[RobotKnight2014]

I am from team 3669 the Roboknights. My team started my freshman year, and since then we have competed a total of now 5 events. I am unsure if it was the regional or the game, but I feel that the refs had a very hard time keeping track of everything on the field. I am very unsatisfied with the way things went at this regional, and feel that the elimination rounds we competed in were poorly judged and run. I am well aware that I do not understand the dynamics that go into making such huge choices, but my team does not feel that the correct choices were made. It was very frustrating for our team, especially our seniors, to have what we felt was a legitimate win be taken away from us and watch as the other robots on our team were damaged beyond working condition. As a fourth year senior, the way that the regional was run and ruled was beyond frustrating. I have never been more unhappy about the result of a regional, and feel that many matches were improperly reffed and run.
All that being said, I love FIRST and everything it stand for. It has been one of the most beneficial experiences in my life. My personal growth, along with everyone on the team and our program because of FIRST is amazing. This makes the turmoil that occurred even more frustrating as it reflects poorly on everyone involved. My personal thought is that the game is very difficult to ref and it easy to make bad choices, whether this was made worse by people running the event or simply the nature of the game I am unsure. This game is also very easy to turn into a boring and eventful shoving match, including large amounts of damage to the robots. I appreciate all the work of the refs, judges, and volunteers at the event, but this was by far the worst experience I have ever had at a FIRST event.