Quote:
Originally Posted by Oblarg
I think the point is you're not guaranteed access to money and sponsors simply by dint of hard work. It'd be pretty naive to deny the roles of socioeconomic status of team members and luck in determining team resources.
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In most other aspects of life, I agree that socioeconomic status is a huge determinant of success, but I don't honestly see how that can be the case in robotics. Unless team members of financial privilege are literally giving thousands of their own money to their teams, everyone seems to be on a roughly level ground in FRC. You start with not a lot, you develop relationships with sponsors and donors through outreach and communication, and the more work you put in the better your result. For me, it's a far more idealized version of what the real world is "supposed to" be, and that's one of the program's greatest strengths.
The way socioeconomic factors come into play with regards to robotics teams is if the region the team operates in as a whole is economically advantaged or depressed. In those cases, there's simply more access to potential sponsors and donors by virtue of the location. There's not a lot that FRC could do about that, and what they can do (max robot cost limits, etc) is already being done.
If someone could explain to me how "rich teams" somehow get money more easily, or how financially privileged team members result in an easier time finding success, I'd love to hear it. I'm willing to have my mind changed here.