[AndyH]

We are looking forward to competing with the teams at the Championship, but we are definitely not looking forward to all of the red tape. Setting aside teams who wanted to (and believed they were paying to) compete on the Dome floor so that a popular entertainer can perform for a couple of hours is indicative of the culture shift in first - toward "promotion" and away from education. It's sad.

The "secrets" and "surprises" are a problem. Whoever decided that it was a good idea to wait until the last minute must not have to communicate with parents, teachers, and administrators and take full responsibility of dozens of kids and their whereabouts every moment for days. (Again, it seems that FIRST has forgotten that schools and students are their main audience and support - not politicians and concert-goers.)

Luckily we are a local team, so we can see what happens Thursday and let parents and teachers know what to expect on Friday.

Regardless of all of this, we will be happy to see the other teams starting tomorrow night! We'll set aside the frustration for now and be excited about the fun to be had this weekend. Then we'll make decisions about the future of our program after this is over.