[Dave Flowerday]

I think the biggest impact was when the championship moved out of a high school gym and into EPCOT. When it was at EPCOT (especially in 95 and 96, when it was inside the park instead of the parking lot), a LOT of people got to see it that otherwise would never have attended. Every single time we crossed with our robot from where the pit area was to the arena (cutting across the main path that travels around the park), people who were just there on vacation would ask what our contraption was for. We'd point them to the stage, with colorful banners and lights and the signature FIRST music and more often than not they'd go sit in the stands and watch for a while. I think being at EPCOT really made it a fun, cool event to show off to prospective sponsors & teams that differentiated itself from a lot of other high-school competitions.