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Originally Posted by sanddrag
Where I was going with that is that I feel that some teams are satisfied with what they have when I know they can strive for more.
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Then you should approach the teams and let them know on a personal basis, giving them suggestions to help them achieve what you believe they are capable of.
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Originally Posted by sanddrag
But I also know some teams that don't care worth a darn if their robot even gets finished much less what it looks like and I think they are cheating themselves.
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Really? Could you elaborate on which teams actually think this, and also give some reasons why they do that? I'd like to ask them myself to see what they have to say on it.
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Originally Posted by sanddrag
If you could use a milling machine instead of a cordless drill would you? If you could write a program to make the robot easier to drive rather than having the driver struggle with the joysticks would you? If you could measure with calipers instead of a tape measure would you? If you could have custom aluminum wheels instead of the same ones that come in every kit would you? If you could have engineers help you would you let them? If you could go to two regionals instead of one would you?
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Yes to all of those, though many teams don't have the resources that you seem to think they do.
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Originally Posted by sanddrag
Sadly (imho) many teams answer "no" to some or several of the above questions.
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Many? I've never come across a single team in my time in FIRST that has ever declined things like that. Also, shouldn't the team's answers be based upon their factual statements, not your "honest" opinion?
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Originally Posted by sanddrag
And it is not a matter of being able to do it; it is a matter of wanting to do it. I think too many teams say "eh, one regional is okay" or "eh, the cordless drill works fine" instead of saying "we CAN fundraise to go to two regionals" and "we CAN find a sponsor with a milling machine" etc etc.
Plain and simple, I think some teams don't try hard enough.
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And this is their choice. It is not our position to judge others and what they believe to be best for their own team. You can not make a blanket statement that teams don't try hard enough without having a grasp on the situation of over 1,000 teams.
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Originally Posted by sanddrag
Basically, I guess I just have a "good enough isn't" philosophy and I believe too many teams are too content with their situations and not striving for more as they should be.
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Again, this is THEIR CHOICE. You can't force them to go out every week and search for sponsors. You can't force them to fundraise more. People from some teams that I've talked to can't fundraise directly because of school rules, while others don't have the resources in their towns to fundraise. What do you think should happen to these teams if they don't "try hard enough" by your standards? Do you believe that they should be removed from the program, just because they aren't supporting an elitist, best-of-the-best attitude that you believe FIRST should have?