If I were queen for the day, the violation process would be
1. Person knowledgeable of a violation would document the violation and turn it into FIRST (FIRST Manchester if not during a regional & Regional Director during a regional).
2. The coach (team leader) from each team would be required to attend a meeting to resolve all alleged violations at 12:00 each day (Thursday, Friday, & Saturday) during the regionals.
3. If a violation could be substantiated, the coaches along with a FIRST official who was very knowledgeable of the rules would hash out a penalty or punishment.
Here are some comments regarding each step.
STEP #1
- Writing down the violation of another team makes one think about exactly what rule is being violated and avoids the half-cocked statements that occur as people "grab the ear" of the regional director.
- We actually implemented something like this at the South Texas FLL tournament with a Comments/Compliments/Concerns Form where people complain about anything from dirty bathrooms to a team breaking robot rules. It has worked very well.
- If the violation occurred outside of a regional and thus the violation write-up is submitted to FIRST Manchester, the alleged violation would be sent to the next regional that the accused team was competing and addressed at the Thursday 12:00 meeting at that regional.
- The accuser should not be anonymous. If someone is willing to accuse, then let them stand in front of the people when judging (figuratively of course). This will eliminate that one person that loves to make a bunch of groundless anonymous accusations.
STEP #2
- Qualified personnel could be used to substantiate certain violations.
- Having meetings everyday would bring a fairly swift resolution to issues and give the regional time to correct the problem instead of having it remain as a black eye on the regional.
- Coaches would despise going to these meetings therefore they would want to keep them as short as possible.
- At the Championships, there would need to be several of these meetings to reduce the number of coaches in the room. Maybe two meetings per division to reduce the number to less than 40 coaches in a room.
STEP #3
- Head coaches would be the most likely to pass out fair and understandable punishments.
- If the coach of the offending team does not agree to the punishment from his peers, the Regional Director would make the final binding decision.
- As more of these meetings were held and documented and discussed, punishments for common violations would become standard around the country.
If implemented correctly, this process can address violations from all aspects of FIRST (Robot, Sportsmanship, Chairman's, etc.). This violation process needs a lot more work but hopefully I've gotten the gist across.
WARNING: This concludes my rational solution to the problem. Now, please allow me to rant a little.
In general, FIRST mirrors society more closely than we'd like to admit. In this post and others, we seem to be lobbing a great deal of "others-break-the-rules" bricks in our "we-don't-break-rules" glass house. I'll spare you from the boredom of
my beliefs on society & rules.
Our grandmothers and grandfathers didn't break rules because it was simply wrong, or from a fear of God, and those were the days that agreements could be sealed by a handshake. Today, it is difficult to find someone who does not break rules. In defense of this, see if you can get though the list below without having been a part of at least one "rules" violation. Feel free to flame me and fill up my inbox if you get all the way through the lists; most of all, please brag because you exhibit the highest standards for which FIRST stands.
- Who has been a part of a team that saved seats?
- Who went through a door at the Championships that they knew they should not to save the trouble of going "over the mountain of escalators?"
- Who has brought food and drink into a stadium and knew it was wrong?
- Who has not worn safety glasses in the pits at some point? Remember, safety never takes a break ... neither does flying parts.
- Who has kept working on their robot in the pit after being called to the queuing area for the third time?
- Who has sped to a FIRST practice?
I'm ashamed to say that I’ve been part of ALL of the above rule violations! Now, here are a few other rule violations that I've only witnessed.
- Who has made a robot that damaged/buckled the carpet ... AND DID NOT CORRECT IT?
- Who has repaired their robot in the pits knowing that the repair might have put it over 130 lbs. but chose not to check it and compete in a round.
- Who has gone to the top of Reliant Stadium where they knew they should not be and put paper on the seats?
- Who has made a MINOR modification to a spare part after the ship date and then use it on their competition robot.
- Who has fudged the information on their Chairman’s Award submission or in the interview?
- Who has brought artificial noise makers into a stadium where they were disallowed?
That's enough! Thanks for letting me vent for a few minutes.
May we all strive to break no rules in 2005,
Lucien