Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

It was played at the Championship but didn't make the final cut. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay1JIMxbVFk

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

So I finally had time to watch the special last night and after seeing the posts here I thought it was better than the comments here led me to believe it would. I understand the comments of wishing they showed a full match or more actual competition footage but I understand why it was cut the way it was due to the amount of info they had to present in a short time.

I also had a funny (sarcastic) comment from my father (read grumpy old engineer) about the special:

"So all the teams are from California and sponsored by NASA?"

As a viewer he found that the program made it sound like like FIRST only exists in California because all the teams they profiled were from there. Also he understood that the only sponsor mentioned was NASA for show sponsoring reasons. I just found it interesting that this was one of the first things he asked after, "What color was my hair in the opening montage?"

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

I had relatives who asked a similar question. "Why do you think they chose to highlight the California teams?"

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

This is something that I have been wondering myself. What is the distribution of teams in the US? Does there happen to be a larger number of teams on the West Coast?

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

Why California?
My guess is that it was partially a matter of cost and convenience.

The camera crew was probably assigned out of California as most of the ABC footage was shot at SVR. FIRST would know that if the crew went to SVR they would get a nice mix of teams (254, 1538, 1622, 1717, some rookies, etc.) without having to travel very far. Then any footage they feel was missing they could shoot in St. Louis.

Just a theory, but I would not read too much more into the California choice.

Overall the special was a good vehicle for sparking interest and conversation.
Now it is up to us to carry that further.

One of my few disappointments was that they did not recognize Team 359 at all. I know it is hard to explain Chairman's in an elevator pitch, but 359 should have gotten at least a brief mention. I think those new to FIRST would have liked their story.

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

Thanks Al. That makes sense then.

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

Footage from the Los Angeles regional was also aired.

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

Will.I.am was named the director of creative innovation at Intel, which is located out of Santa Clara, CA. They seemed to bring up Intel many times during the show, so I thought the teams shown may have been Intel sponsored teams, or possibly Intel sponsors the regional?

I just looked it up, and it doesnt seem like any of the teams shown, or the LA regional is sponsored by Intel. I still think this may have had something to do with it though.

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

That pretty much nailed the reason.

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

Al,
Overall, the TV special did accomplish its goal in FIRST Robotics awareness to the rest of the world. As a team, we all enjoyed the mix between the concert, high-profile guest speaker interviews, and the interviews of various teams.
However, some members of our team were disappointed that we only got less than 1 sec of footage (at driver station during a match) throughout the show.
A mention of the winning alliance but nothing on the CA.
Similar to Championships, our video never got a chance to be shown anywhere during the competition.
My guess is that no one was going to pay for an interview here in Hawaii.

Whatever the Hall of Fame teams and FIRST decides to do next year at CMP, we will gladly share our story at the Hall of Fame booth.

-Glenn

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

More teams can be a blessing...but also a curse. *Ducks and Covers* ::safety::

Are we veteran FIRST folks ready to take on the added challenge of ensuring all new rookie teams expected to jump out of the woodwork are given veteran attention prior to them arriving at their first competition?

Cuz if not, I'm definitely not looking forward to seeing an even greater number of teams show up at their first event ever completely overwhelmed and underprepared. I also do not look forward to the additional stress such situations bring to the event volunteers and veteran teams who try to support rookies on the fly.

Spending a few hours of vet team time during build season ensuring a rookie's frame is within legal dimensions and their wiring is up to spec and speaking with their mentors on what to plan for ahead of and at competitions can really enhance a rookie's level of inspiration at an event.

Heading into an event with more confidence than trepidation equals more inspiration. Veterans assisting rookies BEFORE competitions makes the event more stress-free and enjoyable for EVERYONE!

You don't have to be on-site to provide support. Choose an appropriate radius of outreach from your team's location - find all rookie teams registering within that zone. Contact them - get connected via Skype and other online means. Check in with them at least once a week. It works even better if veteran teams coordinate their rookie support efforts with other veterans within their region. In checking with other vets, you might even find that the vet teams in your area would benefit by working together to help EACH OTHER out! :)

Think of the benefits a little more effort from veterans up front can have on the FIRST organization. In addition to making sure new teams start out in the "right-sized" FIRST program for their resources and capabilities, let's all make a greater effort to reach out to rookie FIRST teams as early and frequently as possible. I think then the quality of output from rookies may start creeping up to match the quantity, the quality of competition at events will correspondingly improve due to a more competitive field, spectators and sponsors will then be more excited and enthused by what they witness on the field and in the pits, and on and on and on.

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

I hope and pray that this has a very positive impact on FIRST. I hope it leads to sustained growth. Growth has to include sustaining veteran teams. FIRST needs to keep it's core. Mark McLeod's chart of mean team age is flattening out. I would hate to see it trend down.

If we get 30% growth from this, who is going to tell them how few rookie teams get to go to Champs? I hope they join for the right reasons.

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

Yes, growth without sustainability is worse then no growth at all. I would suspect that Dean would have thought of this before taking on such an ordeal. Perhaps this will be the homework for this year? There are many things FIRST can do to prepare for this many new students, but it is up to the community as well. As Travis has stated, it would be of great help if the veteran teams helped prepare the rookies. This is going to be an interesting year. Good or bad, I look forward to seeing what happens.

Jason

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

I know this doesn't solve the problem of a huge influx of teams, but FIRST just doubled the number of Senior Mentors they have in the field. Hopefully that will improve the attention all the new folks will be getting.

Re: "i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th
 

I see the good this show and all the work Will.i.am has done for FIRST this year and I know you can't show everything in a TV show like this but I was Very disappointed not to see any mention of 359. I thought for sure we'd see a shot of them on stage getting the award with a short bio of why they got it. Chairmans is the highest award in FIRST since its not about how well we do year to year in competition but how our programs impact our students, community and the world which we all know is more important in the long run than who got first place. That should be the message we get out there to people looking in, even on a "short" recruitment show like this. I think someone dropped the ball on it. They showed bio's from other teams and the impact FIRST had on their students but not the Championship Chairmans winner which is the definition of impact? What happened? Glenn and the gang at McKinley's 368 led the way in Hawaii where I believe we now have the highest percentage of schools with robotics programs in the whole United States. I believe every single team in Hawaii was helped at some point by Glenn. Perhaps if we were a bigger State it would have made the show? Glenn, his team and their story would have been an inspiration to a lot of people out there. I don't want to talk bad about his school (sorry Glenn but people need to know) but His very small school is in a very poor, rural and remote part of the Island and yet he has built a powerhouse program in a place where there was very little going on before him. Again, He accomplished what this show was hoping to accomplish.