I can see both sides of this argument. Referees are human, and if there is one thing we can guarantee, it is the fact that we humans do have a tendency to err. Of course, the other side has just as much validity to their case. For a team to pony up $6,000 to attend a regional competition is no mean feat. For them to fork up that kind of money to be the test subjects at the first competition of the year, particularly if it is also their last competition of the year, is definitely a tough pill to swallow.
This is not a new point of discussion. This issue has been a popular (or not-so-popular) topic for the past few years that I've been around to witness FIRST events (and likely long before then as well).
However, something that
is new this year, is a FIRST "unofficial" regional during the competition season: the
Kettering FRC District Rookie Competition. I imagine that the main goal of this event, after giving some of the lower budget teams a shot at attending a second event, is to give rookie teams a taste of the FIRST atmosphere; to
learn what things are like.
One of the interesting things I saw mentioned in the event's description was that the event will be "played on a regulation 2008 FIRST field with
all 2008 game rules in effect." Now I understand this is a pilot project, but could there lie some potential to improving officiating through an event like this? If this were an event that was held as, perhaps, a pre-season competition, wouldn't that give everyone the chance to do some learning?
The rookies attending would get a head start on understanding the atmosphere and environment of FIRST. Teams that do not attend would be able to get a feel for the game and understand what it is like. (I have always liked figuring this kind of stuff out first hand, but there is only so much you can take away from a webcast, so I think a lot of the figure-it-out-for-yourself mentality is preserved). Perhaps, most importantly, this kind of event would allow referees to see how certain elements of the rulebook will play out. Following the competition, approaches to the game could be revisited, rules could be tweaked, and event video (a popular suggestion for how to "train" referees) could be circulated to "regular" season competitions. These clips could then be used by event coordinators and head referees to better prepare the referees at their event for the task at hand.