If FIRST didnt return???
 

After reading some other threads and talking to some people recently i have come to a decision to pose this question to all to you, i want true responses and please dont water them down. Due to the contraversy im afraid may become here i am going to do a few things here. First and formost is if this thread gets out of hand it will become moderated, closed or placed on a temp lock. Also please keep posts on topic... So heres the question being posed:

If FIRST was to stop this year and not return next year what would or wouldnt you do to continue to spread the message of what we know as FIRST?

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

How dare you even suggest such a horrible thing... :ahh:

:)

I think I would have to try to start something similar on me own. Of course, it wouldn't get so big, but I'd try. :)

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

Make SECOND! Student Educational Curriculum On New Development or something like that. Basically, I think there are enough people in the FIRST community who care enough that if FIRST disappeared, they would remake it themselves. I would be one of those people. :)

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

I completely agree. Many people have spent their lives being a part of FIRST (or at least 4 years of High School), and if that went up in smoke then people would have no choice but to restart it on their own. With around 900 teams and probably over 25 members on average, we could easily restart the program. If everyone is just willing to give a few extra bucks or travel a little further, there would be no limit to what we could accomplish.
-Diobsidian

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

If first were to end, i would join SECOND and go on a recruiting mission to other previous first teams for voulenteer/monetary support to get the program off the ground, i also bet the a whole lot of engineering companies would voulenteer to help like they do now.

With so many students and engineers involved, I bet we could all get something up and going within a month or two like FIRST.

It's not the name "FIRST" that is important but the ideas that go into and come out of it in the long run.

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

Continue to mentor Lego League teams

O yeah, and beg for FIRST to come back ;)

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

if "they" decided to end FIRST, it wouldnt happen. This is because every single person that is registered on this site, would care enough to keep it going. But if it were to end, i would have to go out and spread the message myself. Start clubs within schools with neighboring schools. Start small at each "region" and work until its big enough.

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

I agree with everyone.

Right now, Oakland County (in Michigan) has a fall season which prepares all the FIRST teams in the area for the experience of FIRST. It is called the Oakland County Competitive Robotics Association (OCCRA), and is very similar to FIRST in that the games consist of alliance vs. alliance, balls and/or ramps and/or goals, so on and so forth. The only way it differs it that robots are required to be 100% student-built.

Seeing this, I'd most likely react to FIRST being stopped by continuing to promote it through OCCRA. If all the teams involved in OCCRA did so, we would hope that we could provide an example for the rest of the nation and "rebuild" FIRST.

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

I'd convince my team to pursue DARPA.


What,...only another 300 miles to go...


On the side I would start a robovation tourney in my area. I personally don't have the resources to restart FIRST but a robovation tournament wouldn't be as hard. It would at least give me a little time to study. I hate finals...

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

FIRST is like a snow ball. Once it started rolling, there is no way to stop it from becoming an avalach. There are way too many students who got inspired about this program already. There are way too many teachers and engineers who've seen what you can do with a program like FIRST. There are way too many parents who got the first hand experience of how FIRST changed their kids.

Only problem is, there are way to many people who will want to be in charge of the program if FIRST is to restart itself. How are we going to decide the game? Who is going to be like Dean and go off to big companies and tell them they need to support FIRST? Who gets to decide what color is going to be on the logo, and how long the name should be?

If FIRST do come apart, I fear it is going to need a strong leadership to reunit all the FIRST participant and create a program for them. Granted, it is not impossible to do so, but it's going to take a few years just to rebuilt itself to the point of a few years ago.

I didn't mean to sound negative in this subject. Actually, I have a good feeling about this whole thing. FIRST has done a fine job of setting up regional committees around the country to run their own events. There are lots of other groups like OCCRA, IndianaFIRST, WRRF, SCRRF who will work hard to support their program in their area. There were also a lot of mentors involved in the game design, and would do a great job if the same group of people get together and present their ideas again to a game design committee.

The only challenge is the stuff you don't see often. Running the organization. Coordinating the volunteers. Public relations. Accounting. Fund raising. Those are real problems you will have to solve if you are to run your own organization.

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

I'm a lemming. I have to agree with everyone else on this post. Out of the ashes would rise a "new and improved" FIRST...or SECOND. And I would definitely find a role to fit into. There are more than enough people who are passionate about FIRST and wouldn't just let it go away. Even if FIRST didn't return, the rest of us would!

Let's hope it NEVER happens!

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

That would be a pretty big event, should it ever happen, which it won't, at least not so suddenly. I would continue in OCCRA participation and work to build SECOND, continuously spreading the message to schools to get them involved in rebuilding the new FIRST (aka SECOND). I'd be devastated for an hour, and then I would return to working on robotics again.

Should SECOND fail, what could the acronym THIRD stand for?

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

If something were to happen to FIRST. As for the competition aspect, I could see all post seaso events taking over, and becoming mainstream. More events popping up all over the place, closer and closer to teams. So, would this be a bad thing? Would Robotics turn into a hometown event like your everyday sport?
As for who would control the game, etc.? hmm.... will have to think about that, maybe the legends would be asked to take over?

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

Yes that was us that started SECOND. Ours stands for "Science and Engineering Can Open New Doors"
Its our program for our lego leauge teams to show them what FIRST is about.

I don't know what I'd do without FIRST. I would certainly have a lot more free time and probably pick up something else if a "rogue" group wasn't started.

Eric

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

I think we all could work for NASA with Dave.

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

i think the best way to sum this all up is to say, let us pray that the day may never come

also in responce to working with Dave, i can't see myself looking good in a hawaiian shirt like he does all the time, lol

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

If FIRST were to end... I would go on to use my talents elsewhere. Look at my pict... I spend a lot of time with Habitat for Humanity learning new skills and making the community a better place.

So, it would be a transition of talents for me from one good thing to another!

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

Bah....

Forget making a NEW robotics program. We should all overrun an existing robot org that has similar values of FIRST - BEST.

http://www.bestinc.org/

Started in 93... cheap... small... not too bad, eh...

From the web site:
BEST stands for "Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology." The BEST program is based on an annual robotics competition of teams from high schools and middle schools. It is designed to teach teamwork, problem solving, project management, and pride in task completion within the constraints of a short time period and limited physical resources. Through partnerships of participating schools with corporate sponsors, youth teams are supported by mentors who serve as positive role models for the next generation of scientists, engineers, and technologists. The goal is to demonstrate the excitement of advanced technical careers to young people who are nearing decisions on college plans. Team membership is open to all interested students, and participation is without fee to the students or the schools.

History page says it is based of of some class by some guy at MIT... goofy named guy.... something like flowers or woody....

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

I would go on a hunger strike.

ok, maybe not, but I would help anyone willing to start it up again.

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

"FIRST is gone" That would be the last thing i want to think about... and there is no way there will be the word "End" in FIRST's Dictionary... :)

Re: If FIRST didnt return???
 

Interesting.
I don't know what the heck I would do if FIRST didn't return. One thing is for sure, there will be the FIRST effect. The inspiration would continue, recognition would increase, and the focus on science and technology would increase in importance. I'm not just talking about robots, computers, and machines, I'm talking about biology, physics, chemistry, etc. All fields of science.

Personally, I highly doubt that such a thing would happen, but I will always remain skeptical of the future.