[Jim Zondag]

Andy, Thank you for finally starting a legitamate discussion on this topic. I have been bringing this up for 10 years.
Personally I am and have always been fundamentally agains shipping.
I have yet to see another example of a rule like this in another machine sport. No other league I have ever seenever takes you machine away from you. The true costs of doing this far exceed Andy's conservative numbers.
I am the exact opposite of Dave Lavery. If it were up to me we would deregulate everything except a very few key items:
size, weight, battery, air pressure, control system.
Infinite choices yield infinte possiblities.
If you look back in time, with each step FIRST has taken to deregulate the robots have gotten better. All you old timers, get out you 1996 robot and compare it to you 2005 robot....which would you rather watch on TV.
Anything FIRST does to allow us to create better, faster,taller, stronger robots is in the best interest of all of us. Please give us the time and the resources to build creations which will make the public stand in awe and want to be like us.