[DampRobot]

To me, this is the type of ethical dilemma that is an intentional grey area. It's like deciding to have a highly sponsor fabricated robot or a team where the mentors have a more hands on approach. It's something up to the team, and FIRST isn't going to regulate it at all. (Please don't let this devolve into a Student Build vs. Mentor Built thread...)

If your team decides that it's illegal or unethical to design things before the season, that's your decision. Just know that you'll be competing against teams that do, and FIRST isn't going to do much about it.

Cory, I respect your team, and I don't mean to call you out, but your drivetrain is so similar year to year that certain interpretations of the rules would rule out your type of design reuse. My personal opinion it's in the best interests of FIRST to allow this type of reuse of design (keeps kids working, thinking, designing, learning, and inspired year round). And, like Cory mentioned, parts can easily have superficial changes to make them legal under certain rules readings. So, it's not as illegal to reuse designs as some would have us think.

Teams that design before the season, whether they actually use this design in season or not, have a advantage. They will know how to design, and they might just have a few good ideas ready to go.