[Andrew]

How does kicking teams out of FIRST or out of a FIRST Regional (for which they've paid good money) contribute to FIRST's mission?

I agree that when mentors openly cheat, it sends a poor message to their students. This can be seen in the behavior of the whole team, especially the young-uns.

Regarding cheating in FIRST... any system of probation or severe penalties is going to hurt FIRST more than it helps. Why? If FIRST has to impose a severe penalty, it must perform a thorough investigation (such as might hold up in a court of law). Otherwise, it might find itself sued for Breach of Contract and face punitive damages in addition to refund of entry fees.

FIRST does not have the resources to perform such investigations.

FIRST would also have to make sure that its rule-book was air-tight and that it did not violate any of its own promises. For instance, FIRST promises that it will provide "random" matches in qualification rounds. Has it ever fulfilled this promise?

If you look at the situation that started this thread, Bluabot tweaked a gearbox in the hotel and is being threatened with team dissolution! Talk about an "out of proportion" response!

That having been said, the current "honor system" needs some tweaks.

So, what requirements should a punishment system meet?
1. It must be open to public scrutiny.
2. Its scope should be limited to the event at which the infraction(s) occurred.
3. The penalties should be mild enough that the disagreement between the team and FIRST will not escalate. The penalties should be severe enough so that they are not lightly imposed.
4. The system should be designed to move the infraction towards rectification, rather than repaying an injury with an injury.
5. It should not be so resource intensive or distracting that the Punishment System detracts from the Competition.

In the case of severe penalties (such a Disqualification), all teams at the Event are affected. Therefore, they should be involved in the decision to punish as well. For instance, the team being considered for DQ might be your alliance partner in an upcoming match. Or, they might be the opponent of a team ranked above you and the DQ might give that team an automatic win.

Perhaps a jury pool pulled from the team leaders of teams at a competition could listen to the pros and cons of the complaint and render a verdict.

For minor offenses, a system of fines or fouls might do the trick. Similar to fouls in basketball or hockey.

For instance, your team might be barred from its pits for an hour if it is caught bringing in illegal parts (and the parts themselves are impounded). Note: if the parts themselves are your drive system, impounding them would effectively be a Disqualification offense and should be reviewed.

Or, a team might have to pay a $50 fine to FIRST for "cheating" (subject to review by a "jury"). Such fines would have to be paid before the team could register for the next competition season.