Are the judges for the chairmans the same as the ones for the Woodie Flowers award ect.?
The Chairman’s judges are different from the WFA judges.
The Chairman’s judges are a small group of the overall judge team at an event. Usually there are 2 or 3, and they are usually more experienced judges and know and understand FIRST and the philosophy behind the Chairman’s Award.
They work independently from the other judge panel, but all of the judges talk together about who is receiving which awards.
Teams will go to a designated place (usually a small office or meeting room) at a specific time for the Chairman’s interview. They are not done in the pits but in a quiet, separate space. Judges (Chairman’s or others) may come around to the pits to talk to other students to verify or follow up on information.
It’s also normally a sign that the Chairman’s judges like you if they come back to the pit to talk to you. It happened to us at worlds last year and I almost did a backflip when they left out of excitement.
But your mileage may vary. Didn’t happen to us at our regional when we won RCA last year. Of course, the presentation was also in a locker room with the judges sitting in front of a shower.
So do the Chairman’s judges look at the other award submissions / read other essays? or do they stick exclusively to Chairmans?
They judge Chairman’s exclusively from everything that I have heard and experienced. However, they also see the Judge’s Questions that your coach submits through TIMS.
Sweet thanks. So whats the interview process like? How long do you have with them? How is that time spread out?
I suggest reading Section 6.4 of the Administrative Manual VERY carefully. Particularly 6.4.3.4, which details the interview process for Chairman’s, including time breakdowns of the interview.
You get 10 minutes, during which you will set up, hand in your DVD, give a presentation, answer questions from the judges, and take down your setup.
Another thing to keep in mind when designing your presentation is the variety of places you’ll be presenting in. I’ve heard that locker rooms aren’t uncommon at the regional level, but at champs you’re in a conference room. A good presentation setup will work in either of these places and anywhere in between.