[Allison K]

Change is a constant in FIRST, and due to the nature of the competition it must be. Even the changes that we now collectively agree were good have generated enormous suspicion (districts anyone?). Ten or so years ago the announcement that AndyMark.biz had been founded and would be selling COTS gearboxes triggered many of the same arguments. There was concern that COTS gearboxes would hinder creativity and that all the robots would look the same. Now a decade out from that it would appear that the general consensus is that availability of those products (and now other components from AndyMark as well as VEX and other suppliers) has overall been a value added proposition and actually promoted creativity by making more advanced mechanisms available to a larger portion of teams. I see the 72 hour robot builds an analogous event. It's a natural evolution of the community created by FIRST, and I think it's something that we will look back on and agree has had a positive effect.