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Unread 30-04-2008, 16:39
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Karthik Karthik is offline
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Re: It's Championship, Not Nationals

Quote:
Originally Posted by Danny Diaz View Post
lol. Jane has yelled at us on 418 multiple times for calling it "Nationals." Personally I don't give a rat's patootie. It's an event put on by a private organization who has decided to call it whatever they want and can change its name whenever they want. They control who gets in and how they get in, in a fashion similar but not similar to other events (like sporting events) who use similar terminology. I see "Nationals" or the "Championships" for FRC as just another regional, only some people are "invited" (regional winners, CA winners) others are "grandfathered" (Hall of Fame plus first teams), and others get in nearly randomly (Ladder entries). It's not the same as FLL, where all teams have won the Champion's Award at their championship tournaments. I don't even know how FTC works in that respect.

It's up to FIRST to decide what they're going to call it, and I have no problem with that. But if I just decide to call it the "Dean Kamen Atlanta Super-Regional" then that's just how it's going to be.
Well now aren't you special!

To some it may not be an a big issue whether it's called Nationals or Championship, but let's try and consider why some people get so worked up about this. If one is to look at the definitions of "National" you'll find that most definitions refer to a single nation. This is what upsets many people. Since 1998, this culminating event of the FIRST Robotics Competition has involved multiple countries. Whether intended or not, by calling the competition "Nationals", you are inadvertantly disrespecting the efforts and accomplishments of all those teams from other countries who are attending the event.

I understand that old habits die hard, and I understand the mentality of "It's just a name", but please try and consider why people get upset about these sorts of things. I'm never going to be the person who bites someone's head off about accidentally calling it Nationals, but it's fairly irritating to see that someone clearly understands how he could be seen as disrespecting someone, but doesn't "give a rat's patootie". So, if I decide to call that behaviour asinine, "then that's just how it's going to be."
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Full disclosure: I work for IFI and VEX Robotics, and am the Chairman of the VEX Robotics and VEX IQ Game Design Committees
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