[Nemo]

I've read the entire thread, and I favor open build season. But I'm also sympathetic to the problem of mentor burnout. Here's my proposal:

1) Extend the bag deadline closer to the start of Week 1 events. I suggest Saturday at midnight local time. Now that few teams ship robots to Week 1 events, I don't see a good reason to keep the robot in a bag for those few days.

2) Allow every team a bit of robot access during each week of the competition season; perhaps 4 hours. (Not my idea - but I agree with it) The goal would be to allow some robot work without providing an incentive for teams to be in their shops 24/7.

One could also shrink the fabricated parts allowance, but that becomes less consequential if you have robot access time each week.