I think the system is reasonably fair to rookies. FIRST has gone to great lengths to level the playing field between the haves and have nots. A good example of the success of FIRST's efforts can be seen by looking at my teams success, or lack thereof, at regionals. We're plenty well funded and have been around for 10 years. However, almost every rookie beat us at the Boston Regional.
Here's some of the things that I think are not fair...
With the unprecedented amount of scoring software woes from last year I think it would be fair if FIRST made as much software as possible open source. A process should be created to allow teams to contribute bug reports. I would feel better about problems with the software if I had been given the opportunity to prevent them.
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Originally Posted by <T01>
Referees have ultimate authority during the competition. THEIR RULINGS ARE FINAL! The referees will not review recorded replays.
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I'd like this rule to be clarified further. Specifically, I want "scoring changes made in the overnight" to become a less ambiguous process.
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Originally Posted by <G42>
Any discussions regarding rules, scores, or penalties must be between the DRIVERs or HUMAN PLAYERs (pre-college team members) and the head referee.
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FIRST is taking our rights away as mentors. My job is to make sure my kids are inspired and the program survives. I can't effectively explain to the kids what happened out on the field if I'm not allowed to talk to an official. I also can't explain to a sponsor why the team didn't do well at competition. I don't think FIRST had their priorities right when they thought this up: encourage animosity among students and leave mentors in the cold?
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Originally Posted by Chairman's Award 9.2.4 Judging Process
Interviews are limited to ten (10) minutes with not more than three (3) student team members) to best represent them.
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I believe a mentor should be able to attend this session. Smaller teams are automatically at a disadvantage because they have field duties. In my experience students would rather watch the competition than talk to the judges about the chairmans award. The award is a celebration for an incredible team with a strong foundation. This foundation is usually built by mentors from the high school or company/university. Allow representatives from the foundation to be there.