This again raises
a question I posed quite a long time ago to these forum, but with a slightly different twist.
To what degree is FIRST (the organization based in Manchester, NH) legally liable when something bad happens to a participating team or team member? Is FIRST responsible for every person on every team in the country?
If I were to injure myself while at a FIRST sponsored event, like at a regional, it makes sense that they might be held responsible for my injuries. If I were to experience that same injury while working in the shop on my FIRST robot, is FIRST still responsible? I'm still very unclear as to where the line in the sand here is. So much so, in fact, that I wouldn't consider volunteering for any sort of background check until FIRST takes steps to show what is their domain and what is the domain of the teams. I'm sure that they retain a lawfirm or lawyer who has advised them on the practicality and applicability of these background checks to given situations. I'd also like to know what those assessments were.
I see that this is a legal strategy designed to protect a very tender target and that it was inevitable. I don't see how it's really effective in preventing anything, however, and am insulted by this cursory measure.
It also means that, personally, I can't ever be a team contact again -- not because I've ever done anything wrong, but because the only person endangered by my past is me. I realize I'm probably the sole exception, but understand that measures like this also have the potential to work in the opposite ways.