Quote:
Originally posted by WernerNYK
Ok, so one of the biggest rifts teams have had with FIRST this year is the new rule that only RAW MATERIALS may be brought to the regional competions...
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Just a quick point....this was by no means a "new rule"...last year, the same ruling was made that at the ship date, all construction, be it spare parts or new components, had to cease, and any additional components that needed to be made had to be made on site using raw materials you brought with you...
Also, I don't personally think that FIRST is concerned as much about smaller items, such as a new gear, as much as they are complete new systems. I.E., FIRST is trying to prevent teams from bringing basically a whole new machine with them to the first event. However, this statement in no way means that I agree with sneaking around the build cutoff/ship date to finish up things that were not done before the date. In my opinion, the limited amount of time given for the build is part of the challenge, and that challenge is negated if teams regard the ship date as "OK, we have to have something in a box and out of our hands by then, but we can still keep working on a few odds and ends..."