Thread: 40+% Growth Rate - How Long?
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Unread 23-06-2002, 22:09
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#0047 (ChiefDelphi)
  
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But is a smaller rate such a bad thing?
Posted by Jessica Boucher at 12/24/2000 4:36 PM EST


Student on team #237, Sie-H2O-Bots, from Watertown High School and Eastern Awning Systems & The Siemon Company.


In Reply to: Running full speed down a knife edge
Posted by Joe Johnson on 12/24/2000 2:36 PM EST:



Wow. Some very solemn thinking on what is supposed to be a very joyful holiday.

Personally, I have always compared my experience with FIRST to my exprience in theatre. Sure, I have only done high school shows, but thats besides the point.

FIRST's Kick-Off has always been in my mind similar to auditions, the '6 weeks' is rehearsal time, and the competitions are the performances. Other aspects fit in as well: the conversation & electricity of being in the pits after a match is equally comparable to the ensemble pouring backstage after a huge number; the event is verbally picked apart, people are rushing around to make alterations, fix makeup/parts, change costumes/replace the pickup mechanism, practicing dance steps/making sure the electronic connections are working, etc.

On a larger scale, FIRST is also comperable to a Broadway show....it can go on for years and years, thousands of performances, numerous casting changes, and then, when the show can't pull together at least a half house each night, it closes.

Now, dont get me wrong, I don't see FIRST 'closing' for a long time, but I do have to agree with Joe that the economy is slowing and people/companies are getting scared. I see it on my team, I see it on other teams. But that doesn't really mean a bad thing. Is quantity the issue here, or is quality? I would much rather have a smaller growth rate married with hearty, solid teams that really exemplify FIRST and will slowly build us up again as an organization instead a lot of teams that will die out in the next season due to the economy.

Maybe a smaller growth rate will bring back the nostalgia of the early days, with the smaller regionals, the smaller nationals, the closeness & electricity that my seasoned FIRST colleagues rave so much about.

I don't see FIRST as an organization dying out or imploding, but rather coasting on the ebb & flow of the tide.

Because, just as in Broadway shows, there is always a revival on the horizon.

-Jessica B, #237

Have a lovely holiday, my colleagues.


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