Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex2614
You've obviously never been on one of those teams. As a team who has gone to champs many times, but has only played on Saturday twice (once going out in the quarters), I can say that we would not be the team we are today without those experiences. Our rookie year, when we had a mediocre bot, going to the championship truly changed our team and our students. We were inspired to better ourselves, and our community was inspired to get behind us (even though we got our butts kicked at the championship). I've been involved with my team since day one, and it took 7 trips to the championships before we ever got to play on Saturday. But our team and our students would definitely not be the same without those experiences.
We have also brought and seen many spectators at the event that are not involved with teams, and they love every second of it, even though not all the teams are what you would define as the best. Many of these powerhouses of today were once mediocre rookie teams that were inspired because they got to bring their robot and "play with the big kids" once.
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Hence, why I ask how we can bring this type of experience to more local events cutting both the cost and the logistical headache, while increasing the level of attendance and ability to scale. I'm not trying to deny experiences to teams, I want to give even more teams the option. But I also want to keep the concept of a championship because I think having that to strive for is important.
Also, for the record - I HAVE been on one of those teams. But before then I was on another team that was competitive at that level so I figured I'm biased.