There are a lot of teams who have invested a
lot of money in to Vex kits.
FTC was supposed to be the low-cost robot competition, in order to get FIRST into more high schools.
This new platform only causes teams to go out, and replace everything they already own with $1000+ of new stuff. That's not cheap.
I don't know about you, but I know of several teams who are more willing to stick with their financial investments (in Vex) than they are with FTC. Especially with free Vex competitions like
Savage Soccer and
Bridge Battle that utilize the Vex kits, and provide as much challenge and inspiration as anything from FTC.
I do not see any reason why the current Vex platform is outdated, unnecessary, or otherwise needs to be replaced with a new system. Some parts might be upgradeable, but it does not need to be outright replaced. Therefore, this represents an intentional decision to force FTC teams to purchase an entirely new system and take on the financial burden.
That is not the right decision for a program that's supposed to be the 'low-cost competition'.
FIRST is still great, but if they continue to make misguided decisions and hope everyone will just blindly swallow them to stay with FIRST, they are mistaken. We all love FIRST, but we all have other assets and the like to look after. And in the end, the decisions we make will be for our students, for their inspiration.
I'll still be involved with volunteering and being involved at FTC events, but I really can't put my heart behind this decision for new kits.