Sharkbite,
It's not about extra eyes, or an extra brain, or someone to help carry hardware. It's about wanting to go to the battle. It's just as much an adrenaline rush for the mentors as it is for the student drivers and human player. It's about celebrating all of the hard work that we (mentors) put into the program. It's about being a team in competition as we were in the design phase. It's about the high fives and the "That's OK" huggs.
I (and all of the other mentors) know that the students could compete without any mentor coaches. I just think "inspiration" applies to both the students and mentors and this new rule erodes mentor inspiration.
I hope FIRST re-thinks this ......
