[David Brinza]

Before the alliance selections, a laptop was given away by a drawing of surveys completed by the teams in the KC Regional - Team #2164 was the winner!!

A member of Team 16 thanked the mentors and introduced a message from the Governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius. She apologized for not being able to attend in person, but gave a very well-thought out audio address to the participants. The message, I think, made it clear that the Gov. "gets FIRST". The Gov. is part of a task force with other governors addressing educational needs for the US and believes FIRST is a very good example of what can be done to inspire students, especially in math and science.

The selections were completed, but not before a rookie captain got a "baptism by fire". The #8 alliance captain wasn't fully prepared (to say the least). When asked for his selection, he invited the top seed (#1 alliance captain team). The MC said he's sure you would have to have them as a partner, but they're not available. He asked to go speak to his coach - not allowed!! The rookie captain "interviewed" remaining team captains: "Who can score 3 ringers?". After he finally made a selection, the MC said: "the good news is you have a partner, the bad news is you have to select another". It was a pretty chaotic scene. Message to team captains: Have SOME sort of strategy (pick the top ranked available team or lowest team number.