[Mike Rush]

I've been going to FIRST competitions for 14 years. I've been to Nationals 11 times, twice as a spectator. These are my observations for year 1 in St Louis.

(1) Pit Organization and Signage - Woefully poor. I had a team list, a pit map, and was seeking out a number of specific teams to contact and I still could not find my way around easily. I can't even imagine what that must have been like for the uninitiated. Having the division pits split was just plain stupid.

I believe the ultimate reason for the poor organization was the inclusion (relocation in my opinion) of the playing fields from the dome to the pits. A monumentally bad idea. I don't care who the 'performing act' is. Work within the spirit of the competition or hit the proverbial bricks. This is not the venue for a bunch of singers making demands on the organization.

(2) Pit Numbering - Lesson lost. Pit numbering such that rookie teams are interspersed with the veteran teams really helps out young teams. As a young team at nationals for the first time, having a veteran team on both sides can be a great help. Clumping all the rookies teams at the far end of the pits really leaves them a little isolated and reduces the interactions with the more seasoned teams.

(3) Seating - Poor, especially at the fields not in the dome. (already beat to death)

(3) Front Doors - What was up with that? Half the doors were locked but once you made your way to the open doors and entered the building, you could walk (back in the direction you just came from) to those same doors. Utterly stupid.

(4) I heard from several (unnamed and very seasoned) mentors whose comments went something like this: "I think that FIRST has started to believe their own hyped press. Making space for the concert at the expense of the competition was a real blunder. If you want to really change the culture, why would you allow a bunch of 'popular culture figures' to dictate the terms of their appearance?"

In closing, the real lessons of St Louis year one had nothing to do with any competition related shortcomings. The real lesson will be the concert and how it impacted the event.

The 'Black Eyed Peas" concert displacing competition event activities will go down as one of two things; either a realization by FIRST that they screwed up by becoming wrapped up in popular culture or the beginning of the end of FIRST as a mechanism whose primary goal is to change the culture.