[EricH]

Originally Posted by ZackAlfakir

I think it is important to point out that FRC is not a competition about it is not about which mentor team can build a better bot. The mission statement of FIRST is: "Our mission is to show students of every age that science, technology, and problem-solving are not only fun and rewarding, but are proven paths to successful careers and a bright future for us all." - www.usfirst.org

Please read the actual mission statement, located at http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/vision, and then refocus your statement. I'll spare you the trouble of going to the link. (Hint: You should have clicked the link at the end of that statement on the front page that you quoted.)

Originally Posted by See Link

[Vision]"To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders."

Dean Kamen, Founder

Mission

Our mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.

Emphasis mine.

Now that we've established that FIRST's mission is accomplished by mentor-based programs, we can show that this is not necessarily a competition of high school students, but a competition of partnerships between high school students and adult (college/professional) mentors, and therefore your entire premise falls apart, save for one thing: the whole "engineer bot beats up on student bot" premise, which has already been taken care of on the field by the beatings going the other way as well as the mentioned way.