Quote:
Originally Posted by Not2B
To put it as simple as possible....
Don't make FIRST about the robot.
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This can be easy.... or difficult... to do.
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Easy to say, difficult to do! You can tell the team to act with gracious professionalism, but it's up for grabs as to whether they'll actually do it.
One thing that helps is for members to really get to know and enjoy some non-team members they meet at FIRST events; FIRST has some people of great character, and some great characters! We've found it easier to get to know people at less competitive events (non-tournament) like scrimmages and training/build sessions. But each type of event has its potential for character building -- competing at tournaments for learning how to graciously win and lose, running events for leadership and public service, assisting at events for supporting others and working behind the scenes.
And sometimes doing the right thing out of rote leads to greater things. We have the team shake hands with opponents, win or lose, as a team "duty". But I was thrilled to see them leave a note to one of the teams and wish them well as they advanced to the finals (when our team had been eliminated).