Maybe something good will come out of this situation.

Maybe in the next few years we will see an upsurge in smaller, local regionals, hosted at local colleges, on a smaller scale.

Why would this be a good thing? Most teams spend most of their budget on travel and lodging to attend regionals and the championship.

It only costs $5k to register/attend your first regional, thats not a lot of money really. But if you have to travel out of your city to attend, you can tack another $10,000 on that (bus, hotel, meals...)

If there were more local regionals, then many more schools can have teams. All you would need to start a team then is the $5,000 registration fee, one teacher from your school to sign up, a couple engineers, and 5 or more students to participate.

As for going to an event that has been cancelled by your school - you would have to get your own transportation, your own hotel rooms, your own meals. Dont forget that many teams are funded by joint agreements between corporations and school districts. If the school board says the trip is cancelled this year, and the corporation took any/all students to the event anyway, that would be the END of that team next year.

If your school cancels your trip, and your parents can drive you to the event, and get a hotel room for you - your Bot is going to be in the pit on thrusday morning anyway, right - but if you decide to ignore the schools wishes you better make sure nobody in the school board finds out about it.

Dont be selfish and attend a regional against the wishes of your school board, if it means the END OF YOUR FIRST TEAM AT YOUR SCHOOL FOREVER!

This is a very difficult time for our nation. Everyone is making sacrifices - some are putting their lives on the line - in perspective, missing ONE FIRST event is a small price to pay.

If your school board cancels your trip, it might seem stupid to you, but please respect their decision and authority.

Finally a voice of reason.

I agree that you should respect the decision of your school board. They only are doing what they think is best.

Although this would be really hard right now, with the war I mean, you could tell a news station about it and get the public to hear about it. The school board might give in. That is if you can even get the news station to talk to you. Again it would not always be best to go against the school board since they can end your team right now if they wanted to.

The more they take away from us now. The more they are taking away from the future of the fighting power and the technology that our country is using overseas right now. If they can't see that we are the people that will be designing the next generations weapons for situations like we are in now, then they will hurt in the long run!

We are the future!!!!!!!!!!!

I know our school doesn't give us any money! We got a room that was condemed, and we had to repair it , and pay for the repairs. Of course the football team gets tens of thousands of dollars, and we have yet to see one *&()(*&)*& red cent!

Sorry if this seems angry but I think it is extreemly unfair of the schools. Luckely they wouldnt dream of not letting us go, they no that we wouldnt care. We put our sweet and blood into this robot and we are going to compete with it!

Anyone up for a flu virus genetically engineered to infect only robotics members? ;)

Just have your team "get sick" wednesday, thursday and friday. All you have to do is have your parents excuse your absence.
The school board can't touch you.

I know this was mentioned, but does the school really pay for it? The students do, through hard work. I believe the majority of teams get nothing from their schools, and if they do get something, who's to say it wasn't used for the bot?

Anyway, it is wrong of the schoolboards to cancel these trips.
They probably know it.
Its not like any other sport where there's always another game, another chance.
It's like life.
Carpe Diem.

geez, is new york usually that conservative or is it just your school board???