This thread raises some very key points.
To give some level of summary, the critical components which contribute to the FIRST experience include:
- Students
- Sponsors
- Mentors
I think we can all agree that we would like to see as many students have the opportunity available to them to participate in a FIRST program in their community. Considering that agreement, students are not the limiting factor towards growth for FIRST.
Sponsorship has become significantly harder to secure for many teams, both in rural, suburban, and urban areas. Companies have cut back, though many do still maintain a high level of commitment to the FIRST program and the services it offers. It is veyr true that with a local regional it can be possible to build and compete with a simple robot for around $10,000. This sum of money, though not small, is significantly smaller than the many teams whose annual opperating budgets exceed $40,000. Ultimately from the discussion on money, we can conclude that though operating at a higher budget is becoming more difficult, we seem to somehow survive by cutting back on projects, and sharing resources within our areas.
The fundamental limiting factor that I wish to raise on the subject of new teams and the growth of FIRST in geographic areas which are already dense with team participation is the topic of mentorship. Industry mentors are critical to the success of a team, and the inspiration of students. It isnt that our teachers are bad, but they need help and often times do not have the hands-on engineering experience to lead the design and construction of an FRC robot. Mentors are absolutely critical and I think if you talked to any FIRST team mentor they will tell you just how much time they dedicate to the program (whether sponsored by work or not). The problem with so many new teams is that there are not enough active mentors able to support them.
This sentiment is shared with first hand experience. I am a mentor for ILITE Robotics (1885) and Herndon High School Robotics (116) in Northern VA. As has already been said, yes we are much better off in the DC area than other areas with FIRST due to the high number of engineering companies and government contracting ($$) BUT this year resources have become more tight and the persistance of several local teams at starting new rookie teams as opposed to opening their team to numerous high schools has split valuable sponsorship and spread the critical mentorship thin.
Gary Dillard said it perfectly:
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Splitting into 2 teams to get "credit" for growth is the wrong type of growth, as would creating a rookie team at the new school instead of including them with us.
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If a team is looking to promote growth for FIRST, I would recommend looking towards setting up ladder programs such as FLL and FTC and opening your teams doors to students in your entire community. FLL and FTC are WAY cheaper, and operate with systems which are much easier for non-engineering parents to become involved.
PLEASE: Heed this warning, and understand good mentors are even harder to find than sponsors. (So go thank your mentors... I know I do every day)