Quote:
Originally Posted by richardmcc2
What really needs to happen is in increase in robotics enthusiasm in every community, state, and country, as per Dean's homework this year, so that robotics can grow and become more and more respectable as an extracurricular activity. I would love to see the day when FIRST is as popular, or moreso than football or other school sports. When this happens, the school will be much more likely to help out with funding for regionals and championship.
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To add, my thinking is the strength of FIRST is going to be in the successes of its alumni as time passes. We have college mentors who are doing remarkable work for FIRST and for FIRST teams. We have college alumni who have returned as engineers. We have students who are making decisions to be teachers in our educational system. With each year that passes the strength of the program is developing and growing. It is my hope that school systems will be affected /impacted in ways that bring in more money for education in science and technology.
Winning a regional is wonderful, no doubt about it. The best part of winning the regional is how the team won it, students working side by side with engineers, teachers, professionals, sponsors, parents - building the team along with the robot, earning their way together.
I helped coach an athletic team a few years back. In the span of two years they sky rocketed to the top, winning at regional level their second try. We had worked hard and we knew we had improved and had a shot at it in their division. They won. We didn't have the monies to compete on the national level that year, nothing was in place. No fundraisers had been done, no parent group had been formed, no sponsors had been solicited. We just weren't ready for that next step. The next year, the team collapsed because no one was willing to step in and maintain the level they had achieved and work to help them. It was very sad but it happened.
It takes a lot of work and continued support to help a team succeed on every level, rookie, veteran, Hall of Famers. We earn our way, each of us. The Woodie Flowers and the Chairman's Award reflect that work, that effort.