Wow, just wow, this is first I am hearing of this issue in MI and am shocked by it! I can sort of see why they are doing this (mainly to accommodate FTC), but they are seriously shortchanging MI middle school kids from FLL experience! FLL is SO MUCH more than just robots! The project, the research, the core values and teamwork is invaluable!
I have coached FLL for 7 years and FRC for combined 5 years (97/98, 2014-2016) and I consider FLL as a vital step in STEM education. As a parent of three FLL kids, I wouldn’t trade FLL for any other level of FIRST activity (even FRC!).
Also consider that internationally, FLL goes up the age of 16 (as of Jan 1st of competition year), that means that kids will turn 17 during the year. Which means that they can be 18 years old by the time World Festival comes around! So, if you ever send any MI kids to that tournament, they are going to be up against 18 year old! Talk about stacking the game against them!
I do not know what I would do if Mass ever did something like this, perhaps traveling to one of the adjacent states to compete? But that is easy to do in a small New England state
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