Quote:
Originally Posted by scottydoh
I'd like to start this by saying a few words about the specific volunteer you mentioned. I had the honor of being a member of his inspection team this weekend, and he truly is a great guy and very knowledgeable member of the FIRST community.
First, towards team 514. It seems as though you came in to this either knowing that your bumper set up was illegal or at least questioning it. If you were doubting the legality, you should have brought it up either in the Q&A Forum or during inspection, so things could be clarified for you early in the game, saving you all this trouble. And I certainly hope that you weren't intentionally hiding this in hopes that it would just slip through. I do appreciate the professional and calm matter in which you brought this up.
Second, I do not appreciate the negativity towards the inspectors. Its a stressful task, and many teams are out to intentionally make our job even more difficult. While I was not the inspector that handled your team, I'm pretty sure I have a very good idea who did. Things slip through and mistakes happen. We as inspectors were not trained to "pat down" every bumper, but you are also expected to know the rules, and follow them, and if you have a question, clarify with one of us. In fact the very first inspection I did on Thursday morning had a questionable bumper set up, consisting of a notch cut out of the bumper. Due to that, I made sure I took a good look at the rest of the bumpers I saw that day.
And finally, towards the 49 other teams at SBPLI. If they noticed something off, they should have notified 514 much earlier, or if they were afraid, at least notify an inspector/ref/judge, all of which would have no problem relaying the information. While you might have been mad at them for "outting" your strategy, it would have actually ended up saving you.
In the end, it can be agreed that no one is directly at fault. All three groups made mistakes, but its over now. Theres nothing left to do but move on and learn for next time.
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I once again sincerely apologize if I made it sound like I felt the judging or inspection teams were at fault in this matter, that is why I in fact added the note about their excellent work. I personally approached the volunteer I mentioned afterwards to apologize for some of my team's behavior and compliment the job he and other members of the staff had done. I have nothing but respect for people who are willing to give up their time to make this event function and realize that though mistakes were made, that is the nature of the event. I in no way find fault with the people who made this event possible or anyone else in particular; this was merely a series of unfortunate events as I had stated.
As for our team's intentions in going to the event, we were in no way intending to make the inspectors jobs more difficult and we did not believe at the time that our bumpers were illegal. I am part of the programming subteam on our team, so I am not sure who made the call that our bumpers were legal, but I can assure you that knowing the mentors who make our team run, they would never do something they knew was illegal or questioned the legality of. It was a mistake, but I can assure you that it was not intentional. Further, my team's coach did bring it up (though to the exact person I am unsure, it occurred before I got there on Thursday morning) very early and we were told that there was no issue by an inspector at the event.
And as a side note, there really isn't a next year over here. Our funding was cut. We're trying to gain it back, but I'm graduating and the odds are there isn't going to be a team. I'm sorry if I'm a little emotionally tied to the final year that some members of our team might experience the organization that is such a great part of why I'm going to the college I am next year.