Here’s a question I’ve been thinking about. Would you rather win a Regional Championship or Regional Chairmans Award?
I’m not asking which is better, or which one is more prestigeous. The question is which one would make you happier. If you had to choose one which would it be? You can say why if you want.
Champions. My team has won chairmans out right way back in 95’ so I really dont care about that. I also have a bit of bias, I’ve been mech ever since I started 4 years ago. For once I just want to see our robot finish in first place, to see something I helped build finish first.
-Aaron
While 234 has never won a regional championship, we have won a regional chairman’s. To me, the chairman’s would make me happer. For me, it shows that I have been a part of a true FIRST team…not simply a robotics team. It shows me that I have been inspirational to somebody, just as FIRST has been inspirational to me. of course, winning both at one regional would be cool too (congratulations team 330 and any others who have accomplished this amazing feat!)
Def regional champion, i mean sure chairmen is great but just the fact of your robot performing well and the joy of beeing up there in the finals and winning the whole thing i think that would beat pretty much anythign
I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing both.
My personal opinion … Chairman’s
Speaking strictly as an adult mentor (and not reflecting my team’s opinion), I’d rather win a Regional Chairman’s Award. The CA honors teams who are doing above and beyond creating a great competitive robot. It recognizes the efforts of team members who may not be into the robot design and building process (but who may have skills in marketing, computer programming and animation, accounting, writing, etc. - all skills that are necessary on a well-rounded team). It recognizes year-round efforts by team members and their impact on their community and partnerships with their sponsors and schools.
Of course it is an honor to win a Regional Competition as well, which is recognition of an intense 6 week build cycle.
But in the end, it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, it’s how you’ve played the game that counts. The goal of FIRST isn’t to win anything, it’s all about the process you went through to get there.
I am a competitor. The atmosphere created within a team that makes them chairman’s award worthy is the true goal of FIRST; it should be second nature. One would expect that all teams would be “chairman’s worthy” entering into a competition and would then be able to compete against one another for something more physical. An award to single out a team whose unity and outreach is better than others may eventually be played down. Regional Champion.
Personally for me, I would like to win the regional chairmans. Because it’s a culmination of years work and dedication
Melissa
I would prefer the Chairman’s award. It is the truest measure of a FIRST team.
This year I was really into actually building the robot and I did a lot of that but I also put in a lot of work writing the entry and doing the interview. So both were great experiences and I would say that winning one isn’t really better than the other for me but I am sure it is different for each person depending on what your role in the team is.
Collin, Cyber Blue 234 won the midwest regional championship in 2001 with 71, 269, 111, and 112. :]
REGIONAL CHAIRMANS
This year we just “happened to win” the SBPLI Chairman’s Award. Every year we will of course strive to reach “#1”, but nothing will ever compare to the feeling of being awarded FIRST’s most prestigious award, the Chairman’s Award.
Our team put 3 years of effort into this award, and has established a network of relationships within the community and our sponsors that superseeds the short lived effect of winning “first place” in one single competition.
Winning the Regional Chamionship is no small task, but some of the game is luck and some is skill. Having your team named the Regional Chairman’s Award winner is far more than just “comming in first place.”
Sorry, for the ramble, I’m still on cloud nine. This has been a spectacular year for our team…
::Personal Opinion Alert::
100% I would rather win the Chairman’s Award. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent every free moment of the last two years (ever since I was introduced to FIRST) trying to do everything in my power to get my team to win it. Unfortunately, for both years we have lost the award to two very incredible and deserving teams. I have been promised by the juniors on the team and in the Chairman’s Group this year that next year, they will take home the award though. I can only imagine how incredible it must feel to be able to walk down and accept that…
sorry…234 has never won a regional while i’ve been on the team. a culmination of great robots and a really great strategy. 710. awesome. i probably watch the video once a month.
without a doubt…CHAIRMANS
yea winning a regional is nice, but when we won chairmans, it was definitely the best feeling ive ever had. Even though me and a couple of other ppl worked so hard for our team to win the award, im sure everyone on my team has the same exact feeling. Its UNBELIEVEABLE!
Chairman’s Award… We’ve won a regional before, and while it was great and i was really proud… it just didn’t carry the same weight for me as winning the chairman’s award did. for me it’s quite an emotional thing to actually win the chairman’s award- it’s the main goal that i and the rest of the team has been working toward for a serious of years.
yup, we have already won a regional anyways… next: get chairmans…
I’d have to say that I’d rather win a Regional Championship. Doing things all year long is nice and all, but it’s not the robot itself. I’m one of those build with their hands kinda guys, so to me, the robot is a more real accomplishment. I would rather have the best robot than community outreach.
I was just a rookie last year and our team won both a regional chairmans and also the galileo division at nats. I would put a division winning almost over a regional win cause there are only 4 divisions per year and all that. But anyway, a lot of the seniors on the team were crying and getting broken down after winning chairmans and while everyone was still really psyched to win the division at Nats, I think that Chairman’s was the best experience for me personally.
We won the Chairman’s Award last year and it was one of the greatest moments of my life. We won the Regional this year and it was dissapointing, because we didn’t win the Chairman’s Award. There is no doubt in my mind that the Regional Chairman’s Award is better then the Regional Championship. We work so much harder for the Chairman’s Award then the 3 days for the Regional Championship.
Nate