[GeorgeTheEng]

I think in some ways there is a very important point about what I see as an intentional design of the ranking system and the alliance system.

We often talk about first as building life skills. Some folks will crucify me and others will love me, but FIRST is not about the robot. The robot is a means to an end, not the end.

Is the ranking system flawed from the perspective of "the best robots should be in the elimination matches"? Yes, definitely. Does the ranking system provide a situation that is similar to real life? Yes, definitely.

When you're in elementary and middle school, performance is all about you as an individual student. Even in High school to some respect. In college, at least with engineering, and the "real world" individial performance means much less. Every day you will thrust into situations where you must rely on working with a team of folks you may or may not know. Who may or may not be able (or will) to do what they claim. In the end though, the team performance will be all that matters. This is something the alliance and ranking system simulates beautifully. I work for a large defense contractor where we are teamed on some programs with companies that we compete against on others. It's the nature of our business. Teams are just the nature of engineering in general.

In addition, the best design is not always the successful one. A group that can market a design that is good enough can often be more successful then an extermely well designed but poorly markets product. This is why scouting and marketing your team are very important. There are other factors that go into alliance selection as well, such as the ability to work as a team player. I know teams that will choose a slightly less capable team that is easier to work with and is able to be a team-player over an excellent team that does whatever it feels like.

I think the ranking system puts a large emphasis on team work, strategy, and being able to think on your feet, that an individual perforance based ranking system would not.

Personally, it is things like this that set FIRST apart from other similar competitions and enables students to be better prepared for college and beyond.