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Originally Posted by ToMMan b182
If FISRT were to eliminate this part of the comp, i know alot of teams would be very angry.
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Tom,
Cheering is awesome. FIRST wants you to cheer. They want you to be excited about your robot, your team, your friends and being involved.
There is however a line that in many people's minds has been crossed recently by teams with the use of noisemakers. There has been a trend where the word "spirit" had been morphed into "making noise". In an attempt to attract attention (including the attention of the judges granting the spirit award) teams have gotten louder than FIRST. That is bad.
In the pits, the need for teams and individuals to hear the announcer is VERY important so that the competition can procede safely and on schedule. In the competition area, the need for the audience to hear the play-by-play and explainations is VERY important -- especially in the year of an audience-friendlier-FIRST. There are many ways for a team to get their spirit noticed without making announcer-swamping noise.
So... bottom line... cheer like crazy -- practice your clapping and yelling and screaming -- make up cheers and cadences with your team... find creative ways to demonstrate your spirit... but please honor FIRST's desire and leave your noisemakers at home this year.
Also... just to make note of it... according to the dictionary...
Spirit, n.,
- A particular mood or an emotional state characterized by vigor and animation: sang with spirit.
- Strong loyalty or dedication: team spirit.
Aidan