[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by Eugenia Gabrielov

... Without these teams to turn to as role models and goal teams, there wouldn't be such a strong drive to compete and suceed time and time again for this year's advantaged rookies....

The really good teams are that way because of good management and experience as well as technical expertise. They also do much more than just build their own robot. No matter how the playing field is "leveled" certain teams will still perform better than most, because it is the people as much as the machines that make them excel. Give Wildstang or the TechnoKats a robot identical to yours and don't let them change it. They will still have a good chance of beating you because of the way they approach the game. The same is true of many other teams, but they are two of the best known.