[Jon Stratis]

Personally, I would hate to have a division structure in FIRST. When you look at a sport like football, there isn't much there that's "new". A team that is bigger, stronger, and faster will generally win. As a team standing on the sidelines, you don't really learn anything by watching two other team's play (ignoring what you might learn about the team itself) - watching them play doesn't make your team any better against a fourth team.

In FIRST, that's different. Going to a regional and seeing other teams does make your team better. I've learned a lot from seeing other teams at regionals, including techniques, designs, and processes that we brought back in order to better our team.

Further, sports is really all about winning. People don't join the football team because they're interested in the aerodynamics of a football while its in flight. They join because they want to get out on the field and win. FIRST, on the other hand, is not all about winning. This past year, you had students who were actually interested in the aerodynamics of a basketball in flight. As a community, FIRST defines success differently than sports, and it's that definition that really lets us pit rookie members against 20+ year veteran teams on the same field.