[Steven Donow]

Originally Posted by DampRobot

Thanks for the great suggestions Sanddrag. Making those changes would bring a lot of sanity to (and increase the level of competition at) FRC events.

The suggestions in this thread led me to reflect on something that has been bothering me for a long time. Wednesday night load in and inspections are two of many times that I feel bring an adversarial feel to the relationship between volunteers and teams. Almost every time I leave an FRC regional, I feel frustrated by volunteers that seem to enjoy enforcing arbitrary rules that hurt teams rather than help make sure the event run smoothly. Perhaps it's the rules, perhaps it's who's managing them, perhaps it's just the personalities of the volunteers themselves, but whatever it is, it needs to change. In my experience, most teams now feel like volunteers are roadblocks in the way to success rather than partners in running a safe, fun and fair event. This not only degrades the teams experience (which cost them several thousand dollars), but also creates a culture where skirting the rules is considered the norm.

What specific 'things' are you referring to in this regard?