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Originally Posted by Macdaddy549
The way I see it is that most teams that win multi regionals are "professional" teams where the students never touch the robot during the build season. These teams I have a problem with.
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Be cautious when you say things like this. If teams ARE run that way, I don't know of any that have come out and said it. There are teams where mentors are more involved with the build than other teams; however, I don't KNOW of any teams that admit to being run that way. Even teams with the most minimal student interaction with the robot, to my knowledge, has students doing something or another.
Sweeping generalizations like that are dangerous and not conducive to the mission of FIRST. If those teams feel that the best way to Inspire and Recognize in Science and Technology, then so be it. On our team, the robot is probably between 50% and 80% student-built, with mentors that guide generally, but also do machining and building work alongside the students. We won two district competitions this year.
Winning as frequently as a lot of these teams is not about who builds the robot, it's about the resources the team has, be they student resources, mentor resources, sponsor donations, or facilities (which also falls in with sponsors). One must also recognize, though, that ANYONE can have a winning design, and even teams that are rumored to be what you call "professional" teams have off years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Josh Fox
... You might want to put a little research into this topic and the teams that are "multiple event winners" before making claims like this...if you look up some of the discussions that have been already been had about this topic, of which there are many, you might be pleasantly surprised.
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I couldn't agree more. Perennial powerhouse teams like 67, 148, 217, 1114, 33, and 27 ALL adopt a very student-active build policy. Some teams, like 148 and 1114, just have the resources (ahem, IFI) to reduce the amount of fabrication done on-site. That doesn't mean that the students put any less effort or time into the design or assembly of the robot, just that all of their cuts are done right the first time
(I can't tell you how many times I have had to re-make a part because of a measurement or operations error that I made in my inexperience)