[EricH]

Proposal: instead of eliminating Stop Build Day, restrict what can be brought in to the event. 5 lb of upgrade parts, unlimited raw material* including COTS, everything else must be exact spare parts to something on the robot.

Won't stop driver practice and development of stuff, but it'll sure make the stuff developed simpler...


BTW, this post mostly in jest, as I've seen what happens when moving from this sort of system to the current system. I think the competitiveness has gone up across the board. On the other hand, the "push harder longer in the shop" has also gone up, and the usage of the 30-lb allowance has skyrocketed by weight to, well, 29.9 lb for a lot of mid-level teams.

So, if I may summarize: The introduction of a significant "withholding" which could be used for upgrades increased the competitiveness of the average team, if they took advantage of it, while increasing the amount of time spent after the build season spent on improving the robots. I could see elimination of the stop-build having the exact same effect as the increase of "withholding", and I could see it easing the burnout. Either way, effect unknown.

*Can be trimmed for handling purposes but not to final size/shape