[StephLee]

The title of your post says that FIRST's ideals have changed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought FIRST was about inspiring students. Are the students on these small teams being inspired? I can't speak for other teams, but our team was pretty small this year, only 11 members. Granted, this was our first year, but I saw other rookie teams twice our size.

You say that the larger teams stamp out the small ones, and that the program is nothing since you are losing four important members of your team. If you had members who knew everything they needed to know to complete a FIRST season with no hassles, then the program would be nothing. There would be no need for it anymore. If those members are graduating, then I'm sure younger students will step up and take their places.

Maybe the larger teams do have an advantage over the small teams in competitions. But a small team can still inspire its students. Of course the students want to do well, it's part of the fun! But does it really mean you aren't inspired just because people don't come over and ask your team for advice?

FIRST is not all about the competitions and how teams place in them. FIRST is about what you learn to get to wherever you got to, whether that be first seed or last. If you learned something, and you were inspired to keep trying, then I say FIRST has succeeded.