[J@GMFlint]

[quote=Tim Arnold]

Just one that you probably didn't think of, many teams leave after qualifying matches if they are doing downright horrible/robot broken/whatever. Getting a random picked team would become just like playing the lotto... QUOTE]

I agree with this comment and think the selection process would have to be just as if the "selected" team were being asked by another team and not be automatically permanent. So if a teams KNOWS they are broke down or are having other major problems it would be incumbent upon such a team to graciously decline, then the "system" (not numbers in a hat) would remove them and make the next "selection" from available teams.

As for the lotto: Yes it kind of is. But it would also put teams in a position where they would have to accept that they cannot control everything, expect the unexpected, take life as it comes and to learn to make the most of what could be a very "dynamic" situation. Then collectively try to get everyone to rise to the occasion. It's been my experience that many valuable life lessons come out of these types of situations for everyone involved.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the current system or proposing this idea as the "best" way to go. I think it really comes down to what we as FIRST are trying do and where we are placing the ultimate value and finding a way to facilitate that into the competitions. Which raises the question of are we gradually becoming more like a "sport" and celebrating peformance or are we trying to inspire and develop quality-critically thinking people who learn to work effectively in diverse groups and celebrate the triumph of the human spirit? I support this discussion because I was disturbed this year at how many students from other teams complained about their robots (both here on CD and at the events) and about how they thought they we just no good compared to "everyone else". Somewhere the point seems to be getting lost this year- maybe it's always been there to some degree and I've just never noticed? Or who knows maybe we are starting to feel the side-effects of "getting the best of what we celebrate" as Woodie likes to say.