[maltz1881]

On the Cranbrook campus they have FTC at the high school level. They have a competition on their campus. They also can compete out of state. They send x amount of FTC teams to the Super Regional. This was the case last year, now whether they still will compete which I believe they will, is yet to be seen.

We have an amazing group in FiM from volunteers to Gail and other board members. They work hard and are dedicated to the education of the students of Michigan. We have workshops for all levels. When you leave the workshops you will usually have a operating base of a robot. I run an FTC workshop that has over 500 attendees yearly. We teach them everything from awards, design, programming, building and wiring your chassis. We have even created a book so teams don't have to build the "Ranger Bot".

Do I think FRC is viable to every school in say North or South Dakota. No. However, when we have the teams like we do in the UP, the nothing is impossible! Do I think that in those areas of the country that FTC is easier, most likely. I used to live in that area of the country and I know what is and isn't readily accessible to those teams.

I have 4 teams and they don't qualify for the grants from the state. There are other grants available though. FiM tries there best to make sure anybody can play. FTC is pretty much free for the 1st year with all of the grants available.

I also believe and maybe I am wrong in this, but I believe FiM just doesn't make there own rules, I think they have some guidance from New Hampshire. I may be wrong about that though.

I personally had a difficult time walking away from FLL at first. Then I seen what FTC did for the kids and how happy they were. It changed them and they changed me. FLL is great but I am loving FTC even more. Give the kids an opportunity. I have kids on the teams who are autistic and have cerebral palsy. They are doing just fine with it.