Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Erin Rapacki
If networking is the primary activity... then $90 is well worth it! (Trust me on this one, networking is one of the best investments you can make.)
Although I do not know the specifics, I've heard a few things about the Wrap Party from FIRST personel. I'd be disappointed if I couldn't go... it sounds like a good time.
|
I think you guys have done a great job explaining where that $90 come from. We all understand FIRST is a non-profit organization, and we all know money is hard to come by.
Looking at the stand point of the teams, 90 dollars per person is quite expensive if the team already paid the entry fee to the Championship Event. A lot of students cannot afford an addition 90 dollars to spend, having been one of the high school students myself (my parents could barely afford the ticket and hotel cost).
If my team isn't getting the hotel package, and ask if I will pay another 90 dollars to go to the party, I probably would've said no, no matter how much I understand where the money goes to. I probably would've gone out with some other team members and go get food some where else.
Remember, the Chief Delphi Forum community is a small part of FIRST. There are a lot of FIRST students who doesn't know as much people as we do, and usually only hang out with people in their own team, or friends on other local teams. I remember before 2001, I was just another student on the Gunn robotics team, and I only hang out with GRT people. I got just as much inspiration and fun as any other people. I suspect that's the case for a lot of other high school students.
In my experience, the Championship Event is too big to meet all of people, and too short of a time to actually meet many of them. It had also been really expensive for me to travel to the event. Personally I've had a much more enjoyable time hanging out with people at regionals and off season competition. They were much smaller and personal when it come to meeting people and enjoying the competition experience. To me, the Championship Event is just a big show to see as much robotics happening at the same time as possible.
A lot of things I can do in the Championship event I can also do at regionals and off season, such as networking, meeting people and hanging out with them, and talk to FIRST staff, etc.
But that's just my experience. When you decide whether or not this event really worth the time and money, you shouldn't need other people to tell you if it is worth it or not. If you never attended it, I highly recommend spending the money to do so for the first time. Afterward, you have that experience to tell you whether additional money is worth spending for a 2nd, 3rd, 4th championship event and so on.