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Re: FIRST has $8 Million?!? What did I miss?
FRC is not a cheap robotics competition. For those who want cheap competitions there are plenty of options available.
But there is a big difference between cheap and good value. I think FRC offers good value. Consider:
The quality KOP
The donated software
The venues
The production values at the venues
The consistancy of product across the continent and around the world
And the community:
Chief Delphi
The Blue Alliance
Mentor Teams
"Behind the design" books
And being able to say that you compete "In the Big Leagues". Honestly... I doubt there is any other competition... anywhere... where I would see one of my students get cheered on by thousands of people for being able to recite Pi to 120 decimal places, let alone for doing some good driving with a solid machine!
So is FRC cheap? NO... and please never let it be so.
Yeah, that is easier for me to say when our team has had the very generous backing of a major corporate sponsor for the past four years... but this is our fifth year in the game... and that first year the entry fee was something like $8,000 CDN after exchange. So I know how hard it is to find $6k, but I also know it can be done.
Jason
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