[Ken Best]

"Why are the officials in the MAR district so bad at their jobs?"
How would you go about making this statement? As with any game, there are decisions made that require quick and accurate thinking. A week one event will obviously have more issues than a week 5 event. Did you watch all of the matches for all events this weekend and then review and review again. knowing every rule, and EVERY FMS and FTA RESPONSE. At one time or another every team has had a unwarranted benefit in a match. As far as RI, the initial inspection is just that. As a robot is viewed and progresses thru the event, different configurations become apparent that may violate the rules. RI's consistently address teams from the start to the end of the event. Every match,every robot and every pit is respectfully monitored so the rules are applied correctly. Things come up that may not have during the teams previous match, it's an ongoing situation. Teams just aren't given the green light once the initial inspection is done.Sometimes violations are noted that require items to be dismantled. It;s unfortunate but the game manual and various resources are in place for the team to avoid these situations.

And why do the volunteers think they're so much better than everyone?
They don't. The Mt.Olive event requires over 120 volunteers that dedicate over 5000 hours in four days. Countless hours are put in from reading and understanding the game manual, to picking up the last peice of gym protector after the field is packed in the pods. Until you do this it all seems like magic to a 9-12 grade person. As one FMS person told me he used to think WOW when entering an event when in HS, now he understands the behind the scenes requirement. Every volunteer at MT Olive went way beyond the norm so that every person there could have a great experience.