Quote:
Originally Posted by Jessica Boucher
All of you, please take your hands off of the keyboard and take a breath for just a moment. The best thing we can do for the situation is not get carried away and handle this calmly.
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Thank you, Jess!
Let me say that my first and most vivid memory of my first regional was how teams helped and cheered for other teams. What can better express the values we hope to instill in students - and adults, for that matter - than the spirit and determination of one team helping another prepare for competition?
That said, we really don't know what FIRST's reasoning is behind banning non-FIRST machine shops. For all we know, it might be coming from some of the venues. I can only imagine what the reaction the manager of a college field house would be when he sees metal chips falling to the covering over his precious basketball court's hardwood. Or maybe some venues prohibit non-union personnel from using machine tools on premises. Possibly it is the same kind of interpretation of "level playing field" that led to the week one match generation algorithm. We can speculate forever, but until we know the reasoning behind the rule there is little use in flaming insurance companies, lawyers and safety professionals. Well, I guess they are always fair game, but that should be in Chit-Chat!
I do hope that FIRST does give us the reason soon (and that it turns out to be reversible).