[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by cbolin

(...) So, from the perspective of a lot of us mentors and students its about building a robot that can compete...having fun doing so and keeping the kids excited about it even when our bots don't do so well.

A better question is this Ken. Is FIRST a robot building CONTEST for ADULTS?
I have attended four competitions now and have noted that over 1/2 of the teams have adults (mentors) programming, repairing, modifying, coaching and strategizing. Many instances, the kids are just standing around watching.(...)

Right on. The goal of every team ought to be to train students in the technical and program management skills they need to run the whole team themselves. With only a couple of returning students, we were essentially a second-year rookie team this year. Next year, adults will do a lot. I was proud of them at the tournament when they fixed one of our mini-disasters without any adult help. Our other mini-disaster required an adult to help (no time + whirling blades = the adult did the cutting). Next year, my goal is to wander around the pits drinking coffee, chatting with other idle coffee-drinking mentors.