, a Highest Rookie Seed Award and the Rookie All-Star Award which recognizes overall excellence and success in building a quality robot and a sustainable team of Chairman’s Award caliber. This last award will qualify rookies to attend the Championship. As announced on September 26th, rookies will not be eligible for the Chairman’s Award since that award recognizes sustained excellence over several years. Rookies are, however, encouraged to develop a Chairman’s Award submission which will be used as a criteria to judge the Rookie All-Star Award. This submission will document where your team started its FIRST journey and provide background for documenting the results of your team’s efforts. Teams applying for NASA grants should be aware that a copy of this submission must be provided to NASA as part of the grant.
We hope this system encourages all teams to take advantage of the opportunity to attend the Championship at some point in the future. Additional information on the Point System and the Tiered System is available below.
Bob Hammond
Director, Robotics Competition
Point Qualification System
Teams may qualify through performance during the prior year (2003) based on the points earned. Five (5) points are required to register.
a. Championship Event winner 3 points
b. Championship Divisional winner 3 points
c. Regional Event winner 3 points
d. Regional Chairman’s Award winner 3 points
e. Championship Event finalist 2 points
f. Championship Divisional finalist 2 points
g. Regional Event finalist 2 points
h. FIRST Judged Award winner at Regional or Championship 2 points
Tiered System
Tier 1 last attended Championship in 2003
Tier 2 last attended Championship in 2002
Tier 3 last attended Championship in 2001
Tier 4 last attended Championship in 2000
Tier 5 last attended Championship in 1999
Tier 6 last attended Championship in 1998 or earlier "
~Mike