[Carolyn_Grace]

Originally Posted by VexisDarksteele

(EDITed down for length)

During the actual roundtable discussion, I found that the subject was changing too fast for me to give coherent input of my own, so I'll just write it out here instead:

Now that the team's basic foundation has been set, and now that new students are entering the system without that common goal (yet), we're relying on varsity letters to be their initial source of inspiration to get involved. I've noticed over the last two years (ever since we implemented the varsity program) that some of our most dedicated students joined the team initially for the purpose of earning a letter, then later gained the same level of inspiration as us founders once they had gotten a taste for robotics. They need a tangible reason to begin trying things out, then will most likely continue on without incentive once they discover how much fun the competition can be.

I usually find it easier to spend time writing my thoughts, rather then speaking, so I very much appreciate your input here on CD! Thank you for your response, it definitely adds more depth to the discussion we had.

I like this point that students are looking for something to get out of this program, and a Varsity Letter is a great recognition for that. I hope to eventually help my own team develop this idea for our school, especially because many of the students that we are trying to reach (right now mostly art students) do not play a varsity sport, but this would allow them to showcase involvement in something that takes just as much (if not more) dedication and training than athletics.