[Dave Campbell]

I compete in Ironman triathlons. The founders of the original Ironman race established a permanant rule to keep about 10% of the World Championship slots open for "everyday" athletes who may never be able to qualify based on finish times. These slots are filled via lottery drawings from all athletes who apply for a slot. The idea is that everyone has the chance to attend, participate or compete. I hope that FIRST continues as is or establishes a similar process to allow all teams the opportunity to compete in the championship event. There are many forms of Inspiration. Perhaps one of these "everyday" teams takes the time to attend a great presentation at the conference. They take that knowledge to build an amazing team next year and inspire their students to pursue advanced education in science or technology. Should that team have been excluded because they didn't have good luck in the match pairing algorithm at their only regional event? This competition is not only about building a great robot.