[jarowe]

After reading these posts I noticed that everyone is saying what they think FIRST is. So I started thinking-- what is FIRST? Then I thought, well, it's all of these things. It's about innovation, hard work, inspiration, teaching, learning, experimenting, strategy, competition, meeting new people, being inspired, aiming high and changing paradigms. Then I realized, for some people it's more than that. For others, it's simpler. Really, FIRST is what you make of it.

If you want to finish a competition and say, "We were shafted," then do it. Because if you really were the victim of unfairness, you did built an awesome robot. In building that machine, you learned something, and hopefully you were inspired along the way. However, I really hope you don't, for your sake. If you leave a competition and didn't go as far as you had hoped, it's because there was a team who was able to play the game to their advantage a little bit better than the other teams. So rather, say to yourself, "Next year, we're going to build a better drive train." "This summer, let's work on making that camera work for us, so we can win auto." I hope that you'll say, "That was one of the best experiences of my life," and you'll realize that 6 weeks of hard work paid off and you're robot went out and won a match or two.

I would idealistically like to believe that every team out there is playing fair and is playing to win. I work on strategy for our team, and I personally love it when teams play good defense, because I get to do more work and figure out how to avoid them.

I would like to point out though, that it's unfair to say that one team worked less hard than another simply because they didn't built a shooter. I honestly believe that every team wants to win and builds the best they can. A good pushing and defensive robot, that can push balls into corner goals and climb the ramp has a very good shot of doing well.

Also, keep in mind, the rules are designed for safety and for fair play. These are the top priorities of organization and the referees. You have to remember though, that they wanted defense, there is a reason that there is a period of the game referred to as such. There is a reason that the bumpers were added this year. If the referees see something unfair and against the rules, trust them to call it.

I'm so very proud of FIRST because they strive for success, and every time, teams deliver. This game has been played well. Teams have worked and continue to work hard. I personally can't wait for the Wisconsin Regional and the Championship to see what others have done with such a complex task.