Quote:
Originally Posted by bduddy
I'm pretty sure that there are a lot of teams out there that are extremely inspiring without putting their mentors through extreme burnout or forcing their students to give up other activities, etc. I believe that it is in the interests of FIRST to ensure that that remains the case. If that entails placing or keeping limits on those teams that do not limit themselves as much, that may be unfortunate for them but I think that at some point you have to look at everyone's interests. The NCAA has quite comprehensive limits on when and how teams can practice, and their goals are pretty similar...
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The stated purpose of the NCAA can be distilled down to "ensuring a level playing field". The real purpose of the NCAA is debatable. The goal of FIRST is culture change. I don't see anything in FIRST documentation which indicates they are trying to level the playing field. I do agree that they attempt to design games and rules which allow rookies and less experienced (and perhaps less resourced) teams be competitive.
Allowing access to the competition robot throughout the build season will help many teams be more competitive at lower cost with less stress. How some teams may choose to use that flexibility is their choice. It does not change the learning opportunities associated with the program; rather, it opens the opportunity to learn about continual improvement and the impact of decisions.
I would hate to see the day when every team needed to add a "compliance mentor" to their list of mentor needs.