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Originally Posted by nixiebunny

We made a big change this year to go with a wood robot. It was made possible because our build space has a laser cutter. What made the change happen was that a few people on the team decided it was worth pursuing, and one student in particular spent a hundred hours of his own time in December, designing and building three iterations of a wood drive base to learn the techniques and show that it would work.

The result was that by the time that build season rolled around, we were ready to hit the ground running with a new method of building.

It did take a few hundred dollars to pay for parts, but the team decided that it could afford that to expand our capabilities.

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And it paid off BIG once already....David Forbes was being much too modest there, so I'll toot "The Bit Buckets" horn a bit. While our (60), stepping out and doing something new and different this year (outside of our usual comfort zone), has certainly helped our team to be successful (so far), this year, it has also made their year better after 2 events also, doing something quite different too. They (4183/3144/4146), actually beat us in the Finals that first event Week 4 (Avg. Playoff scores of 132.33/ to our 115.33).

We just improved both our QPA (81.42 QPA, Rank 2, Alliance Seeding 1, Alliance pick #1/F), to our 2nd event (108.17 QPA, Rank 3, Alliance Captain Seeding 2/F), and a PA improvement of (120.43 Week 4, to 142.33 Week 5...Now look back again...(Our 142.33 PA Week 5, beats 132.33 Week 4, but on that day, and in that arena, they won that W banner and deservedly so).

Our second event, our team went even further to rise to the task at hand. OPR increased (from 49.21 after 1 event, to 68.37 after 2 events on back-to-back weekends). And we picked up a very surprising REI Award too!

After Week 4, Rank 74/and after 2 events/After Week 5 to Rank 51) w/ a second event Avg. Playoff score of 142.33, facing even higher cream of the very crop (148/997/5012), 148 is 3rd/987 is 7th, World ranked OPR's, type competition right now. (Still a couple of weeks to go yet, then the Championships!)
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So, there you have it, sometimes taking bigger chances can reap much higher rewards. The easy solution is right there in your question, possibly some more off season support, and possibly a few more $$$'s & more time investment (I know how tough that decision is, but money & time, should be motivation enough to cause changes and more risky behavior)......Proving possibly (like that very brave Bit Buckets student putting in over 100 December hrs. & 3 different new itterations, to get his own team to just simply try something different. (He bought in BIG. They certainly had to). And it paid off too.

And, that is what FIRST is really all about. My hat is certainly off to that young man! and the team. David, please tell him so for me, OK?), That something new, can often be something much better. It's often hard to (get people to), make the risky moves to attempt to mess w/ real success though.
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Winning is "the kind of rut" we all wish we could be in sometimes. I never heard anyone complain much about their own "winning record", just the other guys. Well, except the term, "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride." LOL. (That was directed at me personally, in the early 80's by a friend & competitor, that I bought many a dinner for after many racing events). Full disclosure, sometimes he even paid back the favor.

It was my first real season handicap drag racing (dial in bracket racing, and not dabbling in it, really competing almost full time while working full time too), and I had 28 races under my belt half way through the season (every single 1 of them was a 2nd place finish, all in a nicely arranged row, as I had yet to really learn the secret to simply "remain calm when in the final round at the tree", and was letting the knowledge of "I'm cashing another check" tomorrow, get & gain me internal personal financial relief (racing is expensive as a hobby also)...The guy that made that foolish statement to me at the time slip booth, (I had just defeated and kept from the $$$$'s...AGAIN).

I laughed and stated..."I'll take 2nd. everytime, if you'll give it to me like you just did...EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY TIME. (I know....That wasn't quite "Gracious Professionalism." (On either of our parts).

I never actually won a race that whole bloody season....But, I still made more money, having fun & racing that season...(and finished 2nd almost every race that year -the only other 2 losses, were semi-final red lights by thousanths), than I did at my real job actually working for a living. Uncle Sam was happy, and so was I...Sort of...

The very next year I learned how to turn those 2nd's. into lots of wins and became an NHRA Firestone/Centerline Divisional Champion (and track Champ at 5 different tracks the very same season in 84'). Success breeds success, cautions breed cautions. (And, lots of wrecks and losses to would be winners). Yeah, I mixed 2 different auto sports in there. But it is truth.
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There is no "Right Way" to run a team in FIRST, there are many successful ways, and there are many unsuccessful ways, and tons of teams smack dab right in the middle. And then there is YOUR SPECIFIC WAY. (Whatever way that may be)...Everyone has an opinion. And they are all different, and we all have the freedom to chose our way, and most still want it to be another way.

But, the smart ones, they attempt to please their "hands on sponsors" if they have them (even though FIRST isn't just about the robots).

Because,...Without great Team Sponsor people like you, we don't get to even build robots (never mind compete at high levels w/ them as teams)...Or, later they may just find themselves out begging hat in hand for Sponsor $$$'s. It's also an expensive game & proposition, and I'm positive you already know all that.

People just don't like change normally (any group of people)...Pushing them to push the envelope is a HUGE JOB w/ HUGE RISKS INVOLVED. But, I think you are up to the task already. IF they take the chance, and results go sour though, just stand on the highest stool around (safely), and say to the group...Ooop's, now I understand, lets go backward. Or, (I understand), now lets move forward. But, lets do something different again, together!

(I personally don't envy your particular position. But, I'd sure like to try it sometime). Sponsoring a FIRST team simply has to be rewarding (and frustrating too, all at the same time), no matter the results.