[Weepy]

All the issues that I would've said have already been noted in this thread except for one...

Now, 2047 is just a rookie team and I'm a senior, so this is my first and last year here as student (hopefully becoming a mentor next year). The matches were amazing, we met amazing people, and the whole event made my whole FIRST experience feel like my life was a comic book.

However, we really didn't enjoy Championships as much as any of the regionals we went to this year. We didn't see nearly as much team spirit or activity in the Newton stands as much as we did in Milwaukee or Chicago, and it was hard to be motivated when we only knew the 10-ish teams that qualified from the regionals we attended plus the handful of other teams we made personal friendships with.

I'm not sure what can be done about it, it's just our setup. Between emergencies, scouting, finding parts, ordering food, and two broken vans, and only 20 people on our team, it's not like we could afford to wander far from where we needed to be. It was a blessing that many of the friends I did make through FIRST had time to come to the pit to talk to me while we were working (I love you, Team C.O.R.E.!).

I dunno, I feel like I would've enjoyed this event 100x more if we actually KNEW the other teams. Scouting was hard to do since everyone else was equally bogged down by the goings.

If FIRST could organize some after-Thursday events such as Ultimate Frisbee Competitions, trivia shows, or maybe some video game tournaments, that would allow everyone in their own division to recognize each other. Small little prizes could be given out like t-shirts too.

Sure, 'socializing' isn't as much a concern as the safety issues and overall logistic issues that were posted in this thread earlier, but it would have totally changed my team's experience at Championships.

(100 secret EXP points to whoever read this all)