Hello All:
As many of you know the AVA (Autodesk Visualization Award) will not be judged at the regional level this 2007 season as it stands now. It will be judged at the Championship in Atlanta. This means it will not be judged/voted by peers.
KoKoEd has rallied a small group of us to try to convince Autodesk to return the Award to the regional level and peer voting and winners advance to the Championship as has been done in the past. There is a thread that I’m linking here
discussing all of this.
We have a very small window, like now, in which we may be able to have an impact. We have written a letter and it is being final proofed as I write. I will post it tomorrow at the earliest time that I possibly can. What we are asking for is virtual signatures from you. We need as many signatures as we can possibly get to add to this letter when we send it to FIRST and to Autodesk. Please post in the this thread or PM me saying that your name can be added.
I don’t expect that commitment until you have had a chance to read the letter that will be sent, however, the thread that I’ve included here will provide the information that has been formatted into letter form. One of our students here in CD crafted this letter.
Ask your mentors and team mates to add their signatures. We have a chance to create change. Help us.
This is not a time for discussion, that time is over. This is now a time for action. Please add your signatures.
I may not have enough room in my PM box for everyone. If it is ‘full’ go to KoKoEd’s, he’ll LOVE it. Otherwise sign here.
Rock ON.
Thank you,
Jane Young
EDIT: we are moving fast. Here is the letter. If you find typos, lmk but this is it. Thanks Dan.
To Whom It May Concern:
Thank you for your commitment to providing free software to FIRST teams and sponsoring the FIRST Autodesk awards in CAD and animation. The new FIRSTbase system will provide more opportunities for students, create more possibilities for education, and allow wider use of the products. We were disappointed, however, to learn that the Autodesk Visualization Award will no longer be offered at regional FIRST competitions. We feel that the change will negatively affect education in this field and cause decreased use of the product. Animation is an important part of many teams; the removal of this award is a loss for those students who spend a great deal of time on learning, working on, and teaching animation. It is a loss for the FIRST community as well.
The regional AVA awards are a form of recognition and feedback for teams who create entries. When the award is given to teams at every regional, more models become available to less experienced animation groups. With regional awards, successful animators would also become more accessible to teams seeking advice if winners are recognized in every region. Because there will now only be one winner out of all the FIRST teams, experienced teams and animation models become less accessible, while most teams—especially those with less experience or no adult help in animation—will be discouraged from creating entries.
We ask that you consider reinstating the regional AVA awards for the upcoming 2007 season for a number of additional reasons. As stated, the decreased amount of support for animation teams will have other negative effects on teams and the FIRST community:
-The animators put in as much, and sometimes more, effort into the creation of the animations as the other students put into the creation of the robots.
-This is the only incentive program that acknowledges and recognizes their efforts.
-This is one of the few parts of the FIRST program that demonstrates that FIRST is interested in inspiring students about more than just robots; that animation is also a valid technical field that deserves recognition and respect.
-The regional animation awards program is very important to the animation teams, and a major motivation for their efforts.
-Reducing the animation awards to just a national award will significantly reduce the level of interest in the animation competition—nearly 80% of the teams will not be attending the Championships in Atlanta and will not be in attendance for the presentation of the award, and they will not pursue it for that reason.
-Without the regional animation awards program, we predict a significant reduction in the number of teams participating in the animation competition, impacting the entire season and program.
-Even if Autodesk will not sponsor the award, it should still be given out (either sponsored by someone else, or without specific sponsorship) at the regional level; the winner can be selected by popular vote, judging like the website awards, or animators selection.
-In the entire history of the FIRST program, a competitive technical award has never been removed from the program.
Briefly, in the upcoming season, fewer teams will feel motivated to create animation entries for the competition because they do not have the chance to win a regional award. In the long run, this will lead to less product use, less experience and enthusiasm in the field of animation, and less benefit from Autodesk’s generous software donations.
Again, thank you for your continued effort to add so much value to the FIRST Robotics Competition. We hope that this part of FIRST, the Autodesk Visualization Award, can return to the regional program soon.
Sincerely,
All of us 
