[Chris Fultz]

It might be too late for the 2004 season, but maybe CD can generate a listing of US teams that would be willing to 'sponsor' a foreign team. In te fall, the sponsor and sponsee would be linked up to start communication.

The sponsor would agree to purchase and ship any necessary extras (bins, balls, etc.) to the foreign team. What a great way to build an international bond. If a sponsoring team needed some help, because the cost was going to be very high, then they could recruit ofhter local teams to elp them.

Most major companies deal with the export rules on a regular basis, so teams with a multi-national corporate sponsor could use the company experts to get things thru. Maybe the company would even pay the shipping if they knew what it was for.

I think to get on the list of sponsoring teams, we would have to require that the designated team leader commit - a team would be committing dollars and energy and would need full support to make it happen. Put Cyber Blue - 234 on the list (I hope you agree, Mr. Ritchie).

Regarding the comment on FIRST and US Engineers, I agree the focus is on the US, but the need for engineers worldwide cannot be ignored. For US companies to be successful in the world markets, there have to be people in-county who can work with, understand and maintain the products. It does no good to ship a high tech product (like a turbine engine) to a country if they have no skill or capability to maintain it. Many countries also require "local content" on new products and contracts - that local content can be materials or labor, including engineers. We need to keep a broad reach and do everything we can to create a worldwide FIRST.