Quote:
Originally Posted by jman4747
Is that entirely fair? The reverse could be claimed in that most of us haven't run a "USFIRST" before.
Also several of the challenges faced by FRC teams aren't exclusive to us. Check out who is on the BOD. Leading a team, dealing with people, handling money. They have and do run some very large organizations so I figure they've dealt with similar challenges to us before.
In addition I doubt it was only the BOD who worked to research and planed it.
Even the WFA/DL advising thing has a slight problem in that they also may represent a bias in looking at where FIRST should go vs a lot of other participants thus you may not gain much either way.
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Was it a strong statement? Yes. There is a lot about running USFIRST that I do not know and probably will never know. FIRST is a program run mostly by volunteers whose primary mission is to introduce kids from K-12 to STEM and change the culture using their programs run by volunteers. For the most part the mission of FIRST is carried out by mentors and volunteers like you and me who run teams and help organize/volunteer at events. Without us and without (BOD/HQ) FIRST wouldn't happen. While moving to two championships has implications on FIRST is primarily impacts the teams, the participants, and the students.
My point (and one that many others have made included at the town hall) is how is the BOD being advised/informed of what is best for FIRST if they haven't participated in FIRST programs or at least have representation from individuals who have. FIRST is old enough that even some of first participants in the 90s are well into their adult careers that they can serve in an advisory position along with a ton of mentors who have been involved for 20+ years.
Change is never an easy thing and its going to happen. We've always had change over the years and this to a degree is a big one considering the impacts it has on the community of splitting teams up even more so than districts. It also sets a tone for where FIRST is going to take FRC in terms of where the balance of making the World Championship a competitive event as a Championship vs an event where the goal is to get as many teams to attend to inspire them (still an admirable goal). Some of us are very interested in why FIRST is making these big decisions without consulting the community (past or present). While I still wouldn't be entirely thrilled, if the announcement had been made along with an explanation that prior FIRST participants including WFA winners, HOF teams, and/or other FIRST participants were involved in coming up with this plan it would have been received a little better.
Just some thoughts.