[tsaksa]

I doubt very many teams have the resources to build more than one robot. Many of the teams I know struggle to find the resources just to buy their kit of parts. Yes there will always be some teams with the money and resources to build two robots, but I expect they are the exception rather than the rule. And, even if they are not, I chose not to worry about what other teams do or do not have anyway.

Our team probably does not have much of a chance to win at nationals, or to even get there except on a luckiest of years when they take all the right gambles. But that is not important. The students have already achieved a lot and benefited from the entire process. Dealing with significant limitations in resources can be a important skill in itself. Going through various design concepts, prototyping, building, and debugging is just as valuable on a simple design that takes advantage of our teams unique strengths and resources, as it might have been on a more complex one that we did not have the resources to build.

Our current robot is relatively modest, and needed to be because of budget and resource limitations. However, it is solid and well thought out. Our team is just as excited over our robot as any team I have seen, and has learned more than I could ever have expected. They will go to regionals and will be very proud of what they have accomplished, and they deserve to be. They have felt the fire of what science and technology at work can do and they are spreading the word at their school and community. With all that going on, who has time to count robots?