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Originally Posted by Depreciation

To start off I would like to say FIRST has been the best program I have ever participated in. I have learned more during my years in it then I have in anyhting else I have ever done, all while having the most fun I have ever had.

I'm glad to hear this. It seems this competition has captured you as it has many of. After 7 years in it, I've yet to come across a better extracurricular activity.

Originally Posted by Depreciation

On the other hand there is one major, consistent problem I have seen. FIRST is a high school robotics competition, so why are there so many teams that seem to have more adult mentors than students? why are there so many teams that seem that whenever in their pits, in pictures, or during time outs, there adults are the ones working on the robots, and they have a number of the adults gathered around the robot with one or two high school students?

This has been discussed time and time again on these fori. The fact of the matter is, no one has the right to tell any team how it should be structured or who should be involved. Different teams have different ideologies. Some teams value students being 100% involved in every step of the process. Other teams value students observing skilled mentors take initiative. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. If a team feels at a disadvantage due to lack of skilled mentors, maybe they should get some more. This program is For Inspiration. How teams choose to inspire their students is left at their own discretion. Some teams inspire their students by having a high level of mentor involvement leading to a higher quality product. This is inspiring.

Originally Posted by Depreciation

Well these same teams are the ones that year after year have highly superior robots to any other team. In a competition that prides itself in its "gracious profesionalism" there should not be teams that year after year just completely dominate all the way to the win, but not even at just one regional but sometimes two or three in one year, I find that completely rediculous and definitely NOT GP.

I don't follow the logic here. If I attempt to follow your logic slightly further, you are basically saying that this should not be a competition that can be won by skill, experience, and teamwork. You are saying it should turn into an exhibition, where everyone gets to show their stuff but no one is praised for it more than any other. The teams that put a lot of work into it would be no better off than the teams who slap it together in someone's dining room on the last day. I don't think this is inspirational at all and I don't see how it benefits the advancement of education or technology. And btw, I don't find it GP to call out a team about not being GP.

Originally Posted by Depreciation

I know im going to hear many argue that FIRST is not about winning, well just stop being so cliche and understand that everyone still desires to do well and no one appreciates working so hard just to have some NASA engineered robot come along every year and beat them without even a slight hope of winning.

First, FIRST is about winning. This is why we have competitions and not exhibitions. If you feel your team has trouble winning, maybe you should study why the winning teams are so successful, and make adjustments to your own team as you feel necessary. Second, gather all the facts before you make assumptions. Just because a team is sponsored by NASA or is a NASA house team even does not mean NASA engineers are designing the robot. Third, have you any idea how much NASA has contributed to the FIRST robotics program and the advancement of technology as a whole? I don't think you're going to get on anyone's good side here by hating on the NASA teams. Fourth, I spent 6 years on the average team that felt like it had no chance of beating the teams that had tens of thousands of dollars and a hundred machinists backing them. Then guess what, in the 6th year we got our act together and won a regional. It happens, you just have to try harder. The day that this program's awards are based purely on luck is the day I quit. In this competition, teams get honored for the excellence they display. Awards (judging based and performance based) are a pillar of the FIRST program. To take them away or award them at random would be quite detrimental.

Originally Posted by Depreciation

I understand that the glory of winning eventually fades, and in the end it really is the experience that matters, but it is still a competition. Students spend six hard weeks building and working on something that they want to see succeed just as much as the teams im speaking of do. Its not exactly a great experience or in any way encouraging to put all that effort into something, just to go to the competitions every year to see which team super power is there to dominate them this year.

When I was a young high school student in FIRST, I felt completely the opposite way. I took one look at those robots and said "wow, I want to make mine look like that next year. How can I make this happen? I need to start now." Every year I saw the same teams win again and again made me work that much harder to reach their level. Eventually, we made it.

Originally Posted by Depreciation

I think there are many teams that need to think about this and change the way they're team is run, and for the ones who dont, go and horde up all those trophys and banners each year, but make sure you have plenty of fun, because no one else is.

As stated earlier, it is not anyone's right to say how any team governs or structures itself. Hording trophies is not something that happens by magic. There are experienced and hard working people behind it. To suggest they ought to just give up and let someone else win is simply absurd. It's a battle for them every year too. Winning doesn't come easy to anyone.

In conclusion, I see your frustration not genuinely against the so-called "powerhouse" teams but perhaps deep inside, and perhaps against your own team. Sure there are things people aren't too fond of about the FRC program. But I challenge you to adapt. The rest of us have.