Quote:
Originally Posted by aldaeron
After watching this, I think there is plenty of disappointment to go around
Mentors/Active CD folks- It should have been no surprise that there was a moderator, given the mob that had already assembled on CD prior to Champs. FIRST has the internet too.
- Go and re-watch the video and listen to how your “questions” sound. I asked non-FIRST people to listen and they heard the same thing I did: low volume screaming and a lot of loaded questions. I have been reading many of your posts for years and lost so much respect for you all in 30 minutes. I doubt you behave this way with your teams or at work. There was an opportunity to approach this change and offer constructive input and set a good example for the students (even if it fell on deaf ears) that you squandered. Remember what an influential group you are to thousands of students.
- Any change is going to be painful and it’s fair to be upset that the direction the program is going is not aligned with the direction you feel the program should take. I do think the message of “more than robots” has been clear for many years now. To me this also implied "more that winners".
- Give FIRST some credit. They have delivered an amazing experience to a ton of students for over 20 years. They don’t try to do anything haphazardly and clearly do weigh pros and cons. Their board is filled with smart and very capable people.
- I hope all the threats of quitting on some of the initial threads were just anger and shock. Please don’t quit. We love you. We need you. We can make this work.
FIRST- Teams are some of the best problem solvers in the world. We break your game rules in less than a week despite your best efforts. We're great at constraint based design. Explain the goals (more students getting a Championship experience, reducing costs, etc) and the constraints (available places where such a large event can be held, etc). We can help you solve complex problems! After all, we’re rocket scientists =)
- What about 2 back to back tourneys in STL (Mon - Wed) then (Thu - Sat)? Two 400 team events in one central location (this does not address the cost reduction concept very well). I’m sure there would be hundreds of ideas that CD could hone down in a few days given goals and constraints.
- Utilize the HoF or WFA winners. You have identified them as the role models for FIRST for many years at every single competition I have ever been to (FRC, FTC, FLL). They are touted as teams and individuals who not only understand the mission and ideals of FIRST, but live them every day. If you really thought they were the role models you have represented them as, you would have included their input in this important decision. Shame on you for not talking to a single one of them. Put them under NDA if you have to (you do this every year for pre-release field parts for kickoff).
- There is going to be some frustration with any change, which I believe you prepared for and are ignoring as the community starts to deal with the change. That does not mean all ideas expressed are bad ones (even if the questions are loaded or the tone is impolite).
- We're struggling with the reality of "more than robots". Help us out.
I am still gathering feedback from my team and my personal thoughts about the change. Overall I was not surprised by the change given the mission statement that has been consistent for many years. I do think there was a better solution, which is now lost since contracts have been signed. I am certain the process for making and communicating the change to championships could have been handled much better.
I’m not from a team that has the ability to make it to the highest level of the competition, so please help me understand why having 2 CA/WF winners is so terrible? There seem like many worthy teams and mentors. As far as the competition is concerned, it appears that the randomizer setting various teams on various fields has a large effect on who wins Einstein. Put two really high scoring and compatible teams together on the same field and it can be a run away.
-matto- |
I agree with your entire post.
To address your last part, in my opinion, I don't think that's a problem. We have so many deserving teams and mentors of their respective awards, and I think it'll be great to bring them recognition faster.
What I'm disappointed with is that I'll miss out on seeing half the great teams and robots from around the world. Does this mean I'm less motivated to be the best? No, myself and my team will try just as hard to achieve our goal of being the best we can be. Does it mean I'll leave FIRST? Not at all, this is such an amazing program.
I'm just a bit upset that this was the solution. I'm still not convinced there wasn't a better option that didn't require a split in the Championship event.