spirit award

i was wondering if any knew if it would be legal to use air horns when trying to win the award or if we can use any at all?

Check the rule book from last year. This kind of rule might not change from year to year, but it is still good to check. I believe the rule is no live bands and/or no musical instruments. Make sure to check though.

I seem to recall that noisemakers (such as airhorns) are not allowed. Section 3, At the Events, Game Manual, 2008. (Similar rules have been in place for years. Don’t expect a change.)

[EDIT] After getting some time, a look at the manual reveals:

Air horns count. Later:

Yea, those weren’t allowed but there are alternatives. My team #675 used thundersticks that everyone heard and got annoyed with by the end of the competition. Haha

Real spirit doesn’t need a noisemaker…

Agreed with the above, but also, even if they are not forbidden in the rule book make sure you check with the venue. Some places forbid them.

ALSO, please please please, I beg you, no air horns. Even if they are allowed, some of us already are miserable at the amount of noise at a competition. Team spirit is not always the loudest team there, I know that RUSH recieved the award because all of our students had a passion (more like obsession) with the team and we really were more like a large family. Nothing to do with cheering or noise.

Legal or not, I think air horns would be counterproductive. Based on my experience, you’d almost certainly annoy the judges. At best, you’d be drowning out any evidence of spirit among your teammates.

For the sake of the ears around you, leave air horns at home.

3.15.3 Competition Spirit
We ask that you choose to bring attention to your team in ways that are in good taste and in the
spirit of the competition. Please refrain from the following:
•Using obnoxious noisemakers.
•Using objects that can damage bleachers or floors.
•Wearing inappropriate clothing.
•Taping or affixing items or papers to walls, bleachers, floors, or other site areas.
Please make sure your Pit Station and surrounding area is clean when you leave the site.

Above is the text from the 2008 game manual. Bullet points 1 and 4 are probably broken at most regionals. A good idea for bullet point 1 is to try your noisemaking device out in a gym with some team parents there. If they are not annoyed after 5 minutes or so you should be fine.

It’s a good bet that the other teams will quickly become pretty annoyed with your team in no time flat.Banging sticks are the limit of their tolerance. Alarming loud noisemakers probably crosses a line by a significant amount.
Hearing loss tends to kill off the gracious professionalism in them.
Just try creative cheers, dancing, screaming, passing out buttons and giveaways, and spreading the word of FIRST to your team and others at the event. That usually gets the trick done.

There’s a limit to those, too. I seem to recall that the MOE Sticks were specifically banned at one point. Thundersticks, on the other hand, have been in the KOP for a couple years…

It’s my opinion that the Spirit award has to do with how the team comports itself on the field, off the field, in the stands, in the pits, in the venue area, in the hotels. Everywhere.

The cheers and fun the teams have in the stands are a celebration of their season together and the culmination of a team-building experience in getting the robot and the team to competition. That’s one reason I enjoy the Rookie All-Star award so much. It reflects that beautifully.

Take it from a team that knows. :smiley: Banging sticks (especially lime green and black striped ones) is definitely not encouraged.

Yeah, we had them too.

As I recall you had quite a bit of competition as well :slight_smile:
I, personally, don’t think “thundersticks” are annoying, though. They’re not “loud” like air horns are; they’re “loud” in the sense that applause is loud, which is not a bad thing. They require the participation of the whole team, and thus show legitimate team spirit (as opposed to pressing the button on an air horn); and they’re also common at professional sports, and I don’t think fans there complain.

I beg you…no whistles either. I was at a LEGO competition once where the team sitting next to us blew them constantly and couldn’t hear for a few days afterward

I’m going with you on this…nobody needs noisemakers to win a Spirit Award…its cheering for your team when u win or lose, cheering for a rookie team that does well or bad that day, cheering for a team whose prospects were looking down one day but worked hard to compete again, your opposing alliance…anything that shows true character is spirit…not noisemakers (except your lungs of course:] )

Make your team realize why they’re there…to have fun no matter what’s going on down on the field. They need the mindset that every team competing is having its ups and downs and that they all need support. Support a small team who doesn’t have a large cheering section perhaps. It all shows through the true character of your team and not by how loud you are.

Also “not encouraged” …30 foot pit towers with blinking lights and digital displays. Oh well. Safety beats spirit just about every time.

Pittsburgh tower set up 2.jpg


Pittsburgh tower set up 2.jpg

A better choice would be to carefully read what the spirit award is about, and use that to plan your strategy. Team 1676 was pleasantly surprised last year when we won it in Toronto. I feel that our relentless offers of assistance (real offers, too, not just lip service) to all other teams helped. We sent squads around looking for people to be helped, we responded to every request announced by pit admin (when we had what they needed) and walked fast (no running!) to get the item to the other team. That and just being friendly, and cheering everyone (not just 1676) probably helped too.

My crotchety old person opinion is that it should be illegal to try to win the award. Do things because you like doing them or because it helps others. Don’t do things to win awards.

I agree. Even though the awards are very good motivators to try and excel in all aspects of FIRST, many participants realize after the first event or two that having fun and winning awards are mutually exclusive. Success shouldn’t be measured by how full your trophy case is; it’s about having an amazing experience which you can keep with yourself forever.